Physician

Physicians writing on KevinMD about the life of the profession: the work itself, the exhaustion, what women physicians are paid and asked to carry, the losses the profession has been slow to name, and who decides how physicians work. Five maintained records draw on this archive: Physician burnout: what physicians say, in their own words, Primary care: what physicians say, in their own words, Women in medicine: what women physicians say, in their own words,, Physician suicide: what physicians say, in their own words, and Physicians and administrators: what physicians say about who runs medicine, in their own words.

We’re all shepherds helping others move through life

Jordan Grumet, MD

Physician

January 6, 2017

Mathew preferred using the more biblical term “shepherd.” After all, he labored his flock through pastoral pastures and meandering meadows. His parishioners, of course, were sheep and not people.

After years of leading them, he could discern subtle differences: the slope of a forehead, the stutter of a step or the variation in bleat. He had a distinct name for every animal in his flock of thousands.

Although Mathew preferred isolation, he …

Don’t engage in fishbowl emergency medicine

Sandra Scott Simons, MD

Physician

January 6, 2017

How in the heck would three nurses and I ever orchestrate ECMO in the middle of the night in my community ED? I pondered this over tuna tartare while listening to ivory tower docs discuss cutting-edge modalities like they were part of treatment algorithms everywhere. The conversation turned to REBOA, and I wondered how many academicians had ever manned a single-coverage ED.

Ivory tower medicine and my world, where there is …

One way to train gritty doctors: Don’t allow them to quit

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

Physician

January 6, 2017

What is grit?

In an article in The Guardian, Angela Duckworth, a psychologist often called the guru of grit, defined it as the commitment to finish what you start, to rise from setbacks, to want to improve and succeed, and to undertake sustained and sometimes unpleasant practice in order to do so.

She said in a paper that grit is perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

I think we’d …

Stop saying these 7 shaming words in medicine. Right now.

Pamela Wible, MD

Physician

January 5, 2017

shamingwordsimage

In medicine, our motto is first do no harm. Words matter. Choose them wisely. Here are 7 words that shame, blame, and injure people who need our help.

1. Don’t say COMMITTED suicide. Committed implies a crime. Committed rape, burglary, murder. Suicide is not a crime; it’s a medical condition that has been taboo for too long. Let’s come out of the dark …

5 ways doctors don’t give patients what they really want

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

January 5, 2017

The mantra of striving for excellent customer service is a very American concept. I’m reminded whenever I travel around the world and experience general service expectations elsewhere — even in some very advanced nations in Europe — how far ahead we are in the United States. We totally take it for granted that we can expect high levels of customer care almost everywhere we go, and any complaints and feedback …

Policy changes in the transgender health care arena

Erez Dayan, MD and Bianca Molina, MD

Physician

January 5, 2017

Transgenderism has been catapulted to the forefront in the media, and it is clear we are in the midst of a cultural shift towards greater acceptance of the transgender community. The January 2017 issue of National Geographic was recently released as a special issue entitled, “Gender Revolution,” featuring a nine-year old transgender girl on its cover. As the construct of fixed gender is challenged and the societal impact of this …

The difference between male and female physicians. Here’s what it means.

Ashish Jha, MD, MPH

Physician

January 4, 2017

About a year ago, Yusuke Tsugawa — then a doctoral student in the Harvard health policy PhD program — and I were discussing the evidence around the quality of care delivered by female and male doctors. The data suggested that women practice medicine a little differently than men do. It appeared that practice patterns of female physicians were a little more evidence-based, sticking more closely to Read more…

The difference between male and female physicians. Here’s what it means.

Not all residency programs are bad. Here’s what to do if yours is.

Karen Stern, MD

Physician

January 4, 2017

A response to “This resident works 100+ hours per week, but is still a poorly trained surgeon.”

I am truly sorry your experience in a urology residency thus far has been far below your expectations. I am finishing residency in June, and I know how hard it is. There are sleepless nights, thankless tasks, and residency feels like a learning process that crawls forward in inches rather than feet. …

Our love for our children is the tie that binds us

Zoey Goore, MD

Physician

January 3, 2017

I love my children. This should come as no great surprise. Parents love their children. While many are feeling that our nation is divided, love for our children and their future can unite us.

In my professional career as a pediatrician, I have seen parents experience happiness, sadness, fear, and sometimes frustration but always behind these emotions is love for their children. As a mom, I can empathize with each of …

The data was suffering. And it cleaved at this doctor’s soul.

Jordan Grumet, MD

Physician

January 3, 2017

The notion began early in computer science class during Jason’s freshman year. The professor had noticed a certain elegance and zeal in his work and suggested medicine. That was in the days of the giants when clinicians were tied to such clunky programs as meaningful use and PQRS. In this antiquated milieu, Jason cut his teeth on basic health care architecture.

In those prehistoric years, there still remained a bias toward …

A Muslim American physician goes to war

James C. Salwitz, MD

Physician

January 3, 2017

For soldiers, there are many fears. Will I do my job? Will I succeed in my mission? Will my colleagues in arms be harmed? Will I be injured? Will I die? For the American Muslim who volunteers to engage the enemies of the United States on foreign soil, there is a new worry. What will my home country do to my family while I am gone?

Recently, Dr. Ghazali A. Chaudry, …

Read more…

A Muslim American physician goes to war

Does lead-time bias have a place in court?

Dr. Saurabh Jha

Physician

January 3, 2017

In 2014, a jury in Massachusetts awarded $16.7 million in damages to the daughter of a Bostonian lady who died from lung cancer at 47 for a missed cancer on a chest X-ray. The verdict reminds me of the words of John Bradford, a heretic who was burned at the stake: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Many radiologists will sympathize with both the patient …

Should doctors’ personal judgments affect their patients?

James C. Salwitz, MD

Physician

January 2, 2017

Medicine is a paradox. To save, we cut with sharp knives. We ignore pain so that it will light the path to diagnosis. We give toxins to destroy toxic disease. We scold our neighbors when they neglect their health, even as we work ourselves to exhaustion, eat too much and evade exercise. We comfort the families of our patients while ignoring our own.

There is one contradiction, which, by its very …

Going to a walk-in clinic? 6 essential things you must know before you visit

Peter Ubel, MD

Physician

January 2, 2017

A friend of mine recently had a very sore throat. She knew how to manage her symptoms — lozenges, warm tea and the like. But she was worried she might have strep and would, therefore, need antibiotics. That should be a simple question to answer with a quick trip to the primary care clinic. Except that her primary care physician was booked, and if she wanted an unscheduled appointment with …

Disclaimer! Caution: There’s too much information

Michael Kirsch, MD

Physician

January 2, 2017

Even though I am over 40 — by a long shot — I am familiar with the abbreviation TMI. Today, we are inundated with so much noise, chatter and static. I feel that we are bombarded with information that we must sift through and ultimately delete. The news cycle is 24 hours and hits us from so many electronic sources simultaneously. I am deluged each day with so many unwanted …

This is what the election taught me about medicine

Nathaniel Fleming

Physician

January 1, 2017

The morning after the recent presidential election, I entered our clinic building feeling as though I was in a daze. Like many people, I had stayed up late following the election results and trying to understand what they meant for our collective future. I could see our country’s divisions fresh in my mind. I could picture the electoral map, with each state colored firmly either “red” or “blue;” I could …

This dirty secret keeps doctors from doing their job

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Physician

January 1, 2017

We are like a restaurant that charges handsomely for sit-down dinners but gives away food for free at the takeout window. And we only pay our providers for serving the dining room guests. If traffic gets backed up at the drive-through, we hold our providers responsible, even though we never planned for our ever increasing demand for takeout.

In simpler times, patients went to the doctor when they felt unwell, and …

Corporate health care is doomed. Here’s why.

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

January 1, 2017

As health care increasingly propels itself into the world of corporations and big business, it may seem like the practice of medicine has entered an irreversible new era. Gone are the days of good old Dr. Wilson in his solo private practice around the corner, loved and respected by all his patients and the community. Nowadays, it’s all about mega multi-specialty groups, health care mergers and hostile corporate takeovers.

Being someone …

David Newman betrayed patients and emergency medicine

Steve Carroll, DO

Physician

December 31, 2016

I remember that morning in January 2016 very well. I opened up my Twitter feed to find many people linking to an article that made me stop dead in my tracks. The New York Post was reporting that Dr. David Newman had been accused of sexually assaulting a patient in his emergency department. He was accused of giving the patient a dose of propofol and then sexually …

The American system for training doctors is broken

Elisabeth Poorman, MD

Physician

December 30, 2016

“I did a weekend of 72 hours in which I only got four hours of sleep. I would also secretly hope to get in a car accident and maybe break a leg so that I would be force to take off from work … just so I could get some rest. Thank God, I never got in an accident, but I have had colleagues fall asleep at the wheel.”
– Dr. …

Physician

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts