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.

He felt that doctors were no longer helping people. Here’s why.

Jordan Grumet, MD

Physician

January 17, 2016

It was never his intention that the name would stick. A decade ago, when he first began working in the restaurant, some of his fellow employees knew that he was formerly a practicing physician and started to call him “Doc.” Although many of his coworkers had since moved on, taking the knowledge of his previous profession with them, his moniker persisted.

Doc liked the simplicity and tedium of his bartending job. …

These are the times why I got into medicine

Justin Reno, MD

Physician

January 17, 2016

“She’s ready to push, doc.”

It’s 2 a.m. I’ve been up for the better part of the evening, doing my part in the process of labor. I groan; I have a full day of clinic patients six hours from now.

But these are the wonderful times.

These are the times, in the rural hospital that I work, where it’s completely and totally about that laboring soon-to-be mom and her soon-to-be child. There are …

A daily decision to prioritize my patients over my notes

Mary C. Zeng, MD

Physician

January 16, 2016

It’s been a long day in the psychiatry clinic.

Seeing patients is never dull, and each interaction is meaningful in its own way. From the moment they walk into my office to the moment they leave, I try my best to be fully present with the patients sitting in front of me. That means listening to every word, watching every nuance of body language, hearing every concern — both spoken and …

Wanted: Medical Sherpas to guide patients through the unfriendly world of health care

Rob Lamberts, MD

Physician

January 16, 2016

2015 was a hard year for my father. He’s a remarkably healthy 89 year old, with no diabetes, no hypertension, and (most importantly) he’s got a sharper mind than I do on most days. Perhaps that’s a low bar to cross, but it’s pretty good for him. I think this is from all the crossword puzzles he’s done over the years.

Dad’s troubles started around the middle of the year when …

In health care: It’s not a customer service problem. It’s communication.

Jeffrey McWilliams, MD

Physician

January 15, 2016

Over the past year, I’ve read countless publications concerning the relationship of customer service and patient care. Many have alluded to the fact that customer service in health care is not only unfeasible, but also detrimental to patient care. As a huge proponent of customer service, it was quite natural to take a defensive stand, posturing against these “absurd accusations.” Over the years I’ve learned, quite often the hard way, …

A letter to myself as a first-year oncology resident

Joanne Intile, DVM

Physician

January 15, 2016

I’m writing to you from the future — approximately ten years from where you are now. You’re a few months into your medical oncology residency, just beginning to assimilate to the flow of your daily responsibilities as a doctor committed to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

You hate living in upstate New York, and are dreading the upcoming winter and the associated endless piles of snow and sub-zero temperature nights …

During a physician’s infertility journey, another doctor offers hope

Katie Lockwood, MD

Physician

January 15, 2016

While lying on a hard metal table with my legs spread open and a clamp on my cervix, I was instructed to “relax.” My audience included a nurse, two radiologists, and my OB/GYN’s partner, who I met minutes earlier when she rushed in apologizing that my OB/GYN was called away to a delivery.

A delivery: the culmination of those nine months of a pregnancy that I so eagerly desired. I got …

How this physician celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy

Cleveland Piggott, MD, MPH

Physician

January 14, 2016

The last time I cried was this past May in the brand new National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. As I stood in the room where you hear and see clips from the day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, I was overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry uncontrollably. I was reminded of all the sacrifices millions of people have made that has allowed me to …

8 unexpected reasons why you should have an advance care plan

Monica Williams-Murphy, MD

Physician

January 14, 2016

By now you’ve surely heard that Medicare is going to pay doctors and other qualified health care providers for advance care planning with patients in 2016.

Aren’t you excited?

OK, so if you are not utterly thrilled or even if you are nonplussed about the whole issue, then let me give you a different perspective on why you should rush into your friendly local doctor’s office to make a living will and …

This physician retired years ago. So how’s he doing?

David Mokotoff, MD

Physician

January 14, 2016

In 2013, I wrote a post, “How Can Physicians Retire Gracefully?” Being on the cusp of retirement, I offered up some thoughts and predictions. Having fully retired this past year from the cardiology group that I began in 1982, I thought it was time to revisit my thoughts and predictions.

I have been able to keep structure to a minimum. I go to tai chi classes two to three …

10 rules every primary care doctor should read

Peter Elias, MD

Physician

January 13, 2016

Primary care medicine is intense and chaotic, a constantly mutating kaleidoscope of data, emotions, goals and obstacles. It is designed to confuse and distract, and will find and magnify any tendencies towards ADD in even the most organized clinician.

During my 30+ years as a family physician, I’ve come to depend on some core principles and concepts to stay grounded and maintain focus. Here are ten rules I have found useful, …

An open letter to Justin Timberlake

Megan Babb, MD

Physician

January 13, 2016

While I recognize that I have a better chance of contracting dengue fever in my suburban city than there is of you actually reading this, I will try anyways. Here it goes.

My name is Megan. I am a family medicine doctor practicing in Northern California, and I love my job. I’m nothing fancy. I don’t spend my day in the OR. I don’t spend my day in the emergency room …

Read more…

An open letter to Justin Timberlake

The story of how this doctor lost his first patient

Antonio Webb, MD

Physician

January 13, 2016

During medical school, we are taught the physiology, anatomy, and pathophysiology of hundreds of disease processes. One thing medical schools don’t teach well is how to cope with losing a patient. Some physicians will go many years as a physician before having their first patient die on them. Others will lose a patient earlier on during their career. I was the latter. I hadn’t even graduated from medical school yet …

It’s time to reclaim the heart of medicine

Dr. Eric Levi

Physician

January 13, 2016

I’ve been asked previously what I think is the biggest challenge facing medicine or surgery in the future. Many physicians and futurists would suggest that personalized medicine, genetic therapy, cancer cure, public health, nanotechnology and many other things are going to form several of the biggest challenges ahead of us.

The more I spend time in medicine and surgery, the more I reflect on the future of medicine, the more I …

Repeal the federal ban on gun research and physician gag laws

Shivam Joshi, MD

Physician

January 12, 2016

There has been on average one mass shooting (involving at least 4 people) for every day this year. In the wake of the San Bernardino shooting — the most recent widely-covered mass shooting, America has reopened the debate over gun control, pitting a bereaved public beckoning for gun reform against strict Constitutionalists. Yet, in this polarizing debate filled with a seemingly binomial future, there are other options: Namely those that …

Miracles are happening in medicine. We just need to learn to recognize them.

Chiduzie Madubata, MD

Physician

January 12, 2016

A few months ago, I came across a young man who had come in with increasing fatigue and shortness of breath that was limiting his quality of life. As a barber, he looked forward to cutting hair and talking with his clients about the events that were happening in their lives. On the surface, it appeared that things were going well for him overall, but people were not aware that …

The struggle of mommy-guilt in physician-mothers is real

Emily Knipper, MD

Physician

January 11, 2016

What does a 3 year old know?

If you don’t like our toddler’s opinion, just wait; she’ll change her mind in a few seconds. The ever-changing mind of a 3-year-old is what makes the fact that I decided to be a doctor at that age all the more amazing. But, that’s how old I was when my parents took me on a mission trip to Haiti, and I decided I wanted to …

Hospitals need a checklist for the patient experience

Anna Reisman, MD

Physician

January 11, 2016

Earlier this year, when my mother was briefly hospitalized, nobody gave her the wrong medication (her wristband was checked before each medicine was dispensed). Nobody missed a high or low blood pressure (her vital signs were taken every few hours, like clockwork). She was usually assisted to the bathroom so she wouldn’t fall (a sensor on her bed triggered an alarm if she started to get up).

Thank goodness for hospital-based …

In health care: Fix what we can fix. Accept what we cannot fix.

Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

Physician

January 11, 2016

Part of a series.

You know the serenity prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr in about 1940:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

I saw an elderly woman in the hallway recently with the prayer framed and done in needlepoint by her daughter. It was very beautiful, and it got me to thinking …

What passes for medical advice online isn’t actually true or safe

Edwin Leap, MD

Physician

January 10, 2016

How do we know what to believe about anything? In times past we read books, we took classes, we spoke to experts. These days? These days we do the same, but we also search the Internet. And we seem to do it with special fervor when it comes to questions about our health.

I can’t throw any stones here. Even a physician has knowledge that is limited to his or her …