As a traveling physician, I’m often asked if I have a favorite place to work. Since I have licenses in 14 states, I have an unusual vantage point from which to compare hospitals. I know that people who ask this question presume that my answer will be heavily influenced by the town where the job is located, and all the associated extra-curriculars, environmental peculiarities (ocean, mountains, desert), and potential amenities. …
As with the beginning of each new year, the word “improved” gets bandied about: improved patient care, improved patient satisfaction, improved efficiency. Physicians are constantly being told to push past their burnout and embrace multitasking for the sake of improved health care delivery. Patients are told to “hurry up and wait” as they line up for health care like lemmings on the top of a cliff.
Physicians need to complete about 50 hours of some kind of continuing medical education (CME) every year. The ideal kind of class is one that we actually attend in person, with teachers who are expert in the field being taught and are somewhere near the cutting edge. CME classes are especially nice when they include something hands-on rather than just a lecture format because much of medicine is hands on …
I recently took another survey confirming the obvious: As a resident, I am horribly burnt out. I sat, along with a half-dozen health care providers and bemoaned our current states. What, if anything, can we do about this? The typical answers came up: sleep more, increase our commitment to enjoyable activities outside of work. Oddly enough, there was little talk about the daily work itself, and how the medical culture …
Referring physicians are critically important not just for the care and attention we provide patients but also for the referrals we make to specialists. Patients don’t have access to the same data or knowledge that we as healthcare professionals possess, so as referring physicians we can have a significant impact on our patients’ health after they’ve left our immediate care.
Big data has given us more information than ever in making …
The time of year that brings friends, family, and colleagues together to cheer and commiserate over brackets and games. When it comes to the final two weekends, it is often the same teams year after year. What can the coaches of great teams teach us about doctoring?
Preparation and fundamentals (John Wooden, UCLA)
The first thing coach John Wooden taught his players was how to put on their shoes and socks. …
“Samantha is your next patient,” my medical assistant informs me in my primary care clinic. Samantha is a Caucasian woman in her late 40s, and I typically find her in the room with well-groomed blond hair and a cheerful outfit, such as a pink blouse, a flowery skirt, and golden sandals. She has been my patient for over a year, and I know that her life is anything but cheerful. …
The last few days have been really busy, but they still felt controlled, almost leisurely and smooth. Patients have been seen on time, my office notes have been completed in real-time, and my superbills have been submitted before each patient reached the check-out station. Things were really humming.
The new nurse noticed that I was humming each time I dashed back to …
Purvi Patel was found guilty of both feticide and child neglect in Indiana in February and now faces 70 years in jail. A jury deliberated for about 5 hours, even though there are no facts supporting either the feticide claim or the neglect, never mind the travesty that child neglect and feticide are incompatible charges. It’s hard to neglect a baby you have already been found guilty of killing as a fetus. …
Although I pride myself on catching the obscure snapshots of typical life moments that occur daily while dealing with patients and their families in the emergency department, occasionally there are times when I am so focused on the task at hand that I completely fail to see a glaring moment of obvious humor, sadness, or tenderness. At times like this, then, I am glad to have our hard-working nurses and …
The following is Dr. Pamela Wible’s testimony in support of medical student mental health to the Missouri State Legislature for House Bill 867.
I’m Dr. Pamela Wible, a family physician in Oregon. I’ve submitted my CV, witness form, and transcript of my testimony to Chairman Frederick. My schedule prevents me from traveling to Missouri for today’s hearing; however, I thank Vice Chairman Morris and the Committee for allowing me to …
I used to think that there was a communication gulf between doctors and patients. Somewhere in the hubbub of the harried office visit some secret sauce was missing. A divide that was so fundamental that both parties often left the room feeling disjointed and uneasy. Patients wondered if doctors truly heard them. Physicians wondered if anyone was listening to what they were saying. The tension ebbed and flowed but never …
Our specialty of hospital medicine has grown exponentially over the last decade and now finds itself at the forefront of American medicine. I’m proud to be part of such a growing movement and must say that I find the job just as rewarding as when I first became an attending physician when the specialty was still in its fledgling stage.
As the number of us soars towards the 50,000 mark, the …
1. Be yourself and learn to be flexible. Don’t ever change who you are as a person. It’s OK to have a personality of your own. If you secretly listen to Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off on the way to work, it’s OK. As a junior member of the team it’s very unlikely your iPhone playlist will make the cut for the operating room …
I’m in a room full of doctors at my mom’s 50th medical school reunion when I announce, “It’s almost March 30th!” I pause. “Doesn’t anyone know what March 30th is?” Nobody has a clue.
March 30th is National Doctors’ Day! Who knew? I never heard of it — until a friend told me last week.
Veterans know about Veterans Day. Mothers know about …
Recently, I was asked to fill a questionnaire during check-out at a hotel in India. I was very pleased with my stay, so I agreed to provide feedback. It is worth pointing out that if I was only mildly satisfied I would not have agreed. If I was disappointed with my stay, I would have filled the form more enthusiastically.
At age 37, after a nearly 2-year battle with stage IV lung cancer, a talented neurosurgeon lost his battle. My oncology-related newsfeed is filled with stories this week about this brave and clever man’s recent passing. In a field where the recent tweets tout results of the latest clinical trials (overall survival prolonged from 2 months to 4 months!), it is sobering to be reminded of what truly matters to …
After years of quiet study in the libraries, laboratories, and lecture halls of Harvard Medical School, I finally made the tectonic shift to hospital life in the summer of 2006. The third year of medical school marks a …
