Physician

Rethinking shift work: Why “job sharing” is the key to happier, healthier doctors

Physician

December 25, 2024

In the realm of shift-based health care, the term “job sharing” doesn’t technically exist—after all, shifts aren’t a single continuous job to split. Yet, still, a full-time workload is considered the norm, and the concept of dividing the workload among multiple physicians rather than relying on one overburdened individual feels revolutionary in a field where burnout is rampant.

For independent contractors, who often enjoy the flexibility to choose when and how …

The oxygen mask principle: a critical lesson in health care self-preservation

Pamela Buchanan, MD

Physician

December 24, 2024

In the high-stakes world of health care, medical professionals are renowned for their selfless dedication to patient care. They work long hours, navigate complex medical challenges, and consistently prioritize the needs of others. Yet, within this culture of compassion, there exists a profound and often overlooked truth: to provide optimal care, health care workers must first care for themselves.

The oxygen mask principle, famously demonstrated during pre-flight safety instructions on commercial …

Beware of these talking points in medical malpractice litigation

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

December 24, 2024

A medical liability litigation industrial complex manipulates medical liability litigation with three talking points. As a result, 85,000 lawsuits are filed per year. Of these, 56,000 are summarily dropped; 28,000 are settled; 300 are plaintiff verdicts, and 700 are defense verdicts. The cost of health care is $60 billion per year, and the medical liability litigation industrial complex takes a chunk of the action. There is considerable uncertainty. Facilities close …

Emergency medicine: Balancing challenges, rewards, and well-being

Maureen Gibbons, MD

Physician

December 23, 2024

Emergency medicine is one of the most challenging and rewarding specialties in health care. We are required to be clear-headed enough to make quick decisions while sleeping when we can, hugging our families while we can, and forming unshakable bonds with our colleagues over shared triumph and tragedy.

For many emergency physicians, these challenges come at the expense of their own health and well-being, yet we don’t see it. At least …

Forgiveness: Why it’s the hardest and most rewarding act of humanity

Dr. Damane Zehra

Physician

December 23, 2024

I believe in forgiveness and not hating anyone, no matter what. But, ultimately, we are all human. I believe in karma, and we should not hurt or push people to their limits so much that they become damaged beyond repair. I’ve seen cruel people end up in miserable lives. Some people excel at concealing their sorrows, while others struggle. But we indeed reap what we sow. Those who are cruel …

How a doctor’s clever approach restored a life—and a marriage

Janet Tamaren, MD

Physician

December 22, 2024

An excerpt from Yankee Doctor in the Bible Belt: A Memoir.

Doctoring in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, I met Mrs. Snoop, a new patient at the clinic. She is 38 years old. Her chief complaint, according to her husband, is “not wanting to have sex.” He speaks on her behalf, sitting in the corner in grease-spattered overalls and heavy work boots.

On examination, Mrs. Snoop …

Society is obsessed with weight loss

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Physician

December 21, 2024

Society is obsessed with weight loss. Part of my brain is, too, albeit I am well aware that there will be no number low enough on the scale to satisfy that part of me.

Anorexia nervosa is a poorly understood and mismanaged condition from my perspective as a health care professional and patient with lived experience. Society seems to glorify anorexia, and people compliment what may often be maladaptive behaviors (such …

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Society is obsessed with weight loss

Long-term impacts of physician suicide on patients and doctors

Kim Downey, PT & Todd Otten, MD

Physician

December 21, 2024

Kim Downey:

Pulling into my driveway, I grabbed a handful of envelopes from the mailbox, one of which was from my doctor’s office. I could tell it wasn’t a bill, and I became anxious. Upon opening it, I was relieved to find that it wasn’t about my doctor leaving his practice or that anything had happened to him. Rather, it was a notification that another doctor I’d seen once was leaving. …

They thought motherhood would break you, and you almost agreed

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

December 20, 2024

Before children (B.C.), life was completely different. I had the kind of freedom I didn’t even realize I had. I could decide, on a whim, to go out for dinner, catch a late movie, or simply lie in bed doing absolutely nothing (well, that part rarely happened as I was too busy either in school or thinking about work). I could stay up late, not because I had to, but …

How a psychiatrist rebuilt trust with a patient in crisis

Chika Oriuwa, MD

Physician

December 19, 2024

I was trained in my first month of residency, during onboarding, to always position myself closest to the door when interviewing a patient, as situations can escalate quickly and become potentially dangerous. “If a patient stands, you stand,” my preceptor said to me during safety training. Her words came back to …

Why the U.S. health care system is failing patients—what every American should know

Mark Goldfarb, MD

Physician

December 17, 2024

I’m a semi-retired cardiologist. I currently volunteer at a free community health clinic for individuals who do not have health insurance. Many of these individuals are undocumented foreign workers, yet we care for them seamlessly, without the restraints of our bureaucratic billing system and the burdens and restrictions promoted by the insurance industry.

As I age, to my chagrin and utter dismay, I have also unfortunately become a patient. I have …

Taglines, chief complaints, and the risk of losing the story

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

December 17, 2024

A fellow writer and I were having an online exchange. She said her painting was being interrupted by bursts of writing. She texted, “I’m writing about how storytelling is liberating itself from commerce, politics, religion, and emerging as medicine and culture.”

I asked if I could use her quote as my biographical tagline. On my LinkedIn profile I could say: “I write about how storytelling liberates us from commerce, politics, and …

Why a visit to my old school brought tears of nostalgia and gratitude

Dr. Damane Zehra

Physician

December 17, 2024

I visited my school after many years. I enrolled in first grade in 1998 at age five and graduated from FSc Pre-Medical (12th grade) in 2011. After that, I started medical school in 2012, and since then, I haven’t returned to my school.

It was one of those schools where skipping classes was simply not an option. The teachers were professional, dedicated, and sincere. Although it was a government school with …

The hidden cost of neglecting self-care: the autoimmune connection

Pamela Buchanan, MD

Physician

December 16, 2024

Imagine your immune system as a vigilant guardian suddenly turning against the body it’s meant to protect. This is the reality of autoimmune diseases—a group of complex conditions where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, leading to chronic illnesses like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.

A striking statistic reveals a sobering truth: 80 percent of autoimmune diseases occur in women, with an even more pronounced impact on Black women. …

High tech should not replace high talk and high touch in health care

Drew Remignanti, MD, MPH

Physician

December 16, 2024

Though many of the dollar-driven decision makers within health care would have us believe otherwise, we can’t AI, blood tests, or high-tech image our way out of our current U.S. health care mess. I learned this from having spent 40 years as a board-certified emergency physician and 50+ years as a chronic autoimmune disease patient. We must overtly acknowledge that all three of the above are simply supplemental tools. They …

A medical malpractice lawsuit is just words: Actions speak louder than words

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

December 15, 2024

Data indicates that there are 85,000 malpractice lawsuits filed per year. This is the status quo.

What if the status quo is worse? There are other data showing that 85,000 is only the number of lawsuits represented by lawyers. There are 3.065 million additional claims that lawyers do not represent. The total could be 3.15 million. Plaintiff lawyers agree that, for every 37 cases that cross their desks, 36 are summarily …

From burnout to breakthrough: Why treating yourself like a patient could save your medical career

Jeffrey Gladd, MD

Physician

December 15, 2024

I started my career in medicine with the same noble intentions that many physicians share—to help and care for people. But like so many of my colleagues, I quickly found myself consumed by a broken system.

Three years into my medical career, I was an overwhelmed family doctor in a small town, juggling urgent care, inpatient care, and seeing 40 patients a day—spending the typical average of just seven minutes with …

Perspective-taking in medicine: an important tool for educators to remember

Gurbaksh Esch, MD

Physician

December 14, 2024

I wrote an opinion piece, as a graduating medical student, in KevinMD a little over six years ago, expressing the importance of supporting medical students through confidence and encouragement. As a pediatric attending now, with my own trainees, I continue to support this “ask,” but I would love to add to it and give it a different perspective.

I recently realized that I have been feeling quite far removed from …

How a no-internet vacation transformed my life and career

Stephanie Wellington, MD

Physician

December 14, 2024

The vacation had been planned for months. With laptop in hand, I headed to my happy place… my favorite place in the sun. I was excited to check some things off my to-do list while enjoying the sun, the beach, and the breeze.

But things didn’t go as planned. For the next ten days, the internet service was out. Despite my daily calls to the service provider, hoping for a fix, …

How being “the problem” can make you a force for change

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Physician

December 13, 2024

The people unwilling to tolerate the BS in the face of dysfunction are often identified as the problem by those who have adapted to and/or benefit from maintaining the status quo. Too often, we believe it—that we are the problem. By challenging this belief and reframing it, we can reclaim our narrative and empower ourselves to stay true to our mission. We …

Physician

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