Physician

Uncovering the controversial debate surrounding climate change

Physician
April 10, 2023

In a recent posting, “The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools,” the author concluded that climate change is “here and undeniable” and, based on her experience of wildfires, that the cataclysmic consequences are already upon us.

Many would disagree, including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. Ivar Giaever who, on resigning from the American Physical Society (APS) in protest, wrote: “In the APS it is OK to discuss whether …

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Physician burnout solutions should be focused on subtraction not addition

Physician
April 9, 2023

I am naturally a problem solver, and I share this characteristic with most of my fellow physicians. When I felt burned out at one point in my career, I was certain that a literature search would help me solve the problem by giving me answers I could use to make my burnout a thing of the past.

My research, within the academic literature and information on the web, led to some …

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Medical autonomy: the untold struggles of employed doctors

Physician
April 9, 2023

Physicians caught in the tentacles of employment as a means of possibly earning higher incomes and, unfortunately, believing such a platform of medical practice is the panacea of satisfaction and reaching your medical practice expectations that permeate your retirement with regrets.

During my 14 years of clinical medical practice in various settings, including the military, HMOs, and as a hospitalist, my experiences disrupted my initial career plans and intensified my desire …

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Are these 6 habits making you unhappy?

Physician
April 8, 2023

We all know that life has its ups and downs.

And sometimes life gets really messy — and there are days and times that really suck! (No toxic positivity here.)

But we’re all just trying our best with what we have at that moment in time. (Don’t forget to give yourself some credit!)

That being said, there are also some habits that you may be (unconsciously) doing that are making …

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When AI rises: the great reversal of human privilege and its impact on society

Physician
April 7, 2023

In a broad, ironic sense, the relationship between privileged humans and the marginalized wilderness has shifted over time. As humanity evolved and overcame its previous disadvantages, people began to consider the possibility of limiting human population growth to protect the environment. However, with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), it seems that privileged humanity may eventually become marginalized itself. This raises questions about whether AI should be restricted or …

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Why the internet can’t replace your doctor

Physician
April 6, 2023

I saw a patient recently with a new brain tumor. She came with an internet search that suggested she had five years to live. I cannot beat that predictive confidence. The best I could do was to poke holes in the assumptions that servers and algorithms had made, to question the arc of the future, and finally to tell her that the tumor was small, likely benign, with minimal effect …

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Are predatory medical publishers exploiting peer review system? Here’s a solution.

Physician
April 6, 2023

With the booming economy of predatory publishing in medicine, it is time to rethink what constitutes peer review and how peers are being standardized.

Perhaps with the absence of standardization for anonymous peers, manuscripts should undergo a pre-publication trial solely by editors (judges) rather than awaiting trial by peers (juries) unless the recruitment of editors is not standardized as well.

By suggesting peer reviewers at the time of manuscript submissions, authors might …

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The shocking truth about the lack of business education for medical students

Physician
April 4, 2023

For the last century, no medical school in the U.S. has ever offered or provided business education to any medical students. Check it out yourself. Then consider, that over 95 percent of graduating physicians are business ignorant, after never being informed while in medical school about the substantial value that a business education provides to any physician, especially those in private medical practice. Why would that be?

That’s around 22,000 medical …

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The secret to finding joy: Defining what is enough for you

Physician
April 4, 2023

My hands were wet with warm soapy water as I washed the dinner pots and dishes. My mind wondered into autopilot, as it tends to do when I am doing my chores. I find washing dishes so mundane, so simple, so irritatingly boring. I begin the process grudgingly. After a few minutes, my thoughts start to change. I notice a certain peace and tranquility that comes from the process of …

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Breaking the silence on the harmful effects of the EMR

Physician
April 3, 2023

Well, it finally happened.

To me.

A physician.

I became an MD 30 years ago, long before the EMR existed. This was also well before Dr. Google appeared on the scene. A time when medical records existed only on paper.

I remember getting frustrated when I had to see a patient without their paper chart, as it was still in another physician’s office. I was griped about not being able to find a particular …

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Why would a pediatric neurosurgeon go crab fishing in the Bering Sea?

Physician
April 3, 2023

At one point, many of us will ask the questions, “Am I going to die? Am I safe? Who can I count on? It could be as you face your mortality or find yourself in a dangerous situation. Or, as it has been for many frontline health care professionals while facing a job-related risk like contracting COVID-19. Medical professionals are not the only ones who have experienced high levels of …

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The culture of my health care organization is broken. Is there hope?

Physician
April 3, 2023

A strong organizational culture is considered the secret sauce of successful organizations. But the Latin term, “Abyssus Abyssum Invocat” (“One Hell Calls Forth Another”), explains perfectly why it is increasingly difficult to maintain optimized organizational cultures in health care organizations.

Hell #1: Pre-pandemic, health systems and their workers in both Canada and the United States were highly stressed. The reasons were different; the end-consequences the same. And then, as predicted, this …

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Physicians cry too: 6 tips for coping with death and grief as a health care worker

Physician
April 3, 2023

“FYI, your patient died.”

This message from another physician sat in my Epic inbox. Feelings of disappointment and sadness surfaced as I prepared to start my overnight shift in the emergency department. The death of a child simplified to an Epic chat message felt eerily impersonal and distant. 

Months prior to receiving this message, I had another traumatic patient experience in the same emergency department. I will never forget the feeling …

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When losing a patient is more than just a defeat: a doctor’s story

Physician
April 2, 2023

“I feel tired,” said Mr. T. Mr. T was a 72-year-old man who came to our ED. For the last three days, he had been passing reddish urine. Two weeks before this, he had a bout of bronchitis that did not require hospitalization, just ciprofloxacin. He had made a full recovery. The emergency department ordered many tests, among which was a comprehensive metabolic panel and a complete blood count. It …

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What was right with me when I developed severe depression?

Physician
April 2, 2023

For several years, I fixated on what was wrong with me rather than seeing what was right with me when I developed symptoms of severe depression.

If you’re struggling, too, you’re not broken, either. What is your brain telling you?

While I am not a mental health professional and strongly advocate for people to get the support they need, as I have done throughout my journey, I share this reflection as a …

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Breaking the cycle of failure in modern medicine

Physician
April 1, 2023

The allopathic medical system has failed me – as a patient, mother, and physician. Like many physician peers, I entered the health care world with grand visions of healing others. I quickly learned during my clinical rotations in medical school that healing (in the truest sense of the word) was less likely but that helping was still possible. So I rolled up my sleeves and entered pediatric residency, where I …

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From license to loneliness: the dilemma of retired physicians

Physician
March 31, 2023

My email delivered a terse reminder. The board of medicine notified me that they had not yet received my license renewal application, just one month until the expiration of my current license. For a mere $100, I could sit through the required online child abuse reporting course and answer the questions as they arise. My CME is more than ample, as my other state license requires far more and is …

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Unlearning our habits: a journey from intelligence to wisdom

Physician
March 31, 2023

Not too long ago, I was struggling over a plate of meatloaf in the doctor’s dining room. Fortunately, the table conversation was better than the food. Somehow it turned to how early career doctors tend to mirror the culture and clinical habits from their training program and how it often takes years to unlearn habits that don’t serve us well in the long run, particularly habits related to work-life integration. …

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