Physician voices

12,751 articles · Since 2006

Articles, page 59

How women physicians can go from burnout to thriving

July 12, 2025Jul 12, 2025

I've been working with women physicians intensively now for six years, and I've noticed a few things. The women I work with are amazing. They are altruistic and caring. They are resilient, independent, and able to put others' needs before…

I’ve been working with women physicians intensively now for six years, and I’ve noticed a few things.

The women I work with are amazing. They are altruistic and caring. They are resilient, independent, and able to put others’ needs before their own. They are smart, detail-oriented, and care about getting things right.

If you’re a patient (and we all are at some point), this is exactly what you want in your doctor. …

Why more doctors are choosing direct care over traditional health care

Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA

July 10, 2025Jul 10, 2025

Let's start with a simple truth: Medicine is hard. It's hard for doctors, and it's hard for patients. The headaches of today's health care ecosystem—endless paperwork, shrinking appointment times, and the ever-present shadow of insurance approvals—can make it feel like…

Let’s start with a simple truth: Medicine is hard.

It’s hard for doctors, and it’s hard for patients. The headaches of today’s health care ecosystem—endless paperwork, shrinking appointment times, and the ever-present shadow of insurance approvals—can make it feel like the heart of medicine is slipping away.

Lost in the system

For years, I practiced in the traditional insurance-based model. I loved being a doctor, but I found myself spending more time on …

How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

Neil Baum, MD

July 9, 2025Jul 9, 2025

An excerpt from Medicine is a Practice: The Rules for Healthcare Marketing. "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!" — The White Rabbit, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll Lewis Carroll wrote about the tardiness of the White…

An excerpt from Medicine is a Practice: The Rules for Healthcare Marketing.

“I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date!”
— The White Rabbit, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll wrote about the tardiness of the White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865. The problem of tardiness is older than the White Rabbit, and lack of punctuality plagues every profession and human interaction. Unfortunately, in the medical …

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How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

Menaka Pai, MD & Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD

July 9, 2025Jul 9, 2025

Medicine has long valorized the early riser - the physician who arrives before sunrise, who joins 7:30 a.m. meetings and stays for evening journal clubs, case conferences, and post-dinner networking events. These scheduling patterns have come to symbolize dedication, productivity,…

Medicine has long valorized the early riser – the physician who arrives before sunrise, who joins 7:30 a.m. meetings and stays for evening journal clubs, case conferences, and post-dinner networking events. These scheduling patterns have come to symbolize dedication, productivity, and professionalism. However, for many physicians, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, these norms reflect more than tradition; they represent structural exclusion.

The architecture of medical professionalism was built on an outdated …

Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

Ryan Nadelson, MD

July 9, 2025Jul 9, 2025

Physicians are human. Medicine is a career—not a lifelong vow of self-sacrifice. Yes, for some, it may feel like a calling. But let's be clear: Choosing medicine doesn't mean surrendering your identity forever. Times have changed. Our mindset must, too.…

Physicians are human. Medicine is a career—not a lifelong vow of self-sacrifice.

Yes, for some, it may feel like a calling. But let’s be clear: Choosing medicine doesn’t mean surrendering your identity forever. Times have changed. Our mindset must, too.

Working part-time, seeking balance, or transitioning into leadership, education, or non-clinical roles is not a betrayal of the profession. It’s growth. Yet these choices are too often dismissed as abandonment.

We must let …

Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH

July 9, 2025Jul 9, 2025

"The value of intuition in clinical practice" prompted me to reflect on one of the deeper regrets I carry from my clinical practice—those moments when I didn't fully acknowledge or act upon a parent's intuition, often a mother's, that something…

“The value of intuition in clinical practice” prompted me to reflect on one of the deeper regrets I carry from my clinical practice—those moments when I didn’t fully acknowledge or act upon a parent’s intuition, often a mother’s, that something was wrong with their child.

As clinicians, we are trained to listen for clinical “buzz words”—specific complaints or symptom patterns that guide our diagnostic reasoning. These cues form the backbone …

Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib

July 8, 2025Jul 8, 2025

The modern medical profession presents practitioners with an abundance of opportunities that extend far beyond traditional patient care. Today's physicians navigate complex roles as clinicians, researchers, educators, administrators, and community leaders while maintaining personal relationships and spiritual well-being. Rather than…

The modern medical profession presents practitioners with an abundance of opportunities that extend far beyond traditional patient care. Today’s physicians navigate complex roles as clinicians, researchers, educators, administrators, and community leaders while maintaining personal relationships and spiritual well-being. Rather than viewing these diverse responsibilities as competing demands, successful physicians learn to integrate them into a balanced approach that prioritizes meaningful contribution over external recognition.

The myth of perfect balance

The concept of …

How regulatory overreach is destroying innovation in U.S. health care

Kayvan Haddadan, MD

July 8, 2025Jul 8, 2025

Health care regulatory bodies have embraced a dangerous "accuse first, prove later" strategy that is eroding the foundation of our health care system. Physicians, the bedrock of patient care, are being subjected to accusations based on flimsy, illegitimate reports or…

Health care regulatory bodies have embraced a dangerous “accuse first, prove later” strategy that is eroding the foundation of our health care system. Physicians, the bedrock of patient care, are being subjected to accusations based on flimsy, illegitimate reports or random audits. Rather than building cases on substantial initial evidence, these authorities thrive on retrospective scrutiny—analyzing old notes, reframing past actions, and bending interpretations of guidelines to validate their accusations. …

The unseen cost of detachment in radiology

Dr. Yesu Raju

July 7, 2025Jul 7, 2025

That was one of my uneventful night duties—until early morning. As usual, I had a hectic on-call day, where I barely got half an hour for dinner—which we consider routine. Around 3 a.m., I received a request for an abdominal CT scan for a middle-aged male patient with abdominal pain. The surgeons were suspecting mesenteric ischemia—blockage in abdominal vessels, which can be life-threatening.

I glanced through the scan, trying to open …

I thought success was a destination. Then I became a doctor.

Ryan Nadelson, MD

July 7, 2025Jul 7, 2025

When I began the journey to becoming a doctor, I believed success was a destination—a finish line I'd reach if I just worked hard enough, studied long enough, and sacrificed deeply enough. And I did all those things. I pushed…

When I began the journey to becoming a doctor, I believed success was a destination—a finish line I’d reach if I just worked hard enough, studied long enough, and sacrificed deeply enough.

And I did all those things.

I pushed through sleepless nights in college. Carried the weight of relentless pressure in medical school. Survived the grind of residency, where time lost all meaning. I lived with my eyes fixed on the …

How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD

July 5, 2025Jul 5, 2025

In the face of worsening health workforce shortages, Canada must shift from a culture of personal likability to a system of objective qualifications or merits in recruiting and retaining physicians. While team cohesion and interpersonal compatibility are essential, an overemphasis on “fit” or likability excludes talented physicians, particularly immigrants and racialized minorities, who may not share the cultural background, communication style, or social behaviors preferred by decision-makers. This practice undermines …

Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

Jessie Mahoney, MD

July 5, 2025Jul 5, 2025

Judgment pervades medicine—of patients, colleagues, and ourselves. We're trained to judge, disguised as caring, standards, and competence. It's seen as essential to being a "good physician." We do it so instinctively, we rarely question it. But we should. The culture…

Judgment pervades medicine—of patients, colleagues, and ourselves.

We’re trained to judge, disguised as caring, standards, and competence. It’s seen as essential to being a “good physician.” We do it so instinctively, we rarely question it.

But we should.

The culture of judgment in medicine

Judgment is baked into our training: The scrutiny of rounds, the competition of grades, the pressure of evaluations. It’s in our language: “noncompliant,” “failure to thrive,” “incompetent cervix.” Even our …

Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD

July 4, 2025Jul 4, 2025

In the current complex health care landscape, health care leaders are frequently challenged to make management decisions that are effective but also equitable. Numerous leadership transitions are occurring in Canada’s health care systems because of leadership failures. In British Columbia, multiple health care leaders were replaced in the first half of 2025. David Eby, British Columbia’s Premier, declared, “The anxiety that I have is that the people who see the …

The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

Tomi Mitchell, MD

July 3, 2025Jul 3, 2025

What's the least glamorous thing you've ever done as a physician on a holiday? Let me start. One year, I spent Christmas Day in the library. Not sipping cocoa. Not gathered with family in matching pyjamas. Not basking in the…

What’s the least glamorous thing you’ve ever done as a physician on a holiday?

Let me start.

One year, I spent Christmas Day in the library.

Not sipping cocoa. Not gathered with family in matching pyjamas. Not basking in the warmth of laughter or the gentle hush of snowfall outside a glowing window.

I was alone. In a silent room. Under sterile fluorescent lighting.

And I wasn’t escaping into fiction—I was studying for board exams, …

From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

Jessie Mahoney, MD

July 3, 2025Jul 3, 2025

When a neurosurgeon tells you she thinks she might want to leave surgery for interior design, you listen closely. Not because it's outrageous, but because it's honest. Many physicians carry similar longings. They wonder whether it's OK to want a…

When a neurosurgeon tells you she thinks she might want to leave surgery for interior design, you listen closely.

Not because it’s outrageous, but because it’s honest. Many physicians carry similar longings. They wonder whether it’s OK to want a different life.

In medicine, conformity is expected and often a means of survival. Especially for women in male-dominated fields. The unspoken expectation is to blend in, push through, and never question the …

Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

Clayton Foster, MD

July 2, 2025Jul 2, 2025

Most people could think of several good reasons to move to Hawai'i and work in health care. It's a beautiful gem of a place with welcoming people and Aloha Spirit. Why save up for an occasional Hawaiian vacation when you…

Most people could think of several good reasons to move to Hawai’i and work in health care. It’s a beautiful gem of a place with welcoming people and Aloha Spirit. Why save up for an occasional Hawaiian vacation when you could be enjoying sunny beaches, warm waters, and lush jungles year-round? The problem is that entry into Hawai’i’s health care system has largely become a revolving door of those who …

How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

Patrick Hudson, MD

July 1, 2025Jul 1, 2025

Across America, physicians worry about malpractice litigation—but what happens when state policies unintentionally create a malpractice litigation magnet? New Mexico offers a troubling case study every health care provider should know about. Between 2019 and 2024, New Mexico lost 248…

Between 2019 and 2024, New Mexico lost 248 practicing physicians; for a large state with a small population, this is significant. Rural communities bear the brunt of this exodus. Specialists, surgeons, and primary care doctors alike have left, most …

Why compassion—not credentials—defines great doctors

Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib

July 1, 2025Jul 1, 2025

I entered medicine like many young physicians do—eager, determined, and drawn to its promise of excellence. The white coat, the respect, the thrill of diagnosing a rare disease or saving a critical life—all of it called to me with undeniable force. I studied relentlessly, passed my boards, published research, and spoke on conference stages. Those achievements came with a sense of pride, even joy. But they were not the full …

Why Canada is losing its skilled immigrant doctors

Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD

June 30, 2025Jun 30, 2025

Canada prides itself on being a welcoming nation for immigrants, particularly those with advanced professional qualifications. However, Canada persistently underemploys highly skilled immigrant professionals, especially physicians. An official report by the Conference Board of Canada and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) in 2023 confirmed that growing numbers of immigrants are leaving Canada within seven years of landing. Daniel Bernhard, ICC’s chief executive, stated, “It’s not good enough to just …

Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

Maureen Gibbons, MD

June 30, 2025Jun 30, 2025

It rolled past me—the same dull, tan utility cart we usually use to haul IV pumps, portable monitors, or the occasional dead printer. No decorations. No sign. Just an enormous pile of candy and snacks. To be fair, it wasn't…

To be fair, it wasn’t bad candy. There were Kit Kats. Some decent chocolate. But still, the message was clear: “We see you. We care. Here’s a Kit Kat.” And because our admin staff does care—a …

Physician voices

Articles, page 59

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