I recently came across a number for the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. It took me back to my first pregnancy and postpartum experience.
I belong to a traditional family where there is an expectation of bearing a child after a year of marriage. No one prepares the couple for it. No one talks about any challenges during pregnancy and after the child is born.
It was no different …
Day 1. I spent Thursday, my day off, golfing. Friday, I was scheduled to see patients and do surgery on the non-English-speaking mother of a patient I delivered a long time ago (who I didn’t really remember). She remembered me, though, and brought her mother from an hour away to see me. But as I coughed and felt slightly feverish, I realized that I had not felt well …
A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.
“I am so ashamed. I am truly sorry to anyone I hurt or offended.”
These were the first words Beverly said when I met her in the preoperative holding area before surgery. She was referring to her recent behavior during an episode of …
Work dread. Even if you didn’t know it had a name, you know the feeling. It is that sensation in the pit of your stomach when you realize that the start of your workday or workweek is fast approaching, and you don’t want it to come. Sometimes it begins on Sunday afternoon when you want to be enjoying time with your family. Other times, you might find yourself sitting in …
Three years ago, I was a physician in the “traditional” medical system seeing 25 to 28 patients every day. I spent hours writing notes to provide proper documentation for the correct billing code. Often, my time was spent calling insurance companies to justify the appropriateness of my medical care. More and more hours were spent on completing tasks for insurance companies rather than patient care. Like many of my colleagues, …
Do you feel EMR charting is a burden? Do you struggle to complete your notes on time? If you answered yes to one of those, you’re not alone!
Doctors spend, on average, 16 minutes in their EMR for each outpatient encounter. This represents several hours of your time each week! Writing comprehensive notes is a requirement in our practice for …
I always got my contacts from Costco, and it constantly felt like a chore. Like any child made to go on errands with their parents, Costco was my eye-rolling-moan-inducing trip.
I realized my eyes were inadequate in third grade while reciting the Hail Mary. I was a little distracted as my blue and green plaid skirt was all twisted and the scratchy green sweater vest a little too tight. Despite years …
Primary care is foundational to the U.S. health system, but not enough students are entering the field. Whether students are interested in medicine, nursing, social work or pharmacy — it is critical that we share the exciting aspects of primary care and then adequately prepare them to work in the field. High loan burden and low pay relative to other potential jobs and specialties and training within a culture that …
I walk onto the inpatient unit on a Monday morning. The feeling of discomfort begins to overwhelm me. Perhaps this was due to being forced back to inpatient, but I felt it had to do with changes in the process.
I started my training at a time when therapy was a central part of education. Understanding even the most psychotic patients was a key element of our field. I do not …
Many women change their last names after marriage, after a divorce, or just because. During my 30-year career in medicine, I have had three last names. Yes, not a typo, three!
I got married for the first time during my internal medicine residency. I didn’t change my name and was “Mrs. Married Name” to friends and family and “Dr. Maiden Name” at work. I grew as a physician, conducted research, and …
In the mid 16th century, surgical education was that of a true apprenticeship. The student learned through direct observership and imitation of a skilled, elder surgeon. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that surgical education evolved into a formalized and structured program. Dr. William Osler introduced the concepts of specialty clerkships and bedside rounds in the late 1800s. Graduated autonomy, introduced by Dr. William Halsted in the …
I’m not sure about you, but May 27 cannot come soon enough for me. Finally, after three years, we will get the next installment of Stranger Things and another round of monsters, friendships, and 80s memories.
For those of us Gen X-ers who grew up when all that retro fashion and music wasn’t retro, it’s a return to simpler days. Thankfully we didn’t have to worry about demogorgons IRL back then.
Now …
Burnout is a sign of something even more sinister. It’s a sign that our society is out of balance. We’ve become a society that values productivity above all else. We’re always working, hustling, and trying to get ahead. And, as a result, we’re burnout. We’re exhausted, anxious and depressed.
We’re struggling to keep up with the demands of our jobs and our lives. And, worst of all, we’re not even sure …
ADVERTISEMENT
An individual crisis unfolds daily. Each starts small. When I learned about epidemics in medical school, I thought they were uncommon. I was wrong.
COVID has taught us what happens if we do not address a crisis with the urgency it deserves.
The COVID crisis quickly became an epidemic and then a pandemic.
The obesity crisis is now an epidemic.
The substance abuse crisis is now an epidemic.
The mental health crisis is now an …
Choosing your employer is the most important next decision you will make for yourself. Signing that employment contract is the single most important use of your signature you will ink and affect your happiness for years, even the rest of your career. PAs and NPs: This applies to you, too.
1. Decide where you want to live. Location matters, and in today’s polarized political environment, choosing a state or region to …
I am a former associate director in a state physician health program (PHP). I also hold faculty appointments at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School in ethics and psychiatry. I started writing about PHPs a decade ago. Almost immediately, I started receiving emails and phone calls from physicians and their lawyers that had a disturbing theme. They’d been referred to their state PHP for a relatively minor issue, …
ADVERTISEMENT
This health policy consultant may have never cried in a doctor’s office before (“My doctor made me cry. It summed up everything that’s wrong with health care“), but I can practically guarantee that her doctor has. I know this because throughout my 20 years as a primary care physician, I have cried many times in my office, and so have most of my colleagues. I’m not talking …
I had wanted to take a long motorcycle trip for years, and I finally carved out two weeks to do so. My pal Doug and I packed our gear onto our Harleys and headed out without an itinerary. We would select the day’s route each morning. Initially, we enjoyed spectacular scenery and good times.
After a few days, however, we encountered pouring rain while winding through remote mountains. There was no …
After being a coach for a couple of years now, there is an immediate danger I see right now.
Many of you are doing too much. Unsustainable, dangerous amounts of work. Dangerous to yourself and dangerous to others, which makes it dangerous for you, too.
I’m not trying to be overdramatic, but I am shocked by how much overworking we are accepting.
Everyone’s definition of “overwork” will vary. And the hustle culture and …
ADVERTISEMENT
An excerpt from No More Neckties: A Memoir in Essays.
The sign that welcomed visitors to Wakefield, Nebraska, said: “Pop. 1030.” The town’s size didn’t vary in all the years I lived there. It was a close-knit community linked by culture, economy, religion, and blood. The people knew each …
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
