I was scheduled to see a prominent federal judge in my office at 9:00 a.m. The judge requested the first appointment of the day and expected to be seen promptly at 9:00 a.m. I had an emergency providing care for a patient in clot retention. As a result, I was not able to see him at the designated time. At 9:15 a.m., he approached the desk and asked when he …
How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship
It is early Sunday morning—there’s the rare kind of quiet today that feels borrowed. My daughter is still asleep beside my wife, and the house is hushed in that golden stillness. I find myself flipping through the paper copy of The Rheumatologist’s “Best of 2024” supplement that had arrived earlier in the week—I just wanted a brief escape from medical records (and even more so, from studying).
Half-skimming, half-unwinding, I …
Rediscovering the soul of medicine in the quiet of a Sunday morning
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Occupational medicine physician Robert Nathan Clapp discusses his article, “Why you should take a closer look at occupational and environmental medicine.” Addressing the pervasive issue of physician burnout, Robert introduces occupational and …
An introduction to occupational and environmental medicine [PODCAST]
Faculty retention remains an ongoing concern for colleges and universities, especially at a time when there is a clear misalignment between the socio-political environment, the mission of higher education, and the values held by most faculty. If you’ve been paying attention, you know: higher education is experiencing waves of faculty disengagement.
However, some institutions respond to crises not with dialogue, but with silence. They avoid confronting faculty concerns …
Does silence as a faculty retention strategy in academic medicine and health sciences work?
In an interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed whether society should bear the cost of health care for individuals whose health problems are largely self-inflicted, citing smoking as an example. He questioned the fairness of providing the same level of care to people who, in his words, “predictably get sick” from behaviors like smoking as to those born with congenital illnesses.
While emphasizing personal responsibility is important, this …
Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction
Shortly after taking the oath of office on January 20, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump issued two Executive Orders: One halted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government, and another mandated the use of “sex,” rather than “gender,” in official federal documents while simultaneously terminating federal funding for gender-affirming care. In the days that followed, institutions …
How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care
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Journalist and patient advocate Carol Steinberg discusses her article, “Alzheimer’s impact on the young should be an open book.” She argues that while Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) …
Alzheimer’s and the family: Opening the conversation with children [PODCAST]
The mental health crisis in America continues to intensify. With therapist shortages, high costs, and long waitlists, there are millions of people without access to therapy. As a cognitive scientist who analyzed therapy transcripts in grad school and now develops AI mental health applications, I’ve observed artificial intelligence emerging as a complementary solution to these accessibility challenges.
AI in mental health: a new frontier for therapy and support
I recently wrote about my experience of becoming a patient and how that change in role transformed my perspective as a doctor. But, in that article, I did not share that the reason I had become a patient was that I was undergoing a biopsy for potential prostate cancer.
In preparation for the procedure, the doctor reassured me that the outlook was good and that he did not expect to …
What prostate cancer taught this physician about being a patient
I was at a conference of physician executives and physician founders recently, and there were many stimulating conversations. The idea that AI could see us as a threat and eventually destroy us came up in various forms, often as a half-serious joke. Half-serious jokes are serious concerns. Indeed, astrophysicist Martin Rees predicted that humanity had a 50 percent chance of destroying itself this century due to technological advances and threats, …
Why fearing AI is really about fearing ourselves
Practicing medicine today is not what most of us envisioned when we chose it as a profession. We still love science. We still love health. We still love helping patients and being healers.
But the practice of medicine has changed—and continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Navigating this shifting landscape requires a new mindset—one rooted in adaptability, self-awareness, and resilience. The way we were trained to practice medicine twenty or …
The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you
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Pediatrician and holistic wellness expert Noemi Adame discusses her article, “Having a female doctor is better for your health, but not for hers.” She highlights research indicating patients often experience better outcomes—including …
Why great patient outcomes don’t protect female doctors from burnout [PODCAST]
More women than ever before are receiving ADHD diagnoses. From 2020 to 2022, the percentage of adult women with a new diagnosis nearly doubled, and clinicians continue to encounter higher rates of women seeking assessments.
It’s reassuring that, after decades of association with rambunctious little boys, ADHD is finally being acknowledged as a condition that can affect anyone, regardless of age or …
Why ADHD in women is finally getting the attention it deserves
This article is satire.
Dr. Donovan Trumble was not your average internist.
In fact, if you asked him, he wasn’t your average anything.
He called himself “the most successful physician-researcher in America—maybe ever,” and once declared during grand rounds, “If Sir William Osler were alive today, he’d be my opening act.”
To the faculty at the Ivy League medical school where Trumble had once chaired the Department of Clinical Egotism (officially “Translational Medicine,” but …
How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor
It’s a common scenario in the emergency department (ED). Peak cold and flu season brings in patients complaining of fever and chills, with increased heart rates and elevated white blood cell counts. Too many patients, not enough beds. As emergency medicine providers, we have to make quick, challenging decisions at triage, prioritizing the sickest patients based on their vitals and symptoms and getting them on the right care pathway.
Why ruling out sepsis in emergency departments can be lifesaving
Spinal surgery patients frequently present to me after multiple years of managing their chronic back pain through physical therapy, injections, medications, and alternative treatment methods. Patients arrive at my office already worn out physically and emotionally drained from frustration about their chronic condition. What increases my concern is that irreversible damage has already resulted in many cases, which could have been reduced or prevented through earlier surgical treatment.
I recommend starting …
The hidden cost of delaying back surgery
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Hematology-oncology physician Yousuf Zafar discusses his article, “The personalization of cancer care in 2025.” He traces the evolution of cancer treatment over the past two decades, moving through waves of cytotoxic chemotherapy, …
Precision and personalization: Charting the future of cancer care [PODCAST]
This article is sponsored by Microsoft Dragon Copilot.
Microsoft Dragon Copilot, part of Microsoft Cloud for Health Care, provides an AI assistant for clinical workflow. It combines ambient conversation capture, natural language understanding, and advanced generative AI to streamline documentation, surface information, and automate …
Another day, more slides pass under my lens. Each represents a patient, a family, friends, uncertainty—maybe the beginning of a journey they are soon to realize, maybe it is the end of a journey. Each is unique.
These are turbulent times we live in. Deep divides separate our country. However, under the microscope there are no politics, no labels or preconceptions. The rainbow of colors the cells illuminate shines bright for …
The lab behind the lens: Equity begins with diagnosis
Venous leak syndrome (VLS) affects all men. In time, every man gets it. Yet no one talks about it. Fortunately, for most men, there is an easy, non-pill solution.
Men with this condition get it up, but can’t keep it up as easily and as long as they could in their youth. In short, VLS is blood leaking from the penis’ veins. By age 70, men may be …
Venous leak syndrome: a silent challenge faced by all men
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