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Medical student Rishma Jivan discusses her article, “Medical curriculum 2.0: Integrating technology and innovation in medical education.” She argues for an urgent update to medical training, embedding technology and innovation as core …
Rethinking medical education for a technology-driven era in health care [PODCAST]
Here in the Midwest we have finally made it through the doldrums of winter, which also indicates the season that basketball fans eagerly anticipate all year: March Madness.
The annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) single-elimination basketball tournament inspires millions of folks to fill out brackets predicting the winners, myself included. I love sports for a multitude of reasons, and witnessing these young adults experiencing some of the best—and hardest—moments of …
From basketball to bedside: Finding connection through March Madness
Integrity and trust are foundational. But today, that trust is under assault—not from human error, nor negligence, but from the sophisticated but disturbingly unreliable outputs of artificial intelligence (AI). What the media euphemistically calls “AI hallucinations” are not benign mistakes—they are dangerous fabrications, systematically undermining both clinical and legal standards.
As a psychiatrist, I confront the reality of hallucinations regularly. Patients vividly describe voices, visions, and sensations with profound distress. Hallucinations, …
In medicine and law, professions that society relies upon for accuracy
There’s an ever-growing body of evidence to suggest that diabetes contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Some even go so far as to dub Alzheimer’s disease “diabetes type III.”
How might diabetes cause Alzheimer’s disease?
It’s the sugar: Chronic high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) can damage blood vessels, including those in the brain. This vascular damage reduces oxygen and nutrient delivery to brain cells, increasing …
Diabetes and Alzheimer’s: What your blood sugar might be doing to your brain
Mother scholar.
The phrase rolls off the tongue with the force and ferocity of a curse word—blunt, unsparing, weighty. I didn’t coin the term, but I inhabit it. A vessel for the seeming contradictions of tenderness and skepticism, integration and dissection. Of being simultaneously maternal and cerebral in institutions that reward detachment, autonomy, and efficiency.
As I sit in reflection this May—a month of devotion to motherhood and due dates for faculty …
How motherhood reshaped my identity as a scientist and teacher
The heart, often overlooked in its relentless duty, only garners attention when it falters. For centuries, the notion that life is impossible without this vital organ has been unchallenged. However, recent advancements have shattered this belief. The groundbreaking implantation of a fully artificial heart by BiVOCAR, led by the visionary Dr. Daniel Timm, heralds a new era in cardiothoracic surgery. This achievement is not just a medical milestone; it is …
Jumpstarting African health care with the beats of innovation
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Gastroenterologist Shamita B. Shah discusses her article, “How doctors can help IBD patients manage symptoms between visits.” Addressing the rising prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the U.S., Shamita highlights the …
Empowering IBD patients: tools for managing symptoms between doctor visits [PODCAST]
After 35 years in health care, I thought I’d seen it all—until it happened to me.
We talk about burnout, compassion fatigue, and systemic issues in medicine. But there’s something more silent, more painful, and far more personal happening in hospitals and clinics across the country: Generational warfare.
The young eat the old. And the old? We’re expected to disappear quietly.
In my early years, experience was respected. Elders were mentors. Wisdom mattered.
Now, …
Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care
Medicine demands fast decisions.
Chest pain in triage. A vague complaint from an elderly patient. A scan with subtle shadows.
But the speed that saves lives can also lead to predictable, systematic errors, especially when we trust our gut too much.
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman taught us that we do not have one mind. We have two.
System 1 is fast, intuitive, and automatic. It makes snap …
When I read Didi’s story, my heart recognized every detail—the subtle disrespect, the overt hostility, the isolation. I felt seen. Not just because I understood her pain but because I lived it, too.
In 1998, I began medical school in Oklahoma. Young, hopeful, and profoundly aware of the honor medicine held, I imagined a career built on compassion and respect. Instead, what greeted me was bias, microaggressions, and disrespect—from seniors, nurses, …
The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians
When I was unemployed, I applied for countless positions. For months, I have been waiting for a call letter regarding a test or an interview. Now that I have accepted a job at a hospital located far away, I receive call letters in the mail almost every day. This makes me uncomfortable because I know that, being new in my position, I cannot take time off for any test or …
A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy
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Practicing internist and psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “How America became overmedicated—and what we can do about it.” He raises concerns about the high rate of psychotropic medication use in …
Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]
In ancient times, there were oracles and soothsayers. Risk management was not a science until the 1950s. However, a medical malpractice lawsuit is still a problem in need of a skilled risk manager, not an oracle or a soothsayer.
Today, there are 1 million physicians practicing in the U.S. A doctor’s chance of being sued for medical malpractice is 8.5 percent per year, and the chance that this lawsuit has no …
The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control
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]
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