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When asking one more question can change everything

Zain Abidin

Conditions

May 5, 2025

She looked relatively healthy. Middle-aged, calm, composed. She had tried everything—until she hadn’t. That’s how she found herself on the OR schedule for a hysterectomy.

Years of irregular, heavy bleeding had led her here. She didn’t want surgery, but she was tired. Tired of bleeding, tired of not being heard, tired of grasping for answers. This was the final option, or so it seemed.

But then, just before the surgery, a resident …

The geriatrician who prescribes matzah and meaning in Miami Beach

Amiel Levin, MD

Physician

May 5, 2025

“Take two and call me in the morning,” I say as I hand two handmade matzahs to my longtime patients, Isaac and Joelle Zimbalist. They laugh, understanding the deeper message.

For me, being a doctor isn’t just about treating symptoms — it’s about nurturing the whole person, body and soul.

For over twenty years, I’ve been blessed to serve the Miami Beach community …

Understanding the ADHD brain: support, empowerment, and managing challenges [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 4, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Pediatric neurologist Paige Kalika discusses her article, “Why ADHD kids struggle and how we can truly help,” sharing insights from her perspective as a pediatric neurologist and parent of a child with …

Why it’s time for doctors to become performance coaches

Michael Day, MD

Physician

May 4, 2025

The American public has lost its faith in the traditional U.S. health care system. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White’s statement is representative: “Do not talk to a doctor about your general health.”

This is not a fringe sentiment.

A 2022 survey of 4,208 adults in the U.S. revealed that only 54 percent of respondents placed “a great deal” of trust in doctors as sources of information.

I have patients who tell …

You have nothing to prove: a bold message for every overwhelmed doctor

Shanice Spence-Miller, MD

Physician

May 4, 2025

She hadn’t realized how long she’d been running—until the moment she couldn’t.

The day had unfolded like any other. The pager buzzed. The notes piled up. Her voice moved on autopilot, delivering information, comfort, instructions. Beneath the rhythm of her routine was a quiet discomfort she’d been ignoring for weeks—maybe longer. She told herself it was nothing. There was always something more urgent, someone else to care for. That’s the thing …

The hidden impact of denials on health care systems

Diana Ortiz, JD

Finance

May 4, 2025

Hospitals are facing unprecedented financial pressures, with staffing shortages and shrinking margins. Revenue cycle teams are stretched thin, and hospital leaders and health care professionals must continue to find ways to reduce costs and improve financial health.

One often overlooked opportunity to improve financial stability is denials management, which includes prevention strategies. Although hospital leaders and revenue cycle managers recognize denials as a significant issue, their lack of visibility to the …

Acknowledging the silent grief of vanishing twin syndrome [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 3, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Research scientist Nichole Cubbage discusses her article, “The silent grief of vanishing twin syndrome: Why words matter in health care.” She explains that Vanishing Twin Syndrome (VTS), the loss of one fetus …

A doctor’s emotional struggle with a young leukemia patient

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

May 3, 2025

I am currently working as a senior registrar in the oncology unit of a trust hospital. We admit both oncology and hematology patients in the same ward, meaning we care for patients with solid tumors as well as those with blood cancers. Our hospital has only one oncology ward, which has ten beds. Since it is a trust hospital, most treatments are provided completely free of charge. I love working …

DSM-5 doesn’t name it, but moral distress is everywhere in medicine

Jenny Shields, PhD

Conditions

May 3, 2025

The mental health crisis clinicians face but won’t talk about this May

Ask anyone about health care reform, and you’ll likely get passionate responses. Single-payer versus market-driven. Universal coverage versus cost-containment. Clinicians, though, usually have simpler wishes: fewer hours spent charting, more time spent actually caring.

But there’s a quieter, deeper conversation that’s rarely included when we talk about health care’s problems: moral distress.

How a restaurant principle can transform your patient care

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

May 3, 2025

Critical to success in the restaurant industry is the practice of preparation, referred to as mise en place, a French term meaning “putting in place.” In a culinary context, mise en place signifies preparing all utensils and ingredients before you start cooking. Mise en place is required in culinary schools and high-end restaurant kitchens.

Mise en place is a guiding principle in any field, increasing productivity and improving workflow.

Here are three …

The quiet segregation no one talks about in medical school

Seema Pattni, MD

Education

May 3, 2025

I hated so much of medical school.

Not all of it.

I started eager,
positive and bright.
I was excited.

But I struggled to belong.

There was unwritten, informal
segregation.

Fresher’s week:
I was stoked to try out new things…
Hockey and rowing turned me away—
lack of experience.

I tried something more familiar:
Hindu society.
I was shocked—
they asked me what caste I was from.

It was even in the lecture theatre:
white rugby at the back,
serious Asians at the front,
party Asians in the middle,
cool …

C. Everett Koop’s defining stand against the tobacco industry [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 2, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Historian and ethicist Nigel Cameron discusses his article, “C. Everett Koop’s fearless fight against the tobacco industry,” drawn from his biography of the former U.S. surgeon general. He recounts how C. Everett …

Not all heroes wear capes: Sometimes they just speak up in meetings

All Levels Leadership

Physician

May 2, 2025

In medicine, heroism is often framed in dramatic, high-stakes terms: the code blue that saves a life, the pediatric cancer patient who returns to their family disease-free, or the impossible aneurysm that is successfully clipped by the neurosurgeon. But not all heroics come with a life-altering intervention. Sometimes, the most courageous act in a physician’s day happens in a conference room, during a faculty meeting, or after rounds—when someone chooses …

Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

Anonymous

Physician

May 2, 2025

Hypothetically, imagine you complete three years of internal medicine residency; working nights, managing complex cases, making real decisions. Then you’re told: To work in the hospital, in the in-patient setting, you must complete additional years of fellowship training.

At that point, a reasonable person might ask: Wait, what was residency for? If three years of supervised, graduated responsibility isn’t sufficient preparation, then either the residency is flawed, or the requirement is …

Why physicians are unlike the “average” investor

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Finance

May 2, 2025

An excerpt from Wealth Strategies for Today’s Physician: A Multi-Media Playbook.

Physicians of all specialties are different from the average U.S. investor in several important ways. This statement reflects data in key areas that impact fundamental aspects of investing and wealth management. It is important for physicians to realize these differences because most financial news, whether in print, online, or on television, is geared to the average investor. Therefore, media …

The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

Richard A. Lawhern, PhD

Meds

May 2, 2025

As a health care writer and data analyst, I hear frequently from patients who are being denied safe and effective pain care due to unscientific bias on the part of U.S. health care agencies—and sometimes on the part of otherwise once-reputable medical journals. These are among millions of U.S. citizens who are now being deserted by the medical profession.

Thousands, overcome by their pain and depression, have already …

The origin of medical licensing exams

Aamir Hussain, MD

Education

May 2, 2025

In January 2022, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 transitioned to a pass/fail format, sparking debate over how best to assess physician competence in an era where medical misinformation proliferates online. Although medical students loathe any mention of exams, we cannot deny that licensing exams are an important barrier to ensure baseline knowledge, and to prevent quacks and snake-oil salesmen from harming the public. This article explores …

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The origin of medical licensing exams

Focusing on medicine’s core, not administrative chores [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 1, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Physician executive Grace E. Terrell discusses her article, “Physicians must innovate and focus on medicine’s core, not chores.” She introduces the concept of “core vs. chore,” urging health care workers to distinguish …

When America sneezes, the world catches a cold: Trump’s freeze on HIV/AIDS funding

Koketso Masenya

Policy

May 1, 2025

On the 20th of January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that initiated a freeze on foreign aid, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This abrupt suspension of funding has triggered a global health crisis, undermining decades of progress in combating HIV/AIDS and endangering millions of lives across the globe.

PEPFAR and its global success

Launched in 2003 under …

Burnout isn’t ironclad—and neither are we

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

May 1, 2025

Ah, burnout! That word is used so often in medicine that it now has its own ICD-10 code.

Medical professionals are no strangers to pushing beyond exhaustion, running on fumes, and convincing ourselves that a steady IV drip of caffeine and sheer willpower is an appropriate substitute for sleep.

I should know—I lived it. I was running a busy medical practice, managing over a dozen staff …