An excerpt from Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General.
“I have learned that, when an idea’s time has come—and it is on your watch—you must seize the moment.”
– CEK, Glasgow speech
It would take C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., just an hour—one very well-prepared hour—to overturn nine months of obloquy and ridicule. In the process, he re-ordered the public face of …
C. Everett Koop’s fearless fight against the tobacco industry
Why do so many people share their harrowing airline experiences with me yet never document them or file complaints?
Some say they do not want to relive the trauma. Others feel embarrassed for having been ridiculed, either themselves or in front of their child. Many simply want to move on because, thankfully, nothing catastrophic happened.
But silence does not equate to safety.
If I …
Flying with food allergies: Combating misconceptions and advocating for safety
When I first started my career in medicine, CT scans and MRIs were nonexistent. Scientific advancements and technology facilitated the development of these and many other diagnostic tools.
These changes have enhanced medical care, enabling physicians to diagnose and treat patients more effectively. The integration of computers has played a crucial role in this advancement by ensuring better continuity of care, whether at home or in the hospital, through improved communication …
The business of medicine: How hospitals are putting profits over patients
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
The American medical system is ill, and physicians are among its sickest patients. As a dual-boarded physician, an assistant professor of family medicine, and someone who has walked the halls of both academia and clinical practice, I have witnessed firsthand the symptoms of this systemic disease. It is a sickness that manifests in exhaustion, …
The disease of modern medicine: How a sick system is failing physicians
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Pediatrician Derek W. Moss discusses his article, “How natural disasters reveal resilience and the power of community.” Derek reflects on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which flooded his Hendersonville Pediatrics practice and …
Rebuilding after disaster: lessons in community resilience [PODCAST]
Last night when I came to work most of the beds in our 31-bed emergency department (ED) were full. There were more than 20 patients either in the waiting room proper or in the chairs that serve as “rooms” behind the triage area.
Much of the problem was the fact that we were boarding patients who were waiting on inpatient beds, psychiatric admissions, or transfer to higher levels of care elsewhere. …
The emergency department crisis: Why patient boarding is dangerous
Many physicians are feeling profoundly betrayed right now.
We dedicated our lives to medicine, science, and healing. We sacrificed. We put our patients first, often at great personal cost.
The current political and public health landscape makes many of us feel disregarded, unheard, and deeply disrespected.
Health care, and we as physicians, feel under siege.
Public health policies are shifting in ways …
Physicians are feeling betrayed. How do we protect our peace when health care is under siege?
I have felt anxious for most of my life.
Born into a poor family, my main goal has always been to become independent enough to support myself without needing to ask anyone for money to meet my basic necessities.
I witnessed my father frequently asking others for help whenever he faced significant challenges that his limited salary could not cover. For instance, he would reach out to people when it came time …
How embracing uncertainty changed my life
Until now, when a lawsuit is frivolous, once a doctor who is the defendant prevails, the case concludes. However, there is a next step. Whether it is taken depends on this doctor.
Prevailing means there is 95 percent confidence that the lawsuit is frivolous. Not every frivolous lawsuit is malicious; however, every malicious lawsuit is frivolous. Malice is actionable.
As of now, malicious prosecution cases are difficult and expensive to prove because …
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Pediatric neurologist Paige Kalika discusses her article, “Learning the language of medicine: from student to fluent physician.” Paige compares mastering medicine to learning a language, from grasping basic vocabulary like anatomy to …
Mastering the language of medicine [PODCAST]
An excerpt from About Your Black Transgender Child: Answers to MOST of Your Burning Questions.
“Mom, I would never have told my doctor because you were my doctor.”
—My trans young adult
Those words hit me hard!
My eldest offspring said them to me recently while we were having a conversation. I had shared my thoughts about the need for pediatricians and other physicians …
How to advocate for your transgender child’s health care
This story is dedicated to all my female friends in medicine.
Didi does not love her job. What started as a noble purpose of helping people made her feel as though she has become a glorified customer service representative. She focuses on her Hippocratic oath, all right. She’s an internist in her 30s, seeing about fifteen to twenty patients per day, and she’s fed up with the sense of disrespect.
It does …
The hidden bias young female physicians face every day
Blockbuster was once a dominant force in the video entertainment industry, with thousands of stores and near-total market control. However, when digital streaming services emerged, Blockbuster was slow to respond, dismissing Netflix as a passing trend. By the time it recognized the shift in consumer preferences, it was too late – the company collapsed, unable to compete in the new era of on-demand entertainment.
Health care, particularly primary …
Adapting to survive: lessons from Blockbuster for primary care
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Urologist David Canes discusses his article, “Why AI scribes are changing medicine and the hidden risks you must know.” He shares insights from using AI scribes in over 3,000 clinical encounters, noting …
Why doctors love AI scribes—and the risks they bring [PODCAST]
In past decades, physicians practiced medicine. The majority were dedicated to patient well-being. They were paternalistic and decided what was in their patients’ best interests, and patients generally trusted their judgments. In the 1970s, ethicists concluded that patients and clinicians should make treatment decisions jointly. This position has been championed since then, despite multiple surveys demonstrating that more than 50 percent of patients prefer their physicians to be the decision-makers. …
How corporate greed and politics are destroying health care
Pregnancy loss is always a deeply personal and often devastating experience, but for those who experience vanishing twin syndrome (VTS)—where one twin or multiple fetuses are lost during pregnancy—the loss can be uniquely isolating. Unlike a traditional miscarriage, VTS is often discovered incidentally during an ultrasound, leaving many patients to process their grief in the absence of clear guidance, emotional support, or even acknowledgment from their health care providers.
The silent grief of vanishing twin syndrome: Why words matter in health care
Aloma Isaac Junior, a Nigerian comedian popularly known as Zicsaloma, recently underwent rhinoplasty. This intervention exposed deep-rooted biases about masculinity, beauty, and body autonomy in Africa. Instead of curiosity or support, his decision was met with mockery, outrage, and accusations of self-hate.
This backlash reveals a cultural blind spot. Plastic surgery is often seen as an indulgence for women, while men are expected to accept their looks as they are. Medical …
Normalizing male plastic surgery in Africa
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Developmental pediatrician Fiorella Castillo discusses her article, “Advocating for immigrant children: a doctor’s perspective.” Fiorella shares her firsthand experiences supporting immigrant families as they navigate developmental disabilities like autism and ADHD in …
Protecting immigrant families: a pediatrician’s call to action [PODCAST]
In her KevinMD article, Janet Constance Coleman-Belin describes the overwhelming difficulties increasingly being seen by many during their medical education and now facing many more of our young, bright minds as they choose and migrate into their future life’s work.
I suggest that a majority of these difficulties are pressures witnessed and felt as these students begin to enter clinical workplaces—the same pressures being experienced by …
The hidden cost of a medical career: Is it still worth it?
An excerpt from Your Body, Your Health Care.
Tens of millions of American women—more than four out of five women who have had sexual intercourse—have used oral contraceptives, which are crucial for reducing unwanted pregnancies and the incidence of abortion. Obtaining a physician’s prescription can add up to $200 plus time and inconvenience to the cost of “the pill.” Nearly a third of American women who seek prescriptions for oral …
The FDA’s outdated prescription rules are failing women and opioid users
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