Rediscovering life: a day of heightened awareness
The dryer clanks and clangs, a rhythm I thought I knew by heart. Cars hum past the house—loud, then quieter, until they fade into the distance. I’m alert, but it’s a selective kind of alertness. I sit in the stillness, waiting for the next thought to arrive. Except, it doesn’t. Is this what living in the moment feels like? Just waiting? Waiting for what?
In an attempt to understand time—this elusive …
The future of U.S. health care: 2030 and beyond
What will the U.S. health care industry look and feel like in 2023?
If you want to call the U.S. health care a “system” today, what will that “system” look like in the year 2030, and how will it handle the health care needs of an older, sicker population?
With nearly everyone calling for system change and reform, including “burn it to the ground” and more, let’s look at the demographics of …
The dark truth about dialysis
When a colleague recommended a book, I hoped it would be something enjoyable – perhaps a sports anthology, a music biography, or even a novel. Unfortunately, it was about dialysis, the great American scam that it is.
As a nephrologist (kidney doctor), I had already come to the same conclusion. Here’s why, supported by Tom Mueller’s meticulous research in How To Make a Killing: Blood, Death and Dollars in American …
Physicians behind bars: the consequences of medical misjustice
In 1985, Mr. Charles McCrory was on trial. Charles had found his wife dead, and her family was convinced that he was responsible, despite the fact that Charles denied any involvement and just wanted to grieve in peace. There was no real evidence against him, but the state had an ace up its sleeve in the form of Dr. Richard Souviron.
Dr. Souviron was a forensic odontologist, which is a dentist …
Diversity and inclusion: Go beyond performative actions
The performative actions of institutions, corporate America, academia, and hospitals among other entities have made me highly dislike the acronyms DEI, EDI, DEIB, or whatever other fancy acronyms the C-suiters come up with. I remember hearing from a colleague that their institution did not want the words “anti-racism” included in the title of one of these phony task forces because it was too “violent”… Hmm, violent? Sort of like the …
Mental health matters: lessons from a surgeon’s journey [PODCAST]
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Join Mohini Dasari, a general surgeon. She shares her personal journey through the demanding world of surgical training, touching on her experiences with mental health challenges, the difficult decision to leave a prestigious transplant surgery fellowship, and …
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and why medical professionals should care
On October 7, Hamas, a terrorist group, launched an unprecedented assault against Israeli civilians. Thousands have been confirmed killed, while hundreds have been taken hostage. Israel has retaliated by pounding Gaza with rockets, killing thousands more Palestinian civilians. This is the most severe escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades. The death toll continues to rise, with civilians dying every day and Gaza under siege.
In 2023, multiple crises have already …
The clinical AI revolution: 3 things to know
The use of natural language processing (NLP) in the clinical domain dates as far back as the 1960s, with important early work performed in the 1970s and 1980s. While great technical advances were made during this period, clinical NLP failed to live up to initial expectations as accuracy rates were too low to use for much other than research or bulk analytics.
An AHIMA article explained why clinical text …
Bringing words to a knife fight: Why we’re losing the health care war
Every week, I explore with great interest the commentaries, viewpoints, perspectives, podcasts, social media posts, and other dispatches from my peers and colleagues who are seeking to explain and influence the state of both the health care professions and our systems of care.
With each reading, I find modern parallels to the published words of my late mentor, Dr. Carleton Chapman, a former dean of Dartmouth Medical School and one-time president …
Alcohol’s impact: hangovers and health risks
In July, we all got at least one day off to celebrate a very American holiday, Independence Day. If I were a betting man, I would say that many, if not most of you, participated in at least one of those grand old American pastimes: eating hotdogs or apple pie, barbecuing, going to a baseball game, floating in the pool, watching a movie, or … drinking alcohol. After your celebration …
Inner practices for navigating health care burnout [PODCAST]
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Join Wendy Lau, an emergency medicine physician, as we delve into the world of health care burnout and the moral challenges faced by medical professionals. Discover valuable insights, practical strategies, and the importance of inner practices to …
How busy clinicians can advocate for fossil fuel divestment
As general pediatricians whose intention is to promote health and wellness in children and youth, we witness the direct and indirect health effects of increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The climate crisis looms as an existential threat to humans and many other species. Due to their size, metabolism, developmental stages, and behaviors, children, particularly those living in poverty and in racial/ethnic minority communities, disproportionately suffer from climate change-related health problems …
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Why health care professionals must back full care continuum for autism and intellectual disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that health care entities provide full and equal access for people with disabilities. Physicians must diagnose and treat such individuals, even though they receive little or no training in medical school. It’s tricky when the patient cannot convey where it hurts or describe their pain and may refuse to cooperate with medical procedures.
Many physicians have refused to take on my 35-year-old son, who …
Understanding childhood mental health [PODCAST]
How to stay safe as a traveling physician
There was nothing unusual about my hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, when I checked in, but when I headed down to check out the laundry facilities and saw police swarming the lobby and parking lot, I knew it was time to move.
Thankfully, experiences like that have not been common during my time working as a locum tenens (physicians who work in temporary assignments to fill critical gaps in care) for over …
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A breakthrough in chronic pain detection?
Recently, a group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reported that they may have found the holy grail of pain management. They accomplished this by performing “the first-in-human, long-term direct brain measurement of chronic pain-related neural activity.”
Physicians have long sought a reliable way to detect and track the presence of chronic pain and its response to treatment but have failed completely so far. Old tropes like …
Halloween is almost here. Why aren’t you writing?
Sir Isaac Newton dedicated as much, if not more, of his time to the study of alchemy than he did to the natural order of the universe, but most of his work as an alchemist remained unpublished until long after his death when a metal chest full of his belongings was auctioned in 1936. The great man of science, the first of the Age of Reason, was simultaneously the last …
Too big to fail: health care’s moral quandary
This could be the mythical and mystical tale of organized health care. Humans and their systems may become organized to evolve as large and stable entities, as disorganized ones may never grow large and may remain perpetually unstable, risking disintegration. However, once they reach the status of being “too big to fail” and become self-aware of this situation, the lines between ethics, morality, and legality may begin to blur. This …
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Exploring medical students’ vital role in patient care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
Join Nicole Cifra, an adolescent medicine physician, as we delve into the often-underestimated but invaluable role of medical students in patient care. Nicole shares her personal journey, experiences, and insights, shedding light on how medical students play …
Past Week
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How smartphones are stealing your focus—and what you can do about it
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Overcoming the curse of knowledge: Why doctors need to translate medicine [PODCAST]
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The heartbreaking pandemic story I will never forget
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How Earth Day can inspire better health for doctors and patients
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Why female physicians are done asking for permission
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Spreading hope one card at a time for doctors’ well-being [PODCAST]
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Past 6 Months
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How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system
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How hospitals are quietly taking control of physicians
-
The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
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How the system hunts physicians who refuse to kneel
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Doctors don’t need yoga, they need time to smoke
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What happened to real care in health care?
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Recent Posts
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Overcoming the curse of knowledge: Why doctors need to translate medicine [PODCAST]
-
Signing bonuses and taxes: What physicians should know
-
Learning to trust your body again: Healing the hidden wounds of medical training
-
Love, empathy, and the triangle of exhaustion: Why humanity must come first
-
How smartphones are stealing your focus—and what you can do about it
-
Practical advice for physicians seeking joy and well-being [PODCAST]
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Past Week
-
How smartphones are stealing your focus—and what you can do about it
-
Overcoming the curse of knowledge: Why doctors need to translate medicine [PODCAST]
-
The heartbreaking pandemic story I will never forget
-
How Earth Day can inspire better health for doctors and patients
-
Why female physicians are done asking for permission
-
Spreading hope one card at a time for doctors’ well-being [PODCAST]
-
Past 6 Months
-
How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system
-
How hospitals are quietly taking control of physicians
-
The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
-
How the system hunts physicians who refuse to kneel
-
Doctors don’t need yoga, they need time to smoke
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
Recent Posts
-
Overcoming the curse of knowledge: Why doctors need to translate medicine [PODCAST]
-
Signing bonuses and taxes: What physicians should know
-
Learning to trust your body again: Healing the hidden wounds of medical training
-
Love, empathy, and the triangle of exhaustion: Why humanity must come first
-
How smartphones are stealing your focus—and what you can do about it
-
Practical advice for physicians seeking joy and well-being [PODCAST]
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