Find fulfillment: Reject societal pressures and embrace simplicity

Physician
August 12, 2024

Such calmness,
Groundedness,
Beauty,
Standing tall and mighty.
The sense of peace in your presence—
Protected,
Safe,
A patient teacher.
No rah-rah, motivational fluff.
Quiet, yet confident,
Not rushing,
Not chasing,
Not running around striving.
Still, grounded, present.

In a world where people tell me I need to take big financial risks to be fulfilled, I say bullsh*t.

My inner fulfillment is felt when still, calm, and trusting that this simple life I cherish is the most fulfilling of all. Connected to humans, connected to …

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From Super Bowl to supermarket: How candy ads shape kids’ diets

Policy
August 12, 2024

A gummy candy shimmies on stage, dancing to Flashdance. The music swells; it pulls a chain and is showered in multi-colored candies. The ad, for Nerds Gummy Clusters, was one of dozens of food ads that 123 million people saw during the 2024 Super Bowl. While the nostalgic soundtrack entertained adults, the cartoon candies were engineered to appeal to a different audience: children.

And it …

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Solutions for lymphedema in breast cancer survivors [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 11, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Steven L. Chen, a breast surgeon, as we delve into the advancements in breast cancer treatments and the challenges of managing breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). As survival rates improve, the focus is …

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Bridging the health gap: Empowering Latino communities for a healthier future

Physician
August 11, 2024

As an endocrinologist, internal medicine physician, and public health leader, I have witnessed firsthand the health disparities that affect Latino communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified these issues, especially with chronic diseases, emphasizing the pressing need for culturally competent health care to address these inequities.

In Arizona and across the nation, my efforts have been dedicated to educating and protecting our communities through media outreach, training community health workers, and …

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Strategies for living and coping with invisible illness

Conditions
August 11, 2024

I have a handicap placard. I appear healthy, and I walk a lot, but sometimes, the looks I get when I park in the designated handicap space are priceless because I am taking up a special parking spot for someone who is “sick.” “What gives?” they are thinking. “She doesn’t look sick!”

“It’s a big emotional load,” Dr. Sands says. “People are scowling at you because you took that handicapped parking …

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Am I an internist or a milkman?

Physician
August 11, 2024

I have too many important tasks during my workday to leave anything to chance in the hazy, slanted dawn. Failure is not on my schedule for tomorrow. So tonight, I will once again pack a lunch, lay out my clothes, and set up the coffee pot.

Before arriving at work in the morning, I will know who I will be seeing and—often—why they are coming to me. If, for some reason, …

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Systemic failures in mental health care [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 10, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Claire Ellerbrock, a nurse practitioner with a background in psychiatric and behavioral health care. Claire shares her powerful and transformative experience with a patient named John, whose tragic passing …

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Why speaking up in medical school could save lives

Education
August 10, 2024

It was a fresh start to my first day of medical school as a second-year student. With a slightly stronger arsenal of information compared to my first year, the energy was palpable. My team and I huddled in our small conference room, gathered around the table, ready to tackle our first case of the week as part of our team-based learning. The first patient was a 1-year-old female infant presenting …

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Are rapid weight loss drugs hiding the real obesity problem?

Meds
August 10, 2024

According to some academics, in 2019, a ban on junk food advertising across London’s entire public transport network—foods and drinks high in fat and salt and ads for foods–resulted in the prevention of 100,000 obesity cases. Yet the U.S. love affair with the new semaglutide-based weight loss drugs like Ozempic gives junk food advertising and availability a huge pass.

Drug makers and Wall Street are pleased that instead of changing …

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A journey of self-worth and healing [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 9, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us for a conversation with Jillian Rigert, an oral medicine specialist and radiation oncology research fellow. Jillian shares her journey of overcoming mental illness during medical school, redefining self-worth, and challenging harmful …

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Street medicine: a lifeline for Florida’s homeless amidst new public sleeping ban

Policy
August 9, 2024

Despite the evening hour, the sun beats down on our group as we gather to orient new participants to the street run. It’s a typical Spring day in Florida, with temperatures already in the upper 80s. We stand in a circle on a downtown sidewalk in our green t-shirts. In the center of our circle are bags filled with socks, toiletries, and naloxone, an opioid reversal medication. We’ll distribute these …

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A cardiologist’s urgent call to combat heat-related health risks

Physician
August 9, 2024

As I drive to work and back, my eyes are on the ambient temperature reading in my car—it has been creeping up every day. I routinely listen to NPR, and extreme heat in various parts of the world comes up in daily discussions.

As a heart failure cardiologist in the clinic, I routinely ask my patients about their activity levels. Most of them complain about the heat and how it impacts …

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Untold stories of physician suicide and mental health [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 8, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us as we explore the world of clinician wellness and mental health with three remarkable guests. Kim Downey, a physician advocate, shares her insights on supporting health care professionals. Betsy Gall, author …

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How a group of British medical students fought for social prescribing

Education
August 8, 2024

An excerpt from The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging.

With slicked-back hair, a fancy-buttoned vest, and a politician-like charisma, you wouldn’t guess Dr. Bogdan Chiva Giurca, a doctor for England’s National Health Service (NHS), grew up in a Romanian village, handwashing his clothes because he couldn’t afford laundry. “I got to taste the real social determinants of health without knowing they were called …

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ER doctor’s adrenaline-fueled night: from life-saving procedures to unpredictable chaos

Physician
August 8, 2024

From the beginning of medical school, you are taught the rules of patient assessment; you are taught the “ABCs” – airway, breathing, and circulation. You don’t move on to B until you have established A. You don’t move on to C until B is established. If at any time you lose A or B, you go back to the beginning. Emergency medicine doctors are all about A. My first patient …

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How corporate health care is failing physicians and patients alike

Physician
August 8, 2024

A large part of patient care in the modern corporate setting is working within your restrictions. Most corporate health care settings will limit how wide your scope can be, and this often determines how you treat patients. As a family physician working within a huge corporate setting, this oftentimes leads to alternate outcomes, such as referring a patient to another office where a procedure can be done safely or having …

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How microplastics affect our reproductive health [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 7, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us as we explore the world of microplastics with fertility specialist Oluyemisi (Yemi) Famuyiwa. Learn about microplastics, how they permeate our environment, and their potential effects on human health and fertility. Yemi …

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Physicians’ social media criticism of trainees sparks controversy

Education
August 7, 2024

In the past two weeks, there have been two social media posts, one from a resident physician and another from an attending physician, criticizing trainees. The resident was critical of a trainee’s inability to identify anatomical structures in the operating room, while the attending physician was entertained by a trainee who mistakenly wore a shoe cover as a scrub hat, with a photo of it included in the post. As …

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Physicians create their own practice misery by following groupthink

Physician
August 7, 2024

Purposeful disregard for business education tears away the only platform that guarantees the highest incomes in private medical practice.

Along with the other challenges that continually reinforce physicians’ financial problems, the indoctrination of all medical students and later physicians with the “groupthink” myth that has been destroying physician practice careers for the last century is added to the list. You know, “You can practice medicine without a business education.”

The fact that …

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