I recently had quite a long conversation with a college senior that was just accepted into medical school for this coming fall.
As a rising fourth year medical student myself, I would like to think that I have navigated the waters of academia and figured out both efficient paths to success and avoidance of roadblocks and setbacks. …
5 easy steps to become a better medical student
Do you spend 8 hours in front of a screen at work? Do you then spend your free time watching TV or poking around the internet when you get home? How much time are you spending cooking healthy meals to eat with friends and family? How much time are you doing physical activities that make you happy?
A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology entitled, Screen-Based …
Work should be about optimizing your productivity and health
When I was called to see the patient after a motorcycle accident I expected the worst. The patient sustained a thoracic spine injury with cord transection at T5 level as well as significant chest wall injury on the right side.
Multiple ribs were broken; some with a significant displacement. Managing patients with a significant chest wall trauma could be a nightmare. Pain control is only one of the challenges.
Read more…
Pain control in a patient with rib fractures and a spinal cord transection
Here’s some advice to think about before starting clinical rotations during the third year of medical school.
Don’t sit in the back of the plane
The basic sciences are important to learn the vocabulary and grammar of medicine. Clinical rotations are different – it’s where you actually learn to be a physician. If you use the analogy of learning to fly, …
Practical advice for medical students starting clinical rotations
by Jeffrey L. Cohen and Albert R. Meyer
Chiropractors and medical doctors (or D.O.s) have had a long and somewhat complex relationship.
Though they approach healthcare issues differently, there are many instances where they share care or even work together. Such “M.D./D.C.” relationships are legally complex, but often prove to be rewarding in many respects. Properly constructing the arrangements is critical, especially since government regulators and payers tend …
The legal issues of doctors and chiropractors working together
by Alison McKnight
I have been in and out of the doctor’s office ever since I was little, and I have had my share of good and bad experiences during this time.
These experiences can shape the expectations of both the physician and the patient, in both negative and positive ways. While the perfect relationship between …
When communication is broken, the quality of care is diminished
Dr. Kevin Kikta was one of two emergency physicians on duty at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, MO on Sunday, May 22, 2011, when an EF-5 tornado struck the hospital.
You never know that it will be the most important day of your life until the day is over. The day started like any other day for me: …
What happened inside the hospital during the Joplin, MO tornado
I went off to medical school thirty-seven years ago.
For the era, I went to what folks regarded as a very progressive place. It had a curriculum that was quite revolutionary for the time. Among other things, we started having interactions with actual patients during our first year, rather than the third year, as was traditional then.
These days many, probably most, medical schools …
Why medical students should be closely observed with patients
In recent weeks, headline news has been reporting on the battle to curb the federal debt. What does this have to do with medical professionalism?
The federal government must borrow forty cents of every dollar it spends. In health care, it needs to borrow from China and other lenders to reimburse doctors, hospitals and other providers who bill federal programs.
The government’s debt totals $14.3 trillion. It is …
What medical professionalism has to do with the federal debt
The transition from paper to EHR is a major policy decision that can have repercussions on patient service, your operations and even your medical professional liability (MPL).
Unfortunately, many practices are not taking the time to analyze their options and responsibilities from a patient care and compliance standpoint. In order to set the correct framework for your effort, you should think …
Questions to ask before moving from a paper chart to an EHR
by Mary McNaughton-Collins, MD, MPH
Aging does not have to be all about appointments, pills, tests, treatments and procedures – instead aging should be about celebrating life and rewarding those older individuals who are “living well” by encouraging pursuits outside of the medical realm.
The current state of our health care system tends to revolve around the idea that “more is better,” however, that is not always true — especially when caring …
Shared decision making in the golden years
In the real world of medicine, “great saves” are rare. Most patients that you expect to die will die, and those who experience a cardiac arrest or code rarely survive. Mr. GR is the closest I’ve seen to an exception to both of these rules, and his story illustrates the best but also the worst of what our health care system achieves.
I first met Mr. GR in the emergency room. As …
In medicine, the greatest save is not having to make a save at all
“The most important thing I learned was that different doctors know different things: I need to ask my internist different questions than I do my oncologist.”
This was not some sweet ingénue recounting the early lessons she learned from a recent encounter with health care. Nope. It was a 62-year-old woman whose husband has been struggling with multiple myeloma for …
Guiding patients through fragmented health care
ADVERTISEMENT
Medical school should be free.
That’s an argument made by physicians Peter B. Bach and Robert Kocher in the New York Times.
This isn’t a new concept. I’ve discussed whether medical school should be free for students who choose primary care. And, for some in the country, it’s already happening. Like at Case Western Reserve University, for instance. The Cleveland Clinic …
Would free medical school be enough to save primary care?
The psychosocial needs of patients can feel overwhelming for a doctor.
Our rite of passage as medical students, after all, is anatomy, not sociology. Even now, after a family medicine residency specializing in the biopsychosocial approach to medicine, I still brace myself for surprises before asking routine mental health screening questions of the patients in …
Helping with the psychosocial needs of patients
by Setu Mazumdar, MD
Everywhere I go I see unhappy doctors.
All everyone does is complain about rising malpractice premiums, more paperwork, declining pay, and 60 hour workweeks. This includes physicians just graduating from residency and physicians who’ve been practicing medicine for several decades.
All of those complaints are legitimate, but one question I always have in …
Physicians should blame themselves for why they are unhappy in medicine
The VA isn’t perfect, but definitely is better than other health care systems I have worked in so far. It embraces the idea of patient-centered medical home, where a primary care physician coordinates and takes responsibility for a patient’s care … the old-school definition of good medical care that has recently become popular again, …
How the VA looks at population level data to analyze outcomes
My first exposure to KevinMD.com is reading Healthcare costs can be reduced with emerging business models by Joe Flower.
While I am not informed about the medical business models to which he refers, I am experienced in business. I hail from a family of doctors and hospital owners. While I did lose touch with the industry for several years, I have noted several changes which do not make sense. …
The evolution of hospitals and the present state of health policy
I was sitting next to a resident in the preceptor room yesterday. He was calling a patient to discuss lab results, and introduced himself on the phone by his first name and last name … but not with “Doctor.” (e.g., “Hi, this is John Smith from the Family Health Center.”)
I occasionally see the residents’ patients for urgent visits. When I ask them who their regular PCP is at the office, …
Should doctors be addressed by their first name?
Compliance. I really hate that word! The general impression given throughout the blogosphere is that patients:
A few typical quotes:
It drives me crazy to read accusations such …
Compliance happens when it’s the patient’s treatment plan
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
