The case for eliminating recertification by the ABIM

Physician
July 12, 2023

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has long been responsible for setting standards and ensuring the competence of internal medicine practitioners. However, the practice of mandatory recertification has faced increasing scrutiny and debate within the medical community. This article explores some of the key reasons why eliminating recertification requirements imposed by the ABIM could have significant benefits for physicians and patient care.

Lack of evidence for improved patient outcomes

One of …

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Radiologist-clinician collaboration is key to optimal diagnostic outcomes [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 11, 2023
YouTube video

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Join us for a conversation with Houda Bouhmam, a radiology resident, as we explore the crucial collaboration between radiologists and clinicians in achieving the best diagnostic outcomes. Houda shares her transformative journey, dispelling misconceptions about clinical correlation …

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Chinese chicken congee for the soul: Aligning care with cultural context

Physician
July 11, 2023

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, with 18.9 million currently in the U.S. and a projected 35.8 million by 2060 with many Asian Americans being immigrants. A study of over 6,700 Asian Americans, Hispanics, African Americans, and Caucasians revealed that Asian Americans were least likely to feel that their physician understood their background and values, and compared to Caucasians, Asians were less …

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Ending the opioid crisis starts with physicians

Conditions
July 11, 2023

A recently published opinion article by opioid advocates attempts to assuage physicians’ prescribing guilt, arguing “doctors prescribing to their patients did not create the U.S. opioid crisis.” As lawsuit after lawsuit concludes, Purdue Pharma, Johnson and Johnson, and blindered distributors and pharmacies share the blame for propping up pills for profit. Physicians may inflate home narcotic quantities for convenience, but with rare prosecutable exceptions, not monetary gain. But the …

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Our institutions have given up on the COVID-19 pandemic. We should not.

Conditions
July 11, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic is over. On May 5, The World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency. The U.S. followed suit on May 11, allowing the public health emergency declaration to expire.

The pandemic did not end because of vaccination efforts nor from acquired herd immunity. The pandemic is over because of the capitulation and resignation of public health authorities as they concede …

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How COVID-19 unleashed the power of microservices and container-based solutions

Tech
July 11, 2023

Our reaction to COVID-19 brought us a very sudden socially distanced, remote-working, touchless economy, in which the majority of our daily interactions needed to be remote interactions. Some industries adapted easily (think tax preparation), and some, like health care where personal contact is often mandatory, struggled to find solutions. However, health care IT departments adjusted quickly and deployed a truly impressive array of low and no-contact services. The solutions ranged …

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What do doctor and nursing burnout, the COVID pandemic, and the Easter Bunny have in common?

Physician
July 11, 2023

Question: What do doctors and nursing burnout, the COVID pandemic, and the Easter Bunny have in common?

Answer: Not a damn thing.

For the past few years, any article on medical labor shortages, disgruntlement, or changes in employment, such as the rise of travel nurses or locum physicians, invariably cited the same cause: COVID.

But to get to the real cause of what’s going on, you have to go further back. Much further …

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Medical conferences: Upholding ethics and safety amidst freedom of conscience laws [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 10, 2023
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In this podcast episode, we have Christian John Lillis, executive director of the Peggy Lillis Foundation for C. diff Education & Advocacy. Christian shares his experiences as a patient advocate and discusses the challenges he faces at …

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What Lucille Ball and Einstein can teach us about overcoming burnout

Physician
July 10, 2023

In the demanding health care industry, physicians are frequently susceptible to burnout. The constant pressures, long hours, and emotional toll can be detrimental to one’s health. To support physicians on their path to wellness, we have compiled a collection of motivational quotes that can change their perspective and help them achieve their goals. In addition to these powerful quotes, we’ve included suggestions for cultivating growth and overcoming burnout. Discover the …

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Uncovering the truth about genetic mutations and weight loss

Conditions
July 10, 2023

“I do not feel full even after I eat” is what I heard from so many of my patients. Even after bariatric surgery, this feeling of fullness would go away initially but then it would come back, and they found themselves again overindulging. Why does this happen? Brain studies have shown that obesity impairs the dopamine signaling in the brain that tells the brain it is satisfied after nutrients enter …

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How artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming dermatology diagnosis and treatment

Tech
July 10, 2023

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is no less than a modern revolution. As we progress in the digital age, the capabilities of AI continue to expand, facilitating advancements in countless fields. One such field is health care, where AI has the potential to significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficiency. A shining example of this is the utilization of large language models, such as OpenAI’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), …

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Modern medicine is disappointing to many of us at the later end of our careers

Physician
July 10, 2023

I graduated from medical school in 1995. I completed an internal medicine and pediatrics residency in 1999, after which I spent three years in private practice, then moved on to a hospitalist practice for the next four years. From there, I transitioned to an ER job, where I have been for the last seventeen years.

In the ER, my role initially involved expeditiously seeing patients and only performing what was absolutely …

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Long-term illness: Healing, thriving, and reclaiming your life [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 9, 2023
YouTube video

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Join neurologist Juliet Morgan and internal medicine physician Meghan Jobson as they discuss their book, Long Illness: A Practical Guide to Surviving, Healing, and Thriving. From autoimmune diseases to chronic pain, they share their expertise on navigating …

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Accessing needed pediatric mental health care was difficult before the pandemic and is now at crisis levels

Conditions
July 9, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit kids hard. Their mental well-being was already tenuous before the pandemic, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated what was already a crisis of anxiety, depression, and suicidality among youth. Getting treatment for adolescents with mental health issues was difficult prior to the pandemic. We have recently published a study in Psychiatric Services that shows that currently obtaining an appointment with a child psychiatrist is very difficult …

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How observing patients’ walks can reveal hidden ailments

Physician
July 9, 2023

On the first day of class, one of my medical school professors limped in, stopped, and then proceeded to teach us specifically what ailment a patient has that causes their limp.

He went on to explain, “By the time you finish this didactic course in orthopedics, you will be able to diagnose a patient’s problem just by watching them walk!”

At the beginning of each class, the professor would limp in and …

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Should physicians defend their “Dr.” title amidst changing entitlements?

Physician
July 9, 2023

In these uncertain times regarding entitlement, physicians find themselves unsure whether they should continue defending their use of the title “Dr.” There are instances where teachers can hold the title of Dr., as can individuals with PhDs. Additionally, nurses can also obtain PhDs and subsequently be addressed as Dr. Given the evolving climate of reducing privilege, should physicians still assert their entitlement? It is believed that patients desire to know …

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A physician’s journey through intimate partner violence [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 8, 2023
YouTube video

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Join us on this episode as we welcome Chloe N. L. Lee, a psychiatry resident, to share her harrowing experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). Chloe opens up about the abuse and challenges she faced in breaking …

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The hidden consequences of fraudulent and poor-quality medical research

Physician
July 8, 2023

Recent years have seen an increasing recognition of fraud, deceit, and other maleficence in scientific research, including medical research. The extent of this is truly frightening and has led to increasing international efforts to detect and address it. As of September 2020, the site Retraction Watch listed over 24,000 papers in its database, many of which were retracted due to deliberate fraud. It is unknown how many individuals, who received …

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Life and death in the ICU: a night of heroism, tragedy, and budgetary battles

Conditions
July 8, 2023

ICU: Our acuities were high, and staffing was low. Our ICU, with 24 beds, was already full. The staffing situation for that night was so poor that instead of our RNs having a 2:1 patient-nurse ratio, we were forced into 3:1 assignments.

Despite the challenging circumstances, we couldn’t have asked for a better team of ICU nurses. They were the best in their field, supported by two dedicated Respiratory Therapists assigned …

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