Society is obsessed with weight loss. Part of my brain is, too, albeit I am well aware that there will be no number low enough on the scale to satisfy that part of me.
Anorexia nervosa is a poorly understood and mismanaged condition from my perspective as a health care professional and patient with lived experience. Society seems to glorify anorexia, and people compliment what may often be maladaptive behaviors (such …
Society is obsessed with weight loss
Kim Downey:
Pulling into my driveway, I grabbed a handful of envelopes from the mailbox, one of which was from my doctor’s office. I could tell it wasn’t a bill, and I became anxious. Upon opening it, I was relieved to find that it wasn’t about my doctor leaving his practice or that anything had happened to him. Rather, it was a notification that another doctor I’d seen once was leaving. …
Long-term impacts of physician suicide on patients and doctors
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We’re joined by Diane W. Shannon, an internal medicine physician and physician coach, to explore the hard lessons of career sustainability and the importance of intentional self-care. Drawing from personal experience and years …
Lessons in career sustainability: Why self-care is the key to success [PODCAST]
The waiting area in Kayla’s (name changed) practice was so peaceful that I felt better just sitting there. I had come to receive acupuncture treatments and didn’t quite know what to expect. While I sat and waited for Kayla to lead me back to a treatment room, I looked around. There were flowers on an end table next to a blue wooden bench. On the wall, there was a huge …
Acupuncture helped when nothing else did
Charting: It’s a word that can make even the most seasoned clinician’s shoulders tense.
In my journey as the nurse practitioner charting coach, I’ve uncovered the shared struggles clinicians face with charting overload, which is why I now teach nurse practitioners actionable strategies to regain control of the charting process and restore their work-life balance. This article will dive into the impact of charting overload on clinicians and practical steps you …
How to combat charting overload
A response to “The overwhelming reality of primary care: Why doctors still persevere.”
I am a primary care patient in a rural area of a western state, and I have not seen the same physician or other provider more than two or three times in the past 20 years.
I am a primary care patient, and I have 10 minutes to explain my entire medical history, including my neurologic, musculoskeletal, and …
What 10 minutes reveal about the broken health care system in rural America
Before children (B.C.), life was completely different. I had the kind of freedom I didn’t even realize I had. I could decide, on a whim, to go out for dinner, catch a late movie, or simply lie in bed doing absolutely nothing (well, that part rarely happened as I was too busy either in school or thinking about work). I could stay up late, not because I had to, but …
They thought motherhood would break you, and you almost agreed
Imagine if headlines proclaimed, “X-ray sees what doctors can’t” or “Lab test outperforms physicians’ clinical gestalt.” Absurd, right? You can recognize how such claims distort the role these tools play in health care. So why do current narratives surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) sound so similar?
We’ve all seen the sensational headlines: “AI chatbots defeated doctors at diagnosing illness” or “Using AI to detect breast cancer that doctors miss.” These …
AI hype could undermine its real potential in health care
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Join us as we talk with Gillian Burkhardt, an obstetrician-gynecology physician currently on assignment with Doctors Without Borders in South Darfur. We explore the devastating impact of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which …
How conflict in Sudan is impacting women and children [PODCAST]
The hidden health crisis
Low testosterone (low T) is one of the most underdiagnosed and misunderstood health conditions facing men today. Studies show that nearly 40 percent of men over age 45 and 50 percent of men over 80 have low testosterone levels. However, what’s more troubling is that only 20 percent of these men are ever diagnosed or treated.
The symptoms are often subtle but profound, affecting physical health, mental well-being, …
An excerpt from Unlike the Rest: A Doctor’s Story © 2024. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
I was trained in my first month of residency, during onboarding, to always position myself closest to the door when interviewing a patient, as situations can escalate quickly and become potentially dangerous. “If a patient stands, you stand,” my preceptor said to me during safety training. Her words came back to …
How a psychiatrist rebuilt trust with a patient in crisis
Living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) or long COVID can transform every aspect of life, including one that often feels too delicate or taboo to address: sex and intimacy. These conditions introduce physical limitations, emotional strain, and communication challenges that can make intimacy feel out of reach. But here’s the truth: intimacy is possible—it just looks different, and that’s OK!
Understanding the impact of ME/CFS and long COVID on intimacy
Both …
Navigating sex and intimacy with ME/CFS and long COVID
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We speak with Gretchen E. Green, a radiologist and expert witness, about her journey from full-time clinical practice to building a fulfilling career that balances work, life, and family. She shares insights on …
How expert witness work can transform your career and life [PODCAST]
Starting January 1, 2025, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP) will give providers a powerful way to address one of the biggest barriers to effective care: cost-related medication nonadherence. With 54 million Medicare beneficiaries eligible, this program has the potential to improve adherence, reduce hospital readmissions, and ensure better health outcomes on a large scale. By helping patients access the program, providers can play a pivotal role in transforming patient …
How the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan provides a practical solution to medication nonadherence
Dear medicine,
We need to take a break. I’ve finally realized that this relationship isn’t healthy for me—in fact, it’s borderline abusive. For a long time, I didn’t realize I was in an abusive relationship. We’re taught that it’s OK when patients curse at us, threaten us, and even sometimes physically assault us. Unfortunately, for many of us, medicine checks many of the boxes of abusive relationships.
Not realizing we’re in an …
Taking a break from medicine: a journey to rediscover joy and purpose
Longevity can be a polarizing topic. For some of us, it conjures images of a grandparent’s final years, filled with chronic diseases and prolonged suffering. Understandably, we would not want any part of that.
However, longevity science is not only about extending lifespan but also healthspan — the period of life spent in good health, free from debilitating conditions. While medicine has not yet eradicated such age-related diseases, research shows that …
Biomarkers: How to manage your body’s KPIs for longevity
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We explore the complexities of social anxiety with renowned psychotherapist Jonathan Berent. We delve into two contrasting cases: a high-achieving physician facing performance anxiety and a young adult paralyzed by avoidance. Jonathan shares …
Overcoming social anxiety: insights into trauma, perfectionism, and therapy [PODCAST]
I’m a semi-retired cardiologist. I currently volunteer at a free community health clinic for individuals who do not have health insurance. Many of these individuals are undocumented foreign workers, yet we care for them seamlessly, without the restraints of our bureaucratic billing system and the burdens and restrictions promoted by the insurance industry.
As I age, to my chagrin and utter dismay, I have also unfortunately become a patient. I have …
Why the U.S. health care system is failing patients—what every American should know
A fellow writer and I were having an online exchange. She said her painting was being interrupted by bursts of writing. She texted, “I’m writing about how storytelling is liberating itself from commerce, politics, religion, and emerging as medicine and culture.”
I asked if I could use her quote as my biographical tagline. On my LinkedIn profile I could say: “I write about how storytelling liberates us from commerce, politics, and …
Taglines, chief complaints, and the risk of losing the story
I visited my school after many years. I enrolled in first grade in 1998 at age five and graduated from FSc Pre-Medical (12th grade) in 2011. After that, I started medical school in 2012, and since then, I haven’t returned to my school.
It was one of those schools where skipping classes was simply not an option. The teachers were professional, dedicated, and sincere. Although it was a government school with …
Why a visit to my old school brought tears of nostalgia and gratitude
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