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Stop calling me “doctor”: the nurse practitioner’s fight for recognition

Conditions

October 15, 2024

I introduce myself to the patients as a nurse practitioner (NP), but they still call me a doctor. Even worse, some of the staff refer to me as “doctor.” I imagine they do so out of respect, but no matter how many times I correct them, the erroneous title lives on. The reason I ask not to be called doctor is not because I have not earned my doctorate nor …

A doctor’s pandemic playlist

Ryan McCarthy, MD

Physician

October 15, 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic was war, and I served in a foxhole. I survived, in part, by drowning my sorrow in song—music I abused as if it were drugs. I heard “Spaceman” by Nick Jonas today while driving to the hospital, and, at the peak of the chorus, dopamine surged in my brain, making me queasy. My neck hair stood up, and I went clammy. This was not a monstrous rush …

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A doctor’s pandemic playlist

From patients to clients: the tragic business of mental health care explained [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 14, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

We sit down with Nicholas Rosenlicht, psychiatrist and author of My Brother’s Keeper: The Untold Stories Behind the Business of Mental Health―and How to Stop the Abandonment of the Mentally Ill. Nicholas unpacks …

Towards a future for semi-autonomous AI-powered primary care providers

Steven Charlap, MD, MBA

Tech

October 14, 2024

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 4.5 billion people do not have access to primary care. In the US alone, the American Medical Association (AMA) claims 83 million Americans do not have access, and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) puts the number even higher at one-third of the US population or over 100 million, including many children (NACHC).

Since losing my brother, a cardiologist, to a misdiagnosis …

The dangerous shift in mental health: Are we clients or patients?

Nicholas Rosenlicht, MD

Physician

October 14, 2024

An excerpt from My Brother’s Keeper: The Untold Stories Behind the Business of Mental Health―and How to Stop the Abandonment of the Mentally Ill.

Throughout history, civilized societies have recognized the vulnerability and suffering of the ill and accordingly granted them special rights and protections, as well as a unique designation: “patient.” This is changing. In the 1990s, when I was involved in negotiating managed care contracts for a community …

The hidden medication putting Parkinson’s patients at risk

Rebecca Miller, PhD

Meds

October 14, 2024

At the doctor’s office, in the ER, in the hospital, how many times are you asked about your drug allergies? A lot! And, as a common practice when in the hospital, you’ll even get a red bracelet or something to indicate such. There are strict rules around allergies; from techs to transport to MDs, hospital staff are well-trained to look for these bracelets and to make sure that you don’t …

How food marketing to kids is harming their health and what we can do [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 13, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Join Manuel Arango, the director of Health Policy & Advocacy at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. We dive into the pressing issue of food marketing to children, exploring how these strategies …

Sham peer review (SPR): strategies for saving your career and soul

Tracey O'Connell, MD

Physician

October 13, 2024

For an introduction to SPR, click here. For a history of SPR, click here. To learn how to distinguish real vs. sham peer review, click here.

We don’t hear about SPR as often as it occurs because those who have experienced it have likely signed nondisclosure agreements or self-isolated in shame after …

The overwhelming reality of primary care: Why doctors still persevere

Whitney Rowe, MD

Physician

October 13, 2024

I’m primary care and I see a patient in a 10-minute appointment who tells me she now has a disabled daughter who is 22, had a stroke, and currently cannot cope with all that her disrupted life is demanding of her. I am also expected to fill out that FMLA paperwork for that patient and respond to 20 back-and-forth portal messages on that same patient over the next two days, …

Nurse practitioner hit with $1.4m verdict: the hidden truth behind the lawsuit

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

October 13, 2024

In the August 2023 issue of MD Linx, Stephanie Srakocic writes about a Philadelphia jury that awards a $1.4 million verdict against a nurse practitioner for failing to treat hyperthyroidism. The patient, who is hyperthyroid, is admitted to the hospital for acute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The patient subsequently dies. The implication is that the patient is under the care of a nurse practitioner, and there is no …

The enduring cycle of violence: lessons from history’s darkest moments

Jason V. Terk, MD

Physician

October 13, 2024

Ecclesiastes was probably written by many ancient scholars, although Jewish tradition holds that it was written by King Solomon. Whatever the provenance, I think the first chapter holds a nugget of wisdom that we need to try hard to remember:

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, …

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The enduring cycle of violence: lessons from history’s darkest moments

The deadliest condition in emergency departments deserves a new diagnostic approach

Tonya Jagneaux, MD, Chadd K. Kraus, DO, DrPH, and Hollis O’Neal, MD

Conditions

October 13, 2024

Today, most emergency departments (EDs) face overcrowding, high patient volumes and a strain on our increasingly limited staff and resources. As a result, the average patient experiences ED wait times of about two-and-a-half hours, with some reaching nearly four hours.

The possibility of sepsis makes these delays even trickier. More than one-third of all in-hospital deaths are attributed to sepsis, making it the Read more…

The deadliest condition in emergency departments deserves a new diagnostic approach

The growing discrepancy between health care promises and practice

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

October 13, 2024

I had a dismal start to the second year of my psychiatric residency, and my subpar performance was noted by many faculty members. One professor approached me and told me to discuss the situation with my psychotherapy supervisor, adding, “Don’t let your supervisor sugarcoat it.” The professor knew that my advisor was an extremely kind and gentle person who would prefer to leave out the details of my performance so …

How this pediatrician overcame cerebral palsy and discrimination in medicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 12, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

We welcome Ron M. Aryel, a pediatrician who shares his powerful journey through medical school and residency as a physician with cerebral palsy. Facing discrimination, ableism, and hostility from colleagues and superiors, Ron …

Navigating stipend offers: a resident’s question

Contract Diagnostics

Finance

October 12, 2024

“I’m in my final year of orthopedic surgery residency and will do a one-year fellowship (I finish July 2026). I’m in the early phases of talking to potential employers, many of which say they could offer a stipend as I finish my training. Do you have any advice on how a stipend should be optimally structured?”

Stipend secrets: Navigating your final year of residency

As you approach the final stretch of your …

Early retirement may not be the solution to your burnout

Susan Landers, MD

Physician

October 12, 2024

I miss my stethoscope—the small black one with the tiny neonatal head. I wore it around my neck constantly while on duty in the NICU and L&D. It served as an outward symbol of my knowledge and experience. Inwardly, it reminded me of all the things I could detect about a baby by simply looking, listening, and gently touching. My little stethoscope was ready in any emergency. It helped me …

How COVID changed doctor-patient-nurse communication forever [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 11, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

We sit down with Michael J. Grace, attorney and author of The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication. We explore how health care communication has evolved before, during, and …

Why prayers alone couldn’t save my friend from cancer

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

October 11, 2024

I was raised in the Catholic Church. The solemn, reserved, respectful quiet as the priest whispered out his occasional reverent chants. That’s what I knew. That was the only thing I grew to love of the Catholic faith.

This friend of mine. We met years ago by happenstance. She was a firm believer in God, her husband, her dog, her daughters, and her Christian novels that she read feverishly.

She also loved …

The health crisis no one’s talking about: Why teens need better health education

Sonia Patel

Education

October 11, 2024

Many students only learn basic health facts, like how to put a condom on a banana or that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. But when it comes to making real-life health decisions, this scarce knowledge just doesn’t cut it. Shockingly, only 12 percent of American adults have proficient health literacy skills. This gap becomes especially clear in college, where young adults face new independence and make crucial …

Inside the toxic reality of surgical residency [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 10, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

We sit down with Audra King, a surgery resident, to explore the challenges and toxic environments that medical trainees often face during their residency. From instances of disrespect and workplace bullying to the …

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