Why is being a patient a difficult pill to swallow?
While being treated for an aggressive hematologic cancer, the former head of a department of medicine at a large teaching hospital told me he wished he could hang a sign on his headboard, reading P-I-P: Previously-Important-Person. Despite extraordinary achievements, skills, credentials, and status, being a patient made him feel like an amalgam of parts; limbs, bodily fluids, organs, and orifices, all now suspect, some more wayward than others — and …
The power of best friend connections at work for thriving physicians
When I took my first job out of fellowship, I had two kids, both in diapers. Between that and starting my first job out of training, it seemed I had no idle time at all. I distinctly recall deciding: I was here to work, not to make friends. (To my work friends: Thank you for being my friend despite my attitude!)
We didn’t decide to make friends in training — it …
A unique method for managing chronic bowel conditions, treating fecal impaction, and preparing for colonoscopy procedures
Fecal impaction and severe chronic constipation can have significant consequences on patients’ mortality, morbidity, psychosocial well-being, and health care costs. It is especially prevalent among the elderly and individuals with neurogenic bowel disorders. The condition can lead to life-threatening complications like bowel obstruction, intestinal perforation, fecal incontinence, and urinary retention.
Traditional treatments for fecal impaction and severe constipation include lifestyle changes, fiber supplementation, laxatives, suppositories, enemas, and digital stimulation. However, …
The 4 stages of suicidal ideation: a physician’s experience with burnout and self-compassion
I am a physician, a urologist, and a survivor of multiple suicide attempts related to physician burnout. In dealing with my psychopathology, I experienced a devolution in my mental status, culminating in suicidal behavior. I can remember the exact moment when I acknowledged that suicide was a possible solution to my problems. At one moment, I felt revulsion at the idea of suicide but crossed over to accept it. This …
Mastering career transitions in the medical field: tips from a health care attorney [PODCAST]
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In this episode, our guest Amanda Hill, a health care attorney, shares insights on navigating career transitions in the medical profession. Whether you’re burned out, seeking new challenges, or dealing with personal or health issues, leaving …
How embracing mistakes and finding self-compassion can bring more joy and growth into your life
How do we react to them? For ourselves or maybe when kids make them. We will all make them, so we might as well make the best of it and realize they are learning and growth opportunities.
I was recently a guest on the podcast Thrive State which I was so excited about because I am a huge fan of the host and the podcast. It has many followers on social …
Finding hope and relief: a physical therapist’s journey with chronic pain and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
The day Ann entered my clinic, I had already been practicing pain management for over ten years. A 40-something physical therapist, she had a warm smile, a positive attitude—and chronic pain in every part of her back.
Twenty-five years earlier, Ann had been inspired to go into physical therapy to help her family members who suffered from severe chronic pain to the point of disability. However, to her dismay, upon graduating …
Stop saying you “are OCD” if you don’t have OCD
When people (especially women) are highly organized, hyper-focused, and efficient they often label themselves (or are labeled by others) as OCD. In essence, “being OCD” is a superpower that leaves us with clean houses, well-manicured appearances, and detail-oriented work products. A person might even flaunt their “OCD personality” as a positive in an interview. But, saying you “are OCD” takes away from the very real anxiety that people who “have …
Revolutionizing physician work: Embracing location-independent careers and professional micro-corporations for autonomy and success
There was a time when one doctor worked one job in one geographic location where he/she was altruistically dedicated to serving a population in the practice of medicine.
For years this idea of working one job in one location was anchored within the private practice model which then gave way to the traditional employment model. The latter offered a parallel promise of a stable and long-term medical practice in one location—with …
5 myths of treating sickle cell disease with automated red blood cell exchange
Not all transfusion therapies are the same.
Unlike other transfusion therapies, automated red blood cell exchange (RBCX) efficiently and rapidly removes a patient’s hemoglobin S (HbS)-containing RBCs and replaces them with healthy RBCs. You may be surprised to learn that there are a few misperceptions surrounding automated RBCX. How do you think about automated RBCX today?
Myth #1: RBCX is only for acute patients
Reality: Automated RBCX is recommended by …
From stroke survivor to mental health advocate: one cardiologist’s journey to recovery [PODCAST]
Inside the psychiatric unit: a PhD’s god-like status, ECT, and the harsh reality of mental illness treatment
PhD, the big man on the psych unit’s eighth floor, puffed on his pipe while listening to the dialogue of the broken, misfits, psychotics, schizophrenics, and bipolar patients. Many were beaten at birth, both physically and emotionally. In this land of serpents, he felt like a god. He’d select patients one by one for ECT, electroconvulsive therapy, with electrodes attached to their heads and a mouthpiece in place. They were …
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The ABCs of parenting an LGBTQ+ child
Today’s politicians have gone amok with their unchecked and uninformed rhetoric and have decided to turn a blind eye to the new number-one killer of children in America. They have chosen to focus on matters that don’t matter, such as my child’s gender.
Supportive families like mine are persecuted daily, and affirming physicians like me are being threatened with the worst nightmare of any physician: the loss of our license to …
Why a business education is essential for financial stability and cutting-edge medical care
Physicians today are being flooded with information about finding the best ways to increase their practice incomes. Secondary employment may be appropriate for desperate physicians in financial distress, but the usual short-term nature of such employment is shrouded with low income, covering unexpected hours outside agreements, weekends working, management issues, and being labeled as the “fill-in” doctor.
I say that because I worked at the local Planned Parenthood clinic for a …
How I overcame a heart attack and health challenges with the help of faith, family, and skilled doctors
I stood outside in my yard, which had been dormant during the winter season and was now awakening to the spring. Yard work was a familiar and enjoyable activity for me, one that I had been doing for years. But as I walked across the yard, I found myself out of breath and fatigued, to the point of needing to see if taking a nap would help. It did not. …
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From cancer survivor to health care advocate: a touching tribute to an irreplaceable radiologist [PODCAST]
Adapting to health care’s financial maze: Anesthesiologists tackle AI, competition, and soaring costs
In the health care business, as in other industries, there are marginalized and privileged payers. The number of patients covered determines which health care payers can sell at wholesale pricing, benefiting themselves while expecting providers and institutions to make up for lower reimbursements with patient volume. Uninsured patients typically pay retail prices unless they can secure rare waivers from providers or institutions. These waivers are uncommon due to the complex …
The myth of wealthy doctors: Why business education is vital for every physician
“Money makes the world go ’round.”
Whether you believe this this figurative adage or not, it is a hard truth. Money is ubiquitous; it pervades everyday life. And money is the cornerstone of business. So I’m shocked to hear “pretty much nothing” when I ask residents what they’re taught about business and money these days.
Not to insult anyone’s intelligence, but I’ll venture an assumption. If you are a medical student, resident, …
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Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards
For years, I have tried to interest journalists in the machinations of state medical boards, but all we ever see in the media are notices of doctors sanctioned by state boards. Unfortunately, when journalists report only on sanctioned physicians, the public has little understanding of how medical boards really function.
So, I am delighted to see Scott Jensen go after the Minnesota Board of Medicine (MNBOMP) for singling him out time …
Past Week
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The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
How doctors can thrive despite declining reimbursements
-
Pope Francis dies at 88. What his care reveals about America’s failing hospitals.
-
Medical school admissions are racing toward an AI-driven disaster
-
Fat guy in a little coat: Preventing childhood obesity
-
Past 6 Months
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How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system
-
The hidden bias young female physicians face every day
-
How hospitals are quietly taking control of physicians
-
How to advocate for your transgender child’s health care
-
Doctors don’t need yoga, they need time to smoke
-
How the system hunts physicians who refuse to kneel
-
Recent Posts
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Fat guy in a little coat: Preventing childhood obesity
-
Taking a break from medicine: a physician assistant’s journey from burnout to world travel [PODCAST]
-
Gen Z is already transforming mental health care—are we listening?
-
Why nurses are the true heroes of my 25-year medical journey
-
What independent bookstores and private practice doctors teach us about human connection
-
How fake news about transgender mice is hurting real patients
-
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Past Week
-
The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
How doctors can thrive despite declining reimbursements
-
Pope Francis dies at 88. What his care reveals about America’s failing hospitals.
-
Medical school admissions are racing toward an AI-driven disaster
-
Fat guy in a little coat: Preventing childhood obesity
-
Past 6 Months
-
How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system
-
The hidden bias young female physicians face every day
-
How hospitals are quietly taking control of physicians
-
How to advocate for your transgender child’s health care
-
Doctors don’t need yoga, they need time to smoke
-
How the system hunts physicians who refuse to kneel
-
Recent Posts
-
Fat guy in a little coat: Preventing childhood obesity
-
Taking a break from medicine: a physician assistant’s journey from burnout to world travel [PODCAST]
-
Gen Z is already transforming mental health care—are we listening?
-
Why nurses are the true heroes of my 25-year medical journey
-
What independent bookstores and private practice doctors teach us about human connection
-
How fake news about transgender mice is hurting real patients
-
