I have wanted to be a doctor since I was 12 years old. I revered my pediatrician, Dr. Helen Nash, who was a giant in our community. Growing up poor in St. Louis, it was rare to see a Black doctor. Seeing Dr. Nash—owning her own practice, helping people, and commanding deep respect—was inspiring. She was an advocate for health care in the African American community, and whenever she spoke, …
Hello! Your friendly next-door ID physician here checking in! I haven’t submitted anything here in several years. I’ve been too caught up with my work and family to delve into my creative side. But the very recent news that we will have a new head of human and health services (an individual without formal health care training and who has expressed a rather strong anti-vaccine sentiment in the past) paired …
As a board-certified internal medicine physician and hospitalist with over 12 years of experience, I find myself grappling with an unsettling thought: I cannot, in good conscience, encourage medical students with clinical ambitions to pursue any general medicine field.
This may seem like a harsh assessment, but in my opinion, the writing is on the wall for general physicians. While those of us already established in practice are likely to have …
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Family physician Pamela Buchanan discusses her article, “The ER doctor who became the new PCP.” In this compelling conversation, Pamela explains her transition from emergency medicine back to primary care, driven by …
As Doctors’ Day on March 30 approaches, we are reminded of the incredible impact physicians have on our lives. But there is something often overlooked—the emotional toll the profession takes. Physicians give so much of themselves, yet their emotional needs often go unrecognized. What if there were a simple, powerful way to remind them that their efforts matter?
Imagine the impact a heartfelt, handwritten note could have on a weary physician.
I …
Federal downsizing, while touted as a means to streamline operations and eliminate bureaucratic waste, has significant and often detrimental consequences for the U.S. health care system. Two documents shed light on this issue from complementary perspectives. The first, a U.S. Office of Management and Budget-Office of Personnel Management (OMB-OPM) memorandum outlines an aggressive workforce optimization initiative designed to reduce federal staffing and cut costs. The …
Residency interview season is wrapping up; applicants and programs are weighing each other’s relative flaws and merits. In about a month, rank lists are due, and then the applicants’ fates are up to the Match. Where they will spend the next three to seven years of their lives, the people with whom they will work 80-plus hours per week, and the culture in which they will be steeped will be …
I’ve been an emergency room doctor for 35 years. I have probably washed my hands over 150,000 times. What the heck? How much is enough? What would happen if I just didn’t wash my hands?
Well, first, the hand-washing police (yes, there is such a thing … they wander around the hospital watching for clinicians who don’t wash their hands) would record that I had committed a violation, and I would …
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Pediatrician John D. Michael discusses his article, “How attention therapy transforms speech delay in young children.” In this engaging conversation, John explains that sustained attention is crucial for developing effective speech and …
Nationwide, radiology groups are approaching hospitals and asking for massive subsidies to maintain their radiology coverage. Much of the time, hospital administrators and CEOs balk and would prefer to drag their feet or try to replace the group rather than pay market rates for radiological services. These hospitals end up paying double or even triple for worse coverage with some of the same radiologists—while those radiologists end up making much …
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I was leaving the mall after purchasing a gift for a friend. Her birthday was the next day, and after spending hours searching for the perfect present, I finally bought an expensive wallet that I was sure she would love.
It was a chilly evening, and as soon as I left the mall, I immediately felt the real intensity of the cold. The heating system inside the mall had masked the …
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Pediatrician Gary Kirkilas discusses his article, “Cannabis advertising takes a page from the tobacco playbook.” In this conversation, Gary explains how legal cannabis companies are adopting tactics once used by tobacco companies …
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“Whatever is measured is managed” is the fundamental principle in management science. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in a small, obscure reciprocal insurance company in Washington, D.C., once the provider of choice for two-thirds of all doctors in Washington, D.C.
For it, the writing is on the wall in 2001. It is rated “AMB3” by AM Best. This corresponds to an “adequate ability to pay short-term financial obligations.” In 2004, …
Some physicians have a clear moment when they know they’re done with clinical practice. A good friend of mine left emergency medicine just five years after residency—she simply knew it was time. There was no doubt, no wavering. She saw the road ahead, and it wasn’t one she wanted to keep traveling. When I said my ego loved the job, one of her comments resonated deeply: “But there’s more to …
In a 2023 study, researchers explored the medical needs of elderly, mentally deficient individuals who lived alone. A common comment by interviewed physicians was that they knew some patients required greater supervision or care, but they acceded to patient choices to return home. Are clinicians placing too great an emphasis on competency and patient rights rather than on patient well-being?
Everyone knows the phrase: “First, do no harm.” Yet today, deciding …
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Physician advocate Kim Downey and family physician Todd Otten discuss their article, “Long-term impacts of physician suicide on patients and doctors.” In this engaging conversation, Kim shares her personal experiences with the …
We move into every new year carrying beliefs from previous years. Scientific confusion and unresolved questions can sometimes cause society and families to become intellectually and emotionally divided.
Centuries ago, we thought the Earth was flat and the center of the universe, and we feared that sailing exploration would send us over the edge of a cliff. Sir Isaac Newton tried to explain gravity, but now this discussion extends even further …
When I was a brand-new doctor, I was fresh, eager, and determined to succeed. I grew up poor, so I worked and worked—full-time during the week and taking travel assignments on weekends to make ends meet. Many of these travel assignments were in areas with less diverse populations, places where I was often the only Black doctor in the hospital.
One such assignment took me to Hannibal, Missouri, the …
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I was an aspiring internist, then became an aesthetic physician, and now I am preparing to train abroad. This is the story of how I had to make life-changing decisions as a doctor to survive in this ever-changing world.
In August 2020, as a fifth-year medical student, I experienced my first doctor’s strike. I remember standing under the scorching summer sun, chanting slogans in protest. The conflict? A standoff between medical …
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