KevinMD.com

Thriving as a doctor: Why I still love my medical practice amidst burnout fears

Physician

July 4, 2024

I have always felt that I was in the mainstream of medical thought and actions. Recently, however, I have been subjected to a barrage of articles on physician burnout, depression, and even suicide! I am happy to be working in my medical practice. What is wrong with me?

Like everyone, it is difficult to drag myself out of a nice, warm bed each morning. But as I begin to dress for …

The flaw with medical malpractice litigation

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

July 4, 2024

There is a serious flaw in medical malpractice litigation, and it is not what you may think. My post about a hypothetical medical malpractice case is not hypothetical but emblematic of the flaw. Medical staff at a major hospital in Washington, DC, did depart from applicable standards of care regarding limb salvage. The patient is actually a 78-year-old family member who suffers septic shock and a left above-the-knee amputation. There …

Catholic hospitals in America [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 4, 2024

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

Join us for an episode featuring Patricia A. Gabow, a nephrologist, as she discusses her book, The Catholic Church and Its Hospitals: A Marriage Made in Heaven? Patrician delves into the origins and …

Read more…

Catholic hospitals in America [PODCAST]

How to ensure you receive a proper Alzheimer’s screening [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Conditions

July 3, 2024

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

Join us for an insightful discussion with Carol Steinberg, a journalist and patient advocate, as we explore the critical issues surrounding Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive screening. Carol shares her personal experiences with the …

Why physicians should consider investing in residential assisted living homes

Alex Schloe, MD

Finance

July 3, 2024

As a physician, you are accustomed to thinking about the future and planning for the well-being of your patients. However, have you considered applying the same foresight to your financial future? Investing in residential assisted living (RAL) homes is an opportunity that offers both financial security and the chance to make a meaningful impact on the lives of seniors. Here’s why RAL homes are an excellent investment now and for …

Navigating life’s transitions: How I turned my struggles into support

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Physician

July 3, 2024

I’ve historically struggled with graduations and transitions—it’s why I help people with transitions now, as I’ve learned how essential it is to have support during these often isolating and destabilizing times. While transitions can be full of celebrations, gratitude, and pride, there are also times when we may experience grief, regret, loneliness, and everything in between.

Sitting with my current transition, I acknowledged many reasons why I tend to skip over …

Battling aplastic anemia: my journey with ATGAM equine therapy

Deborah C. Smith, RN

Conditions

July 3, 2024

This paper is written from the author’s perspective after receiving ATGAM equine immunotherapy for the treatment of aplastic anemia. This journey began in 2017 with the diagnosis of T-cell lymphocytic leukemia without having achieved remission. The author experienced extreme fatigue and shortness of breath. A full cardiac and pulmonary work-up was completed, and all findings were within normal limits. A CBC revealed a hemoglobin level of 4.4! Thus, the journey …

Historical trauma in ethnic health disparities [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 2, 2024

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

We explore the complex factors contributing to ethnic health disparities in the United States with our guest, Melody T. McCloud, an obstetrician-gynecologist who was bestowed a Distinguished Alumni Award by Emory University School …

From medical student to intern: Embrace your inner artist

Audrey Nguyen, MD

Physician

July 2, 2024

“A message to the new generation of interns: you’re not just a doctor—you’re an artist, too.”

It’s the first day of residency. You enter the hospital, trying to recall basic medicine after months away from patient care. Gone are the days of hovering between unpaid trainees and health care providers. Gone are the days when you could deploy the instinctive, age-old adage, “I’m just the medical student.”

During graduation this year, I …

Why doctors risk jail time to treat pain and addiction

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Meds

July 2, 2024

This is a strange time in America. While tools for treating pain and addiction, unchanged essentially from the late 1800s to the early 2000s, are now being developed, daring to try to utilize these medications and the science we have learned about them can be a huge risk. Not for the patient but for the doctor. There is a stigma that has always been attached to these areas of medicine, …

Providing clarity in behavioral health: How patients, providers, and payers can benefit from measurement-informed care

Kevin Ramotar, PsyD

Conditions

July 2, 2024

Mental health conditions are among the most common health concerns in the United States, with 1 in 5 adults living with a mental illness. Yet those who need care have long been faced with issues of access, understanding, and stigma. While the coronavirus pandemic gave way for some of these issues to be addressed, allowing free-flowing conversations about mental health to become more commonplace, legislation to be put …

A mother’s harrowing hospital experience

Laura Buchman, MBA

Conditions

July 2, 2024

An excerpt from NERVE: Surviving Medical Madness.

“There are moments which mark your life. Moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts, before this and after this.”
— N. Kazan

It was a peaceful, uneventful drive—until it wasn’t. My husband and I flipped to the local news radio station and heard them discussing an extreme weather event just as we looked straight ahead …

A doctor’s journey with Sjogren’s [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 1, 2024

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

Join us for a conversation with Kara Wada, an adult and pediatric allergy, immunology, and lifestyle medicine physician, as she shares her personal journey with Sjogren’s. Discover how her experience as both doctor …

An ankle away: the urgent call to listen to our bodies

Dorinda White, MPA

Conditions

July 1, 2024

In 2017, amidst the routine of caregiving for my elderly father, I experienced a sudden and unexpected turn of events that brought me face to face with an undeniable truth: the importance of knowing and listening to our bodies. I slipped on a carpet and broke my ankle while pushing my father forward in his wheelchair. It was a moment that not only challenged my preconceptions but also illuminated a …

Harnessing the power of AI and personalized videos: a new era in patient education and clinical care

Shitij Arora, MD

Tech

July 1, 2024

As a physician and digital health practitioner, I have seen firsthand the challenges of ineffective patient education and the immense potential for technology to revolutionize how we inform, engage, and empower patients in their health journeys. Imagine a future where every patient, regardless of their language, cultural background, or health literacy level, can receive tailored, engaging, and easily understandable video content that empowers them to manage their health effectively. This …

How to live when you know you are dying

Sonny Miles, MD

Physician

July 1, 2024

We had been meeting for a number of months when she posed the question. We met in person one time, but other than that single appointment, all of our meetings were virtual. She had metastatic cancer. She didn’t actually want to know that her cancer had returned. The metastatic disease had been found when they couldn’t complete her colonoscopy and ordered a scan to see why. She helped me understand …

Read more…

How to live when you know you are dying

From patient care to powerful stories: an interview with KevinMD [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 30, 2024

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

Welcome to a special episode of the podcast where we turn the tables on Kevin Pho, the founder of KevinMD. In this episode, pediatrician Lisa Sieczkowski interviews Kevin, delving into his motivations behind …

This doctor sometimes listens to pirates

Ryan McCarthy, MD

Physician

June 30, 2024

I read in a dusty novel that a famous pirate said there are no legacies in this life. Our lives, he said, float atop a fickle sea, and when we die, nothing remains. Many hands work the decks and, in the process, are worn, discarded, and forgotten. The sea gives, and eventually, she flushes the flotsam, leaving no monuments to souls and their adventures.

Well, this is not entirely true. And, …

What if AI focused on respecting the craft of medicine?

Kyna Fong, PhD

Tech

June 30, 2024

Health care technology has a long history of getting it wrong. The electronic health record (EHR) boom of the late 2000s was a remarkable transformation — taking our sector from paper charts to computers in a matter of just a few years. Unfortunately, most of the technology that was so feverishly adopted was developed without clinical input and with a focus on medical reimbursement and policy-compliance checklists over medical care. …

Blue Zones uncovered: a physician’s first-hand experience

Michelle Tollefson, MD

Physician

June 30, 2024

A windy, bumpy road led my family into Costa Rica’s remote Nicoya Peninsula, one of the world’s five so-called Blue Zones. Our arrival in 2021 satisfied a wish I had made while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer to visit this fascinating, biodiverse region where people are documented to live healthier, longer lives.

I have taught my students in the lifestyle medicine program at Metropolitan State University in Denver about the literature …