The vaccination dilemma: Protecting patient rights or caregiver freedom?

Conditions
March 10, 2023

Recently, I heard a news report regarding several state attorneys general suing the federal government to eliminate the requirement that health care providers be immunized against COVID. They argued that as fully immunized individuals still contract COVID, and that allowing unimmunized people to be rehired would relieve provider shortage, the regulation was unhelpful.

Initially, I agreed, as rehiring these individuals would generate some relief for those staff members who have worked …

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Empowering physicians to lead: the benefits of physician leadership [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 9, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we are joined by Peter Angood, MD, CEO and president, American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL). We explore the increasing value of physician leadership in health care and dive into the findings of a …

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Physicians in crisis: the battle for autonomy and happiness in a broken system

Physician
March 9, 2023

What’s one of the biggest complaints we physicians have about the current state of our jobs? It’s that we’ve lost our autonomy, that it has been taken from us by a health care system more focused on profits than on the well-being of patients and ourselves.

As a physician, you know firsthand how dysfunctional health care has become. There is abundant evidence that the modern health care system is more than …

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Nurse’s whistle of hopelessness: a tale of a dangerous workplace with no safety measures

Conditions
March 9, 2023

I finally found time after retirement to clean out my nurse’s book bag. It contained items such as a stethoscope, extra playing cards for patients, highlighters, various pens, a penlight, a notebook with important phone numbers throughout the health care system, tourniquets for IVs, and a plastic whistle.

This health care system, which has a revenue of $5 billion per year and spans throughout America, is quite complex. Let me explain.

The …

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Rethinking access to the American tip jar: It’s time to include nurses and dental hygienists

Physician
March 9, 2023

Americans are accustomed to tipping for a wide array of services. We understand that our gratuity makes up an important percentage of the wages earned by many different types of laborers: massage therapists, Uber drivers, hair stylists, tour guides, room service providers, valets — the list goes on. Much of the time, we don’t just add a tip because we’re adhering to a cultural norm but rather because we genuinely …

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Research literacy bridges the medical mistrust gap

Conditions
March 9, 2023

A long inglorious history of medical racism and mistreatment has dire health consequences. Consider the atrocities associated with experimentation on African Americans without informed consent during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), which eroded the trust in the medical profession and medical research, and undermined the nation’s ability to achieve health equity.

Medical mistrust continues to worsen due to the negative health care experiences African Americans still endure today. For …

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A fine line between DNR and denied treatment for the elderly [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 8, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we welcome Alan Lindemann, an obstetrics-gynecology physician, to discuss the issue of autonomy and treatment for elderly patients. He shares his experiences in the long-term care setting, and the disturbing trend of interpreting do …

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Gratitude takes practice. How come health care workers aren’t better at it?

Physician
March 8, 2023

Like interest rates and food prices, burnout among health care providers continues to rise.

From my perch—as a hospitalist in a large tertiary hospital—the sheer terror of the early days of the COVID pandemic has been replaced by a grinding fatigue fueled by staffing shortages across the entire health care system.

Patients and their families are burned out too, frustrated by delays and shortcomings in care that inevitably arise in an overworked …

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Fool women twice? Drug makers revive menopause as a “disease.”

Conditions
March 8, 2023

In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women’s health has been “very, very good” for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat the so-called “disease” of menopause (which was once treated with electroshock therapy—yes, ECT).

Until the government-sponsored Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) found in 2002 that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) …

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Transforming health care with AI: Google Bard and BioGPT lead the way

Tech
March 8, 2023

Generative language models such as Google Bard and BioGPT are two cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to revolutionize Health care by providing accurate and reliable information to patients and health care professionals alike. Google Bard is powered by LaMDA and trained on web data, while BioGPT is developed by Microsoft and trained on biomedical literature. Both models can perform various tasks, such as answering questions, extracting relevant data, and …

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Is mandating pre-medical training widening disparities in the U.S. physician workforce?

Education
March 8, 2023

Around 75 percent of U.S. physicians are U.S. MD/DOs who have completed pre-medical training, while the remaining 25 percent are international medical graduates (IMGs) who may not have completed pre-medical training but are still able to take the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) and become licensed to practice medicine in the U.S.

From the patient’s perspective, pre-medical training may not be necessary unless pre-medical training-deficient IMGs are not evenly distributed …

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Critical thinking in pain management [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 7, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we welcome special guest Ronald A. Zent, a family physician, to discuss the ongoing opioid crisis. With a fourfold increase in opioid prescriptions and overdose deaths from 1999-2010, Ronald shares his insights on how …

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The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

Physician
March 7, 2023

The re-release of the movie Titanic marks its 25th anniversary since it first sailed into theaters. Can you believe it? Twenty-five years ago, we watched Rose get undressed for a self-portrait with only a necklace on, Jack yelling, “I’m the king of the world” from the boat’s bow, and the two of them doin’ the dirty in the backseat of an automobile. This fictional love story of Rose and Jack …

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Patient empowerment: the key to solving the health care crisis

Physician
March 7, 2023

A sobering study by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts an unthinkable shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 doctors by 2034. If underserved populations had fewer barriers to medical care, that shortfall could reach over 180,000! Successfully navigating these uncharted waters will require strategic planning and innovation.

Even the current state is so dire that the American Medical Association (AMA) developed a critical action plan: AMA’s Recovery Plan for …

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Revolutionize your health and fitness with ChatGPT’s modern weight loss hacks

Tech
March 7, 2023

Weight loss can be a challenging process for many people, as it often requires significant lifestyle changes and dedication to healthy habits. However, with the help of modern technology and innovative strategies, it’s easier than ever to revolutionize your health and fitness journey. This article will explore how ChatGPT can provide modern weight loss hacks to help individuals achieve their health goals.

1. Personalized nutrition plan. One of the most significant …

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Discover the power of breathing: How a lesson in pediatrics helped me find inner calm

Physician
March 7, 2023

“Until I know you better, I will tell you how to breathe!”

It’s my first day at the pediatric orthopedic hand specialty clinic on my pediatric ortho rotation in my third year of residency.

I have just been barked at by the professor emeritus, a retired Army colonel, who runs the service.

He didn’t tell me how to breathe, but he affected it.

Prior to this, my upper-level resident told me that I have …

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A discussion on mental health during the holidays [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 6, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we welcome Jennifer Shaer, a pediatrician, to discuss the issue of physician suicide rates and how the holidays can impact mental health. Despite being one of the happiest countries in the world, Scandinavian countries …

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