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Why PAs are masters in medicine, not competitors to MDs

Education

February 22, 2026

As my first rotation in surgery draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting not only on anatomy and technique, but on the structure of medicine itself. Surgery teaches hierarchy not as an obstacle but as a rhythm, one that protects patients and preserves excellence. In that rhythm, I found clarity about my role as a PA student: to learn medicine deeply while honoring the lineage of those who have mastered …

Reflection vs. rumination: Is medical education harming students?

Vijay Rajput, MD and Seeth Vivek, MD

Education

February 22, 2026

Reflection has become one of the core virtues of contemporary health professional education. From journaling assignments to mindfulness prompts to competency-based portfolios, students are repeatedly asked to look inward. Reflection is framed as the doorway to insight, empathy, and professional identity formation. But an uncomfortable question is beginning to surface in hallway conversations and faculty retreats: Can too much reflection, or reflection done poorly, actually harm our learners?

At first glance, …

The hidden cost of medical board regulation and prosecutorial overreach

Kayvan Haddadan, MD

Physician

February 22, 2026

Close your eyes and imagine a health care system that truly prioritizes patients above all else, one that is free from political interference, financial incentives, or secondary gains that distort decision-making. In this ideal framework, regulatory bodies such as the Medical Board, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would enforce guidelines uniformly and based on evidence, without inadvertently inflating costs or compromising care quality …

Asking what love would do transforms leadership [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 21, 2026

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

Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article “Leading with love: a physician’s guide to clarity and compassion.” Jessie shares how a personal crisis involving her husband’s severe depression forced her …

Peptides for chronic pain: Navigating safety and regulations

Stephanie Phillips, DO

Meds

February 21, 2026

I have so many patients struggling with horrible arthritis pain! All the treatments we have either really don’t work well or have side effects, and many times cause more harm than good. I found myself having a risk-benefit discussion with every single patient with chronic pain, and at times, feeling like I was doing more harm than good when trying to help treat the pain.

Patients are taking NSAIDs, and I …

Integrative oncology nutrition: a case study in leukemia recovery

Dr. Manjari Chandra

Conditions

February 21, 2026

She arrived exhausted, a shadow of the lively 31-year-old she once was.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2023, underwent intensive IV chemotherapy, and was now on maintenance oral therapy. When I met her in July 2025, survival was no longer a question. It was about quality of life.

Fatigue consumed her days. Digestive discomfort disrupted her nights. Recurrent infections kept her in constant vigilance. Her laboratory values reflected a body …

Mifepristone safety: Comparing the data to Viagra and penicillin

Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD and Sophia Yen, MD, MPH

Meds

February 21, 2026

As physicians, we pride ourselves on following the evidence. We weigh risks and benefits, assess data, and trust science to guide decisions about patient care. Yet, when it comes to reproductive health, lawmakers and courts too often override scientific consensus. Nowhere is that clearer than in the debate over mifepristone.

Patients deserve care rooted in evidence and science, not ideology. To provide safe and best-practice medical care, physicians need the ability …

Agentic AI: the key to saving annual preventive exams

Sara Pastoor, MD

Physician

February 21, 2026

Annual preventive exams have been a staple of American medicine for decades. Yet despite their importance, preventive visits remain underutilized in American health care, which is no surprise in a system that centers sick care and incentivizes churning out services instead of improving outcomes.

In fact, only 60% of Medicare beneficiaries complete their annual well visits, and less than 65% of children under 19 complete their well-child check-ups. When …

Bureaucracy now consumes most of your health care spending [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 20, 2026

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

Vascular surgeon Paula Muto discusses her article “Give the health care dollar back to patients.” Paula argues that the government shutdown over health care funding misses the real issue of administrative bloat …

Rural health care crisis: Can telemedicine close the gap?

Griffin Popp

Policy

February 20, 2026

Between 2005 and the present, 195 rural hospitals have closed, with a 50-hospital net reduction occurring just between 2017 and 2023. These closures, compounded by significantly worse measures of social determinants of health (SDOH), high prevalence of Medicaid or Medicare patients, and longer commute times, have created a crisis of access for rural Americans.

The disproportionate impact on rural residents

Compared to their urban and suburban counterparts, …

Reviewing locum tenens agreements: Look beyond the hourly rate

Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA

Physician

February 20, 2026

I was halfway through reviewing what looked like an excellent locums opportunity when I realized the hourly rate was the least important number in the agreement. The compensation was strong. The schedule was flexible. Travel was covered. On the surface, it seemed straightforward.

But what ultimately determined whether the opportunity made sense had very little to do with pay. It had to do with clarity.

The difference between conversations and contracts

Locums conversations …

The misuse of hormone therapy in menopause care

Kay Corpus, MD

Conditions

February 20, 2026

As an integrative and functional medicine physician, I prescribe hormone therapy. I also see its misuse daily.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), including bioidentical hormone therapy (BHRT), has re-entered menopause care with force, correcting decades of dismissal and undertreatment. That correction was necessary, but the pendulum has swung too far.

What I am seeing clinically is not thoughtful, physiology-based care. It is hormone-first medicine that bypasses stress physiology, nervous system dysregulation, trauma, metabolic …

Physician burnout: Finding peace in a broken health care system

Jessica Singh, MD

Physician

February 20, 2026

Among the people exiting the hospital, I could easily pick out the medical staff leaving their shifts. It wasn’t by their clothing or the time of day, but by the unspoken language of relief on their faces: a calm twinkle in the eyes or a gentle softness around the forehead and jaw. Dawn or dusk, the look was always there. I hoped I’d have it too when I left later …

Why “eat less, move more” fails for midlife weight loss

Marsha Shepherd Whitt

Conditions

February 20, 2026

Clinicians often notice a frustrating pattern: Women in midlife follow standard weight-loss advice, eat less and move more, yet see little progress. Calories are reduced, exercise increases, and still the scale barely moves. This is often blamed on motivation, discipline, or compliance. But in many cases, the real issue is not behavior. It’s physiology.

Perimenopause and menopause are not simply estrogen-deficient states; they are states of altered signaling, altered tissue responsiveness, …

Locum tenens offers physicians a path to freedom [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 19, 2026

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

Pediatrician Trevor Cabrera discusses his article “Locum tenens: Reclaiming purpose, autonomy, and financial freedom in medicine.” Trevor explains how choosing the path of an independent contractor allowed him to pay off massive …

Lifestyle medicine vs. medication: Why prevention is the future

Jenna ODonnell

Education

February 19, 2026

During my first two years as a medical student, I have often been struck not only by how much medicine has advanced, but by how frequently the foundations of health are overlooked. This perspective was shaped early in my career through my first postgraduate role, where I spent three years collecting patient data for a multisite study evaluating a lifestyle-based intervention to reverse metabolic syndrome.

At a data analysis meeting with …

Understanding the 4 models of health care: Where the U.S. fits

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

February 19, 2026

We are frequently told that our health care system is expensive. However, most of us, including physicians, have no notion about what the health care system really is, to judge whether or not we are getting our money’s worth.

There are four major structural models for a health care system:

The Beveridge model (socialized medicine): Health care is provided and financed by the government through tax payments (e.g., United Kingdom’s NHS).

…

What got you here won’t get you there: a physician’s guide to leadership

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Physician

February 19, 2026

You became a physician because you were driven. You studied longer, pushed harder, and tolerated pressure better than most. You needed to be right and usually were. That formula worked. It got you through pre-med, medical school, residency, and into practice. It earned you respect and built your reputation.

But at some point, quietly, subtly, that same formula can start working against you. I realized this after reading Marshall Goldsmith’s book, …

The 3-2-1 method: a doctor’s guide to keeping New Year’s resolutions

Anthony Fleg, MD

Physician

February 19, 2026

Welcome to the first weeks of the new year. A great moment to check in.

How are you doing? How are you feeling? Energy level?

The first days of the new year come with a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure.

Excitement for the sense of renewal and becoming better versions of ourselves. Excitement in putting the last year to rest and starting with a clean slate. Excitement at putting down …

Single-payer health care vs. market-based solutions: an economic reality check

Allan Dobzyniak, MD

Policy

February 19, 2026

Single-payer health care is generally defended with “heart-wrenching” virtue signaling divorced from any cost, economic, or financial reality. The idea that any scarce service or commodity is a right and therefore should be free is fanciful, but impossible. With an indebtedness of $38 trillion and growing, adding greater than $40 trillion as estimated for the cost of “Medicare for All” would absolutely drive the country into insolvency. Even without single-payer, …

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