Breaking the glass ceiling in medicine: the struggles and strengths of female doctors
There’s some pretty good evidence out there that women physicians provide really good medical care—in some cases, better than their male counterparts. For instance, a 2017 study showed that hospitalized Medicare patients under the care of a female doctor had lower rates of 30-day mortality and readmission to the hospital than those cared for by a male doctor. A study in Canada in 2016 found that patients of female doctors …
Health care’s future with ChatGPT: Exploring the potential of AI in medicine [BONUS PODCAST]
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In this episode, we are joined by Harvey Castro, a physician, health care consultant, and serial entrepreneur, to discuss the exciting potential of the generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) in the field of medicine and health care. ChatGPT …
Focused to a fault: Medical education and how it holds us hostage from living well
One of the head-scratchers about American culture is that anxiety, depression, unwanted weight gain, and a soaring prevalence of lifestyle diseases clearly plague our society. Yet, the primary metric we use to measure our country’s “success,” GDP, doesn’t even account for this suffering.
Society has a variety of needs that must be met to be truly successful, not just economically productive. As Senator Robert Kennedy memorably said, “GDP measures everything …
Only physicians can find the balance between tradition and active disruption
It is clear to most of us who practice medicine that the medical system is at a crossroads unlike any other in recent history, between competing crises of uncontrolled medical costs, escalating administrative burdens, consolidation and employment of physician practices, burnout, and the rapid development and entrance of new, largely untested technologies. I am sure that I am not alone as a physician who wonders what will the medical system …
Doctors and dating: the challenges of balancing a demanding career and personal life
The word “career” has two meanings. A career in medicine fulfills both meanings quite neatly. In the traditional sense, it can be defined as an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life. On the other hand, it can mean moving swiftly and in an uncontrolled way. As in, “Her car careered across the road and into a ditch.”
Being a physician is a blur of late nights, cold …
How female physicians are changing the game for women entrepreneurs [PODCAST]
The unexpected gift of friendship in trying times
I spotted her on the opposite sidewalk, standing right next to the idling police cruiser. Petite. Brunette. Late 80s and leaning over her red walker as she stared, transfixed, as the EMTs eased her husband into the back of the ambulance.
A few minutes earlier, one of the many sidewalk onlookers had explained: “Poor old man was just crossing the street. Someone said he’d just gone to buy a bagel for …
Why the name “emergency medicine” is no longer adequate: a call for change
I am an emergency physician in training. It’s a thrilling and rewarding job learning to treat the severely ill and injured. But it is also a rare clinical shift when I don’t treat patients with life-limiting alcohol and drug addiction, people struggling with homelessness, those whose behavior does not allow them to safely be in a shelter with others, undocumented immigrants with nowhere else to turn for aid, uninsured patients …
Trauma motivated me to become a doctor
“Raise your hand if you said you wanted to become a doctor to help people during your medical school interview. I see practically every hand in the room raised. Keep them raised if you told your interviewer you also wanted to become a doctor to overcome personal trauma.”
Everyone lowered their hands.
“I’m dismayed there are no honest people here,” I joked to attendees at an annual meeting of the American Psychiatric …
Ensuring your voice is heard: the importance of power of attorney, advance care directives, and POLST forms
My husband was clearly losing his independence after a terminal diagnosis and many hospital visits. I was getting more and more responsibility, which I didn’t mind, but the best way we could handle it was just to let it happen. There was no way to stop it, so we just had to live with it. The changes were slow in coming, and eventually, my being responsible for everything just fell …
Increasing diversity is impossible with the current medical school admission practices
This article is sponsored by BeMo Academic Consulting, one of the most sought-after academic consulting firms for helping applicants with admissions to highly competitive programs and its staunch advocacy for fair admissions.
It is no secret that it is incredibly hard to get into medical school, even …
A thank you to those who take care of us
As patients, we often think of our health care providers as infallible beings who can easily handle their profession’s emotional and physical tolls. However, the reality is that health care professionals are human too, and they are not immune to the effects of burnout, depression, and even suicide.
One forgotten fact about our health care system is that providers are constantly exposed to the suffering of others and are faced with …
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How occupational therapy can help the anxiety epidemic [PODCAST]
A doctor’s journey: Navigating chronic disease and empowerment through life coaching
On January 2020, I got the dreaded call: You have Type 1 diabetes. The rest is a blur. I went into a global pandemic, one of the highest risk categories, a red lab value that stared at me “HgbA1c > 15.”
As a family physician, I was supposed to manage patients and ease their fears. I was supposed to know all about the disease management of a “bread and butter condition” …
AI in health care: Meeting HIPAA standards with ChatGPT
New technologies are introduced to enhance the quality of care and make the work of health care professionals more efficient. ChatGPT is one such technology; it is a robust language model that can comprehend and respond to input in natural language. ChatGPT has the potential to significantly enhance the work of health care professionals and improve patient care, even though some may be concerned that the use of such technology …
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Navigating the gray area: a doctor’s perspective on treating a colleague
“Musta been the ham sandwich,” he said as he leaned onto the operating table and belched a couple of times. We were halfway through an operation, and Doug, my partner, didn’t look all that good. I’d been in practice for all of a year, still greenish, and he, ten years my senior, was my guardian angel, my guide through the vagaries of the world of private practice, and the best …
The effects of the nationwide stimulant shortage on a private psychiatry practice
I have a solo outpatient private practice focusing on psychiatric medication management and brief therapy for adults. Early on, I decided to accept insurance to help address the shortage of psychiatrists in this country. Because of the advances in telemedicine since the pandemic, I can see patients throughout the state where I am licensed. This should be the happiest time in my career. After several years of working as an …
The hidden toll of racism in medicine: a doctor’s perspective
It felt like a monumental moment when I started my career in medicine. I grew up largely on the borderline of poverty; my parents lived check to check with my sister and me. Neither of them had gotten a college education, and they sacrificed much of their lives to support my ambitions. So to see their son realize his dream was a proud moment for them. But as a Hispanic …
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Leading through burnout: How health care executives can address burnout in the workplace [PODCAST]
Past Week
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What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
-
How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship
-
The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you
-
How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care
-
Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check
-
The hidden cost of delaying back surgery
-
Past 6 Months
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What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
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Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam
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Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?
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A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how
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Recent Posts
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Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care
-
“Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)
-
The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians
-
A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy
-
Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]
-
The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control
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Past Week
-
What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
-
How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship
-
The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you
-
How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care
-
Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check
-
The hidden cost of delaying back surgery
-
Past 6 Months
-
What’s driving medical students away from primary care?
-
Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting
-
What happened to real care in health care?
-
Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam
-
Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?
-
A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how
-
Recent Posts
-
Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care
-
“Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)
-
The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians
-
A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy
-
Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]
-
The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control
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