From skin to soul: What pain reveals about our health

Physician
February 9, 2025

Skin is the largest organ of the body.

It also contains the highest concentration of nociceptors, alerting us to pain at the surface level with the intent to mitigate harm from noxious stimuli.

A veritable trip wire for threats from the external environment, it offers palpable and visible responses in the dermatological layer, providing opportunities for intervention to avoid, eliminate, or resolve problematic exposures.

The skin is also a message delivery system from …

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Super Bowl betting: How America’s favorite game fuels gambling addiction

Conditions
February 9, 2025

Gambling as a recreational activity is on the rise. This is Super Bowl weekend, and it is expected to be one of the largest sports betting events in U.S. history, with tens of millions of Americans predicted to wager billions of dollars on this event. Gambling disorder is also now a recognized part of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Gambling as a medical condition …

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The burden of shadowing and volunteering in medical school admissions: a hurdle, not a measure of commitment

Education
February 9, 2025

In recent years, the requirements for medical school admission have expanded far beyond academic excellence and personal statements. Shadowing physicians and accumulating volunteer hours are now seen as prerequisites for demonstrating commitment to the profession. However, these requirements, while well-intentioned, have become unnecessary hurdles rather than meaningful indicators of dedication or future success as a physician.

Unnecessary compared to other professions

Medical school applicants are asked to prove their commitment in ways …

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Transforming dementia care with better detection tools [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 8, 2025
YouTube video

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Neuroscientist Adrian Owen discusses his KevinMD article, “A wake-up call for dementia detection: the urgent need for precision tools across health care.” Adrian highlights the alarming rate of dementia diagnoses worldwide and …

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How abuse in health care is driving doctors out of medicine

Physician
February 8, 2025

Would you ever consider a routine day at the office as how many people are going to abuse you?

As a psychiatrist who works primarily in an acute care setting, I look after patients that enter the emergency room with complex mental health and social difficulties. I have been doing this work for close to a decade now. I often get asked why I choose to continue the work, and the …

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Citizenship should not be a condition of treatment

Physician
February 8, 2025

The Hippocratic Oath does not require citizenship as a condition of treatment. The oath, which serves as a foundational ethical guideline for physicians, emphasizes principles such as doing no harm, maintaining patient confidentiality, and practicing medicine ethically and with integrity. It focuses on the physician’s responsibilities to patients and the ethical practice of medicine rather than any conditions related to a patient’s citizenship or nationality.

So, why did this issue surface …

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How millennials and Gen Z are reshaping the medical workforce

Physician
February 8, 2025

The interplay between generations has become increasingly pronounced in medicine, particularly with the emergence of millennials and Generation Z trainees alongside their older counterparts—the Baby Boomers and Gen X physicians. This generational shift brings to light a myriad of differences in values and perspectives, sparking a nuanced discourse within the medical community. Millennials came of age in an era marked by globalization, technological advancements, and economic prosperity. Their successors, Generation …

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Physician suicide: Understanding the silent epidemic and finding solutions [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 7, 2025
YouTube video

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Muhamad Aly Rifai, a psychiatrist, discusses his KevinMD article “Physician suicide: Addressing the silent epidemic.” In this episode, Muhamad delves into the alarming rise in suicide rates among physicians, the pervasive stigma surrounding mental health in the medical community, and the unique risk factors that contribute to this crisis. …

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How drug companies turned “depression” into a billion-dollar industry

Conditions
February 7, 2025

Once upon a time, anxiety was anxiety. Maybe you were going for a root canal, taking a flight when you were a nervous flier, or meeting your in-laws for the first time, so you had “nerves.”

That was then. Sensing an untapped market, drugmakers who funded writers of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or “DSM” (the Bible for mental conditions) recast anxiety as “really depression,” and suddenly everyone …

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Why Canada won’t be the U.S.’s 51st state anytime soon

Physician
February 7, 2025

It was a crisp winter day where the sun shines so brightly it tricks you into thinking it’s warm until you step outside and instantly regret not grabbing your scarf—that I heard about the latest musings from our southern neighbors. The commander-in-chief (yes, President Trump, I’m looking at you) had hinted, joked, or perhaps accidentally tweeted (it’s hard to tell these days) that Canada could become the 51st state.

Instantly, I …

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Rethinking residency: How to reshape graduate medical education

Education
February 7, 2025

Graduate medical education (GME) could explore several forward-thinking processes to enhance the journey of medical trainees. These processes could focus on selecting applicants for residency, fostering their development to excel as trainees, and preparing them to graduate as competent, certified physicians capable of independently practicing their specialties.

As objective numerical scores from the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) become a thing of the past, it may be time to consider …

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Why AI is the perfect neutral arbiter for health care claims

Tech
February 7, 2025

When Berkshire Hathaway executive Charlie Munger said, “Show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the outcome,” during a speech in 1995, he wasn’t talking about health care, but he might as well have been. Companies in any industry are influenced by how the norms and structures around them contribute to their success, and in health care, the incentives often aren’t set for the good of the end user—the patient.

Consider …

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Marijuana’s hidden threat to fertility and family planning [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 6, 2025
YouTube video

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Fertility specialist Oluyemisi Famuyiwa discusses her KevinMD article, “Why is no one listening? The urgent impact of marijuana on fertility.” In this episode, Yemi explores the emerging concerns surrounding marijuana legalization and …

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Murder, vitriol, and hidden costs: inside the health insurance industry’s biggest battles

Policy
February 6, 2025

With the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, many have expressed vitriol towards the insurance industry.

Having worked in non-profit health care all my life, I decided in 2018 to switch to the “dark side,” or the insurance industry, out of curiosity. What is it that they do, and how are they doing it? I thought knowing would make me a better health care worker when I returned.

As a registered nurse case …

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The best job boards for finding unconventional medical jobs, side gigs, and moonlighting opportunities

Physician
February 6, 2025

Interest in unconventional jobs among physicians and other medical providers is growing. These roles differ from traditional, full-time positions in hospitals or medical practices due to their work settings, schedules, responsibilities, or other factors.

Conventional medical practice often comes with bureaucratic burdens, insurance paperwork, and documentation that lead to frustration and burnout. Many providers seek more autonomy and fulfilling work. They frequently find this via a job change to something unconventional. …

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To my beloved sister: Dr. Moumita Debnath

Physician
February 6, 2025

Trigger warning: sexual abuse, violence against women, and rape.

(Dr. Moumita Debnath, a 31-year-old female resident doctor from Kolkata, India, was discovered dead in a seminar hall at R.G. Kar Medical College on August 9, 2024. Her death was verified as the result of a violent sexual assault and murder. All this occurred while she was sleeping alone at night, on call. The autopsy indicated significant damage caused by severe physical …

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Breaking free from perfectionism: a healing journey [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 5, 2025
YouTube video

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Jillian Rigert, an oral medicine specialist and radiation oncology research fellow, discusses her KevinMD article, “Is perfectionism something to strive for or heal from?” Jillian explores the emotional toll of perfectionism, its …

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The weaponization of predictive data analytics, red flags, and the chronic pain gender gap has become a radioactive crisis in U.S. health care

Tech
February 5, 2025

In recent years, the health care system has increasingly relied on predictive data analytics in the prosecution of physicians, turning what was once a tool for improving care into an instrument of punitive measures by the U.S. government. Thousands of U.S. physicians, particularly those working with vulnerable populations, have been targeted based on flawed or biased data patterns, with many facing prosecution and imprisonment. Predictive data analytics, initially designed to …

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Doctors beware: How vague contracts put your job at risk

Physician
February 5, 2025

“Crappy doc” terminations. First, let me apologize for the use of legalese. Of late, I have been hearing concerning stories about physicians who were terminated from employment on the grounds of supposedly poor-quality care. These are not what you would call slam dunks—I’m not talking about leaving a scalpel in the patient or showing up drunk for rounds.

The stories I hear (admittedly, I’m only hearing the physician’s side) have been …

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Finding freedom through gratitude and resilience

Conditions
February 5, 2025

The sun was out, casting a warm glow over the world as the snow melted into slush. The air was crisp, invigorating, as I leashed up my pups for their morning half-mile walk. Today, I had an extra companion, another pup I was babysitting, turning my duo into a trio.

As we strolled, I couldn’t help but feel grateful. My health—both physical and …

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