Sexual health is health: It’s time to embrace that in medicine

Physician
December 9, 2022

For many of us, while in medical school and residency, sexual health history was mostly taught from a disease standpoint. If a patient had a complaint about sexual dysfunction, had a symptom or concern about a sexually transmitted infection, needed contraception, or had specific questions related to the reproductive system, then we took a sexual history. Sexual health history taking in many programs is limited to an elective in the …

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Gender bias is powerful and harmful

Physician
December 9, 2022

The Boston Globe recently published an article on Dr. Jane Weeks, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who declined treatment for breast cancer, passed out at work due to a pulmonary embolism in 2012, and ultimately died of breast cancer in 2013. I was a first-year fellow training at Dana-Farber in 2012 and vividly recall hearing that a well-known oncologist had passed out in the cafeteria. There were many …

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Who gets to succeed in medical school: Improving medical student outcomes that matter

Education
December 9, 2022

As I mentioned in my last article, “Who gets to graduate from medical school,” I find one consistent, uncomfortable truth: Whatever led to the gap in academic performance before medical school is likely to still be present and persistent during one’s medical education journey. The lack of access, inequitable distribution of opportunity, familial responsibilities, socioeconomic disparities, or systemic barriers that kept students from utilizing their full academic potential in …

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A personal mission to get obese patients on GLP-1 agonists [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 8, 2022
YouTube video

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“Obesity is not the consequence of bad behaviors it is a disease that finally has effective, safe, lasting treatments. Patients with obesity have been marginalized long enough. We, especially health care providers, have got to start taking …

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Enjoying the spirit of the holidays with fewer spirits

Conditions
December 8, 2022

The winter holidays are almost here. And it’s the time of year when food abounds and alcohol sales double. So, in the spirit of wellness and health, I’m sharing some ideas for alcohol substitutes, safe drinking, and some general information about alcohol. Enjoying the holidays with good company, food, and drink is a treat. But too much alcohol can be problematic, especially when taking prescription medications or when struggling with …

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Start walking to improve health and well-being

Conditions
December 8, 2022

I just walked 120 km over five days on the South Downs Way along the southeast coast of the United Kingdom. It was a beautiful walk through the pastoral English countryside, culminating in the dramatic chalk cliffs near the coastal town of Eastbourne. While not a technically difficult walk, there were certainly enough hills to climb, high winds, and rainy days to make us ready for our evening pub dinners.

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Lack of innovation is leading to disparities in diabetes care

Conditions
December 8, 2022

Having spent over 30 years of my career in diabetes, first as a practicing diabetologist and later as a diabetes researcher, I’ve met many people with diabetes. And while diabetes care has evolved significantly over my career, I’m amazed to see that daily insulin management is just as complex and manual for many people, particularly those with type 2 diabetes (T2D) — daily insulin management is just as complex and …

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Leading an organizational culture change? Consider an apology first. [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 7, 2022
YouTube video

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“While patients, the workforce, and key outcomes are way better off in a culture of safety, the process from toxic to healthy culture requires a challenging shift from relationships rooted in distrust to trusting ones. To ensure …

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The slow progression of aging: Let compassion reign

Conditions
December 7, 2022

There is one guarantee in life: you will age, no matter how hard you try not to. Some age with more grace than others, and some age so quickly it’s astonishing. Aging can come quickly or slowly, it is not necessarily determined by your age but the whole dynamics of the life you have lived and perhaps your relatives’ lives before you.

Aging isn’t just the change from dark hair to …

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Does your OR case scheduling process need a revamp?

Physician
December 7, 2022

I’ve been in the health care industry for over a decade. Starting a few years ago, I embarked on a new project: building a case scheduling platform specifically for anesthesia staff.

I’ll be the first to say that I never envisioned myself becoming a so-called “health care entrepreneur.” From my perspective, I’m just an anesthesiologist who stumbled upon an unaddressed pain point—the tedious process of building OR case schedules—and after looking …

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If the hospital CEO emailed employees like Twitter’s CEO

Physician
December 7, 2022

To: [Group: all employees]

From: Office of the CEO

Subject: A fork in the road

Going forward, we will need to be extremely hardcore to streamline a restructured Health care 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly diseased world. This will mean working even longer hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will justify a new N95 mask each week.

Health care will also be much more profit-driven. Physicians and nurses will still be very …

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With RSV, it’s time for primary care to step up to the plate

Conditions
December 7, 2022

Every pediatrician is familiar with this endemic seasonal virus, expecting to see several cases in their office during the winter months and maybe even admit the occasional one for inpatient care. Even amongst the latter, most do well and recover without incident, though the stay can be prolonged.

However, the respiratory syncytial virus — when it causes pneumonia and bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways — can result in serious illness …

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How women manage and mismanage their health [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 6, 2022
YouTube video

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“Shame has no place in illness or in health. The first step to eradicating shame is to openly speak up about symptoms and concerns and for health care providers to commit to acknowledging and interrogating the needs …

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In light of Chris Hemsworth’s APOE news: Don’t panic

Conditions
December 6, 2022

Recent news on actor Chris Hemsworth and his genetic test has been widely covered in the media. The actor said he is taking a break from acting after learning he has a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

I learned this from my teenage son, who read in the news that the Thor star discovered this after undergoing tests as part of his Disney+ documentary series Limitless.

Hemsworth learned that he has …

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The hidden health complications of inflation

Policy
December 6, 2022

“Inflation hit 8.2 percent for the month of September.” The sound of the newscaster’s voice was grim.

Tuning into the nightly news, many Americans have become seasoned pseudo-economists. It has become common practice to crunch numbers to prepare next month’s budget as food, oil, and housing prices reach all-time highs. The ever-foreboding question of “Are we in a recession?” has become as frequent and a juxtaposition to the innocent pestering …

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A rush to judgment on acetaminophen?

Meds
December 6, 2022

Less than a year ago, a position paper/meta-analysis was published whose authors concluded that the pain reliever acetaminophen, and products containing this compound, were contraindicated in pregnancy as they could result in premature or stillborn births or developmental defects. Earlier studies appeared more positive and resulted in recommendations for its use by professional and governmental organizations. The present authors acknowledged this disjunction and made both the routine recommendations for further …

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When should you consider a Caribbean medical school? [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 5, 2022
YouTube video

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“If we want to achieve a physician workforce that mirrors our population, medical schools must collectively understand that we have created an admissions system that selects against Latinx and BIPOC students. We need a new system. But …

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You’re not being frivolous. You’re being fabulously human.

Physician
December 5, 2022

[Frivolous: not having any serious purpose or value]

For years, I’ve noticed something that’s bothered me. I see it almost daily within social media women’s physician groups. The post starts with, “I know this is a frivolous question, but …” What follows are questions about topics ranging from cosmetic recommendations to travel advice.

Questions like:

“Where can I find concert tickets?”

“What color should I paint my bedroom?”

What do you all think of this …

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We need trauma-informed care in long-term care homes

Policy
December 5, 2022

Canada needs trauma-informed aged care, training, and strategies in long-term care homes across the country.

“Trauma” is a heavy word, but it’s the right word.

“Trauma” describes what has been happening in long-term care facilities across Canada during the pandemic, where the majority of COVID-19 deaths have occurred and where highly restrictive visitor policies and short staffing have meant extreme isolation and deprivation for the residents who live there.

But there are often …

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Aesthetics and the physician’s eye

Physician
December 5, 2022

The fall sunlight calls my eye to notice little things: the veins on a yellowing maple leaf. The askew feather on a chicken’s wing. The faintest breeze tricking the pond into patterned sin waves around a lone white duck.

What do we owe this world but our ability to parse and observe, to interpret, to be filled enough by moments of abject beauty to return to the ugliness and try to …

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