Months after I left him, I could still feel the pain he inflicted. He not only weaponized my insecurities but also demeaned the things about myself that I loved, insidiously dismantling my sense of self until nothing remained.
I even doubted my ability as a psychiatrist, and I hated him for that.
“Talking to you is like trying to read a Step 2 question!” he had sneered. “I don’t know anyone who …
Empathy: the unexpected gift from abuse
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Join William Lynes, a urologist, as he shares his remarkable journey of a recent missionary trip to Cuba. Discover the challenges and triumphs faced by both the Cuban people and the mission team. Explore the profound faith and resilience …
A physician’s journey in Cuba reveals surprising faith and resilience [PODCAST]
Not all at once, just slowly enough that you don’t notice.
“I’m having a rough go at it,” Mr. Robinson confesses. He was listening to me use choppy, challenging vocabulary to piece together what’s landed him in the hospital.
But I know what he’s talking about. The mass in his chest that’s been compressing on his airway, making him so sick, so quickly. He is talking about his pneumonia: the fevers, chills, …
How to lose your compassion: the brutal reality of medical internship
It’s a narrative that has become disturbingly familiar: different health care providers, yet the same traumatic story.
Ramon, an idealistic new nurse, was drawn to nursing to make a meaningful impact in the lives of the most vulnerable. But in an instant, his love for nursing changed. After just six months as a nurse, a patient’s son viciously attacked Ramon, enraged over his mother’s COVID-19-related hospitalization. In a blind fury, …
The Federal SAVE Act: a beacon of hope for health care worker safety
During her time working with people who were dying, nurse Bronnie Ware found that one of the top 5 regrets is, “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” (Source: The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware)
How do you know if you are living a life true to you? What steps may you take …
The top regret of the dying: Are you living your true life?
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Join Vickie Leff, a palliative social worker. We’ll dive into a thought-provoking conversation about shifting the health care paradigm, where we explore the emotional toll on health care professionals, the need for sustainability, and how institutions can …
Health care’s hidden struggles: a paradigm shift [PODCAST]
It took a traumatic spinal cord injury in 2008 to transform my life.
The experience was a radical awakening. I was told that I would never walk again.
On one fine spring day in 2008, my life changed forever. I was walking to work when I was hit by a car at high speed. My body was flung into the sky, and as I hovered, like a slow-motion movie, a few thoughts …
My spinal cord injury story from physician to patient, and how I rebuilt my nervous system
Strategic thinking: The Doctor Strange of health care. Health care professionals, much like Doctor Strange, often engage in complex decision-making, foreseeing multiple outcomes to choose the best path for patient care. Your ability to strategize and anticipate is crucial in saving lives and ensuring quality care.
Innovation: Channeling Iron Man. Innovation is key in health care. Just as Iron Man tinkers and invents, you too innovate daily – whether through cutting-edge surgical techniques, …
The superhero spectrum in health care
Stealth firing is a term used to describe the cold, unexpected firing of employees by their managers and/or individuals from human resources (HR) departments – sometimes without the manager’s awareness and even after years of loyalty for some. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cannot adequately track this statistic because its definition lacks precision, but it is not uncommon in certain practice areas, such as law, tech, and financial firms. The …
Should you fire back after a stealth firing?
An excerpt from A Surgeon’s Knot.
The phone jarred Jackson Cooper, MD’s weary, anxious brain into consciousness from the edge of sleep. He jumped up, dropping the receiver on the cold floor of the call room. “Hello,” he said, tension entering the new intern’s mind.
“Dr. Cooper,” the nurse’s voice said nervously. She almost stuttered as she spoke. “It . . . it’s . . . Mr. Simpson, he’s bleeding. I …
Tragic turn in the OR: A rookie doctor’s race against time
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Join Shan Liu, an emergency physician and co-author of Masked Hero: How Wu-Lien Teh Invented the Mask and Ended an Epidemic. Discover the journey of Wu Lien-teh, Shan’s great-grandfather, who played a pivotal role in ending a …
How one family’s hero ended a pandemic [PODCAST]
Psychological distress. In 2021, 40% of high school students felt sad and hopeless, 20% seriously considered suicide, and 10% attempted it, with suicides among young people hitting their highest rates ever, though they fell in 2022. Since the greatest increase was before 2017, we can’t really blame the pandemic. And some “innovative” approaches for combatting …
Pandemic aftermath: Navigating a new normal in health, education, and social dynamics
A groundbreaking discovery in pain management could revolutionize how we treat chronic pain. In a report from a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at New York University, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, have announced the discovery of a novel medication that could treat centralized pain that targets Cav2.2 calcium channels (also called N-type calcium channels).
First, what is centralized …
Euphoria-free pain relief: A gabapentin alternative you’ve been waiting for?
As a non-clinician patient advocate and health care writer, I am frequently reminded of a quotation attributed to Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain): “Figures don’t lie. But liars figure.” I am also aware of a second quotation from economist Ronald H Coase: “If you torture the data for long enough, it will confess to anything.”
I find that both quotations apply directly to the U.S. Centers for …
Uncovering the real story behind opioid prescriptions and deaths
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Join Beth Boynton, a nurse consultant, as we delve into the pressing issue of health care worker resilience. Discover the importance of empowering health care professionals, developing essential interpersonal skills, and the role of emotional intelligence in …
Resilience beyond self-care [PODCAST]
I remember Christmas Eve as a child. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to be awake every second until the morning came. I didn’t want to miss anything! But inevitably, I’d arrive at the Christmas tree the next morning, bleary-eyed and still feeling like I’d missed something important. My wanting mind had taken over and robbed me of being fully awake when it counted. And every …
Unlocking the mystery of the “wanting mind”: Transform your yearnings into fulfillment
In the ever-evolving health care landscape, where technological advancements and digital presence are increasingly intertwined, health care professionals, including doctors and nurses, must understand the importance of a robust digital footprint. This isn’t just about staying relevant; it’s about showcasing your expertise, connecting with peers and potential employers, and embracing technological innovations like AI in health care.
Your digital footprint encompasses everything you …
Enhancing your digital footprint: a must for health care professionals
Children’s hospitals are acclaimed for their outstanding care, and they would be my absolute choice for my child’s hospital needs. Nevertheless, there is a pressing concern that the underlying philosophy of these institutions is shifting, with financial pressures incentivizing competition rather than cooperation in the field of pediatrics. If hospitals were to dominate primary care, it could potentially exacerbate the departure from a value-driven approach, which is crucial for advancing …
Assessing hospital involvement in pediatric primary care
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Join Scott Ellner, a general surgeon. We delve into a compelling story from a decade ago, where a medical error had profound consequences for both a patient and the surgeon involved. Discover the emotional toll on health …
Just culture and medical errors [PODCAST]
An excerpt from The Fix Your Depression Handbook.
Most of us strive to be happy loving people. Our tendency to look outside ourselves to find acceptance, safety, love, and completion can misdirect our energies, and have us searching for the pathway to meaning in our lives in places where it cannot exist. It is so important to understand that we were born with everything we need to be happy and …
The journey to internal balance and self-fulfillment
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