It is a typical day on the inpatient unit. A patient is refusing medication, and I want to take her to court to compel her to take medication while her lawyer is arguing for her right to refuse.
Me: “She’s clearly psychotic. She has lost her family, and she has no place to live… all because of these delusions.”
Lawyer: “But is she behaving in a dangerous way?”
Me: “Being unable to survive …
Does the legal system harm psychiatric patients?
My flights had been delayed, and I did not arrive at the hotel in downtown San Francisco until almost 1 a.m. As I exited the Uber, struggling to shoulder my briefcase and wrangle my suitcase, I was a bit startled to hear a very loud voice coming from my left. “Hey, mister, do you have a dollar or two?” I had been in the city for less than one minute, …
The disturbing reality of homelessness
It took four tries, but we synchronized the newest episode of Outlander perfectly. Just outside of Philadelphia, I’m watching the same scene in lockstep with my best friend, Corinne, one thousand miles away in St. Louis. We make all the same faces in response to the dialogue. We roll our eyes together when someone dares to suggest that Claire won’t be able to heal someone who’s sick.
“I’ll honor you until …
Growing up and growing apart: the evolution of lifelong friendships
“A doctor must work eighteen hours a day and seven days a week. If you cannot console yourself to this, get out of the profession.”
During the 20th century, these famous words from Dr. Martin Henry Fischer (1879-1962) were often quoted to students on their first day of medical school with a veiled threat to “toughen up.” Unfortunately, remnants of this outdated “get over it or get out” attitude in …
Senior doctors must take greater leadership on the psychological safety of early career colleagues
This article is sponsored by symplr.
Transforming hospital operations: impacts on clinicians
In the rapidly evolving world of health care, the integration of advanced technology is not just an option, but a necessity. This transformation is not merely about adopting new tools; it’s …
Transforming hospital operations: impacts on clinicians
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Attorney Andrea Sonnenberg joins us to delve into the transformative power of bibliotherapy. Join us as we explore how literature can be a potent tool for addressing mental health challenges, offering insights and solutions for individuals and …
Healing through books: bibliotherapy’s impact [PODCAST]
There may be a distinction between sensitivity and sensibility; however, these lines often blur and even overlap rapidly. Conducting oneself sensibly both at and outside of work automatically assumes that one’s sensitivity is well-attuned to the present times. Simultaneously, regularly refreshing sensitivity presumably ensures that one always carries oneself sensibly, both at and outside of work. Yet, it’s worth pondering: what is the origin of human common sense? Has our …
Sensitivity vs. sensibility in a modern world
Burnout:
“An erosion of the soul caused by a deterioration of one’s values, dignity, spirit, and will.”
– Christine Maslach (The Truth about Burnout by Maslach and Leiter)
“Shredding of the soul.”
– Rita Nakashima Brock (Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America)
The word “soul” captures our attention by speaking in a language that bypasses the superficial, connecting directly to our deepest values and thoughts. In the context of burnout …
Beyond resilience: the urgent call for “soul talk” in medicine
A solid mass silently grew on my kidney. An unwelcome addition. Asymptomatic. Discovered haphazardly during a CT scan of my lungs … And it revealed itself.
At first, I was devastated. Will cancer ever leave me alone? It has already visited me twice before. First, breast cancer, also asymptomatic, detected during my very first mammogram at the age of 42, and then a troublesome mole that tested positive for melanoma.
I seemed …
From devastation to inspiration: my journey through 3 cancers
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Join Megan Nix, a writer and author of Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother’s Pursuit of the Truth. Megan shares her deeply personal journey and research into congenital …
CMV: the silent epidemic expectant mothers need to know about [PODCAST]
I sat at my desk in my 6th-grade classroom, my anxiety mounting. I counted down the minutes until the big hand on the clock above the chalkboard finally reached noon. As my classmates emptied out of the room, headed to the cafeteria for lunch, my palms got cold and clammy, and I felt a growing sense of panic. I had to use the bathroom, but the prospect of entering a …
Conquering childhood trauma: the power of EMDR therapy
In 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions became convinced that the opioid crisis was not the fault of cartels smuggling fentanyl across porous American checkpoints. And it wasn’t due to pharmaceutical companies corrupting drug approval officials and DEA administrators by hiring them as consultants after making decisions in the company’s favor. No. The opioid crisis was caused by American physicians coddling pain patients and addicts.
But reviewing all the actions of tens …
AI enforcement in health care: Unpacking the DEA’s approach to the opioid epidemic
In 1736, Ben Franklin famously advised Philadelphians that preventing fires is better than fighting them. Mr. Franklin’s advice is just as applicable today in addressing America’s opioid crisis. Billions of opioid settlement dollars are being distributed to every state, and a portion of those funds should be allocated to preventing opioid addictions, not just buying fire extinguishers (Narcan) and fighting fires (medication-assisted therapy or substance use disorder treatment). Preventing opioid …
Ben Franklin’s timeless wisdom: a key to solving America’s opioid crisis
Health care and how individuals receive it has been at the forefront of public concern for many years. Now, more than ever, a priority should be placed on discovering amenable solutions to address the incomprehensible challenges impacting this nation’s health care system. I believe that direct primary care (DPC) holds the potential to improve the way Americans access and experience health care. An article published by Medical Economics says …
The rise of direct primary care in America
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We sit down with Edith Shiro, a clinical psychologist, as she takes us on a journey through her book, The Unexpected Gift of Trauma. Prepare to gain a deeper understanding of trauma and its untapped potential for …
Unlocking the hidden potential of trauma [PODCAST]
Although I had never been diagnosed with anxiety, my career as a physician has always entailed a high degree of stress, and this has had consequences.
The stress of running a solo private medical practice
When I was running my solo private practice, there were always competing demands for my time: Patients waiting to be seen, patients or physicians on the phone waiting to talk to me, staff issues, scheduling problems, dysfunctional …
My escape from physician stress
It has been a long time since my last post. The digital health economic, clinical, regulatory, and political landscapes have changed significantly since then. The objective of my blog, which began in 2011, was and remains to educate the reader (clinicians, health care IT community, patients and caregivers, and other health care stakeholders about digital health technology and how it is relevant to the changing health care environment. The first …
5 things digital health companies need to do to achieve success
There is undeniable hope and optimism when looking at the future of cancer care. Cancer survival rates are steadily rising as oncologists continue to learn more about the 100+ unique types of cancer—and emerging variants—that exist. Thanks to new targeted therapies and remarkable improvements in genomics, cancer care physicians and researchers are finding better ways to treat each cancer type and improve health outcomes.
Despite this knowledge, however, there are still …
Collaboration between local oncologists and academia is crucial to closing the cancer care gap
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Join us as we delve into the world of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Jinguan Yang, a psychiatrist, will help us explore how TCM views the skin, muscles, collagen, blood vessels, and bones as mirrors of our emotional …
Traditional Chinese medicine’s holistic approach [PODCAST]
At the peak of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, American policymakers were faced with the critical challenge of how to encourage as many Americans as possible to be tested for and vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Fortunately, Congress rose to this challenge by passing legislation that, in addition to providing these services to the uninsured, required private insurance plans to eliminate all out-of-pocket costs associated with getting vaccinated or tested. …
High-deductible health plans: a barrier to care for chronic conditions
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