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A doctor struggles to provide mental health care in Appalachia

Physician

December 8, 2023

As a West Virginia primary care doctor, I frequently—read: daily—find myself in uncomfortable situations. A few recent events, however, are out of the ordinary, even by the standards to which I am accustomed. Though unique to Martinsburg, WV, I expect similar themes in myriad offices across American health care. If your job resembles mine, I wonder if you feel as lost as I am, though I’m not sure where we …

Burnout on the U.S.S. Enterprise

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Conditions

December 8, 2023

The original Star Trek television series, in my opinion, stands out as the best of the bunch. It lasted only three years (1966-1969), but it has retained a cult following. Among its many television “firsts” were the initial inter-racial kiss (between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura) and perhaps the first depiction of burnout, as seen in the two-part episode “The Menagerie.”

Originally intended as the pilot, “The Menagerie” was postponed to …

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Burnout on the U.S.S. Enterprise

The toll of health care: suicide risk among professionals

Michele Luckenbaugh

Conditions

December 8, 2023

Our health care workers—nurses, physicians, and support staff—are at a heightened risk of committing suicide. Plain and simple. The emotional and physical toll on our health care professionals has been ever-increasing, exacerbated by the COVID pandemic but still remains long after the official title “pandemic” has faded into the background.

Over 20 percent of the physicians in the United States are experiencing symptoms of depression, but fear professional repercussions if they …

Breaking free from metric shaming [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 7, 2023

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Join Archana Reddy Shrestha, an emergency physician. In this episode, we explore her personal journey through the highs and lows of her medical career, addressing the challenges of metric-driven evaluations and the impact on a physician’s sense …

Physicians are burned out. Could entrepreneurship be a cure?

Arun Mohan, MD, MBA

Physician

December 7, 2023

Recently, roughly 400 primary care and urgent care physicians at Allina Health System voted to unionize. In doing so, they became the largest group of unionized private-sector physicians in the country. Their decision is indicative of a hard reality of American health care–physicians are burned out.

Research shows from 2021 to 2022, 63 percent of surveyed physicians experienced at least one symptom of …

The dark role of science, medicine, and tasers

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Physician

December 7, 2023

The sciences and even medicine have long been used to justify atrocities. In the early 1800s, the United States of America was a slave nation. Citizens were allowed to purchase and imprison other races and hold them in bondage as property. This is different from indentured servitude, where someone is held in bondage until they pay off a debt. The indentured servant still has some rights and autonomy; the slave …

Embracing life’s purpose in the face of inevitable death

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD

Conditions

December 7, 2023

“I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it.”
– Epictetus

I wish more people knew that quote during the pandemic. I write this on November 1st, celebrated as Dia de Muertos or “Day of the Dead.” Epictetus and the other Stoics knew that death is inevitable, that life can change in an instant, and viewed it as a reminder to live each day purposefully and virtuously. …

Beyond K-pop and kimchi: Unraveling the mental health tapestry of Korean Americans

Dae Sun Hwang, Thomas Pak, MD, and Joo-Young Lee, MD

Physician

December 7, 2023

Korean culture has been capturing the attention of a worldwide audience in large part thanks to success on multiple platforms, whether it be a binge-worthy TV show such as Squid Game, award-winning films like Parasite, or even world-class goals from the beloved Hotspurs team captain, Son Heung Min. Celebrating Korean culture jumps beyond the screen and into a pair of headphones thanks to the global fandom of K-pop or even …

AI’s role in streamlining colorectal cancer screening [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Patient

December 6, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

Join Shrujal Baxi, an oncologist passionate about AI, as we delve into how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing colorectal cancer detection while navigating the complexities of prior authorization. Discover how AI streamlines screening, reduces administrative burdens, and enhances …

A manifesto for the next revolution in nocebo and placebo studies

Jeremy Howick, PhD

Meds

December 6, 2023

“When he had asked me if I knew the cure for headache, I somehow contrived to …

How to sell your losing stocks to reduce taxes

Amarish Dave, DO

Finance

December 6, 2023

Defining tax loss selling

Tax loss selling, also known as tax-loss harvesting, is a strategy employed by investors to offset capital gains and reduce their taxable income. This approach involves selling stocks or other securities that have experienced losses to counterbalance capital gains realized throughout the year. By doing so, investors aim to mitigate their tax liability and potentially improve their after-tax returns.

Mechanics of tax loss selling

Identifying losses. Investors begin by …

From ICU to kidney mass: a nurse’s journey of fear

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

December 6, 2023

After 32 years working as an ICU nurse, I believed I had developed a strong capacity to confront death alongside my patients. I had become accustomed to the challenging scenarios: co-morbidities, multi-system organ failure, emergency intubations, ventilators, pressors, central lines, art lines, failure-to-thrive cases, code blues, and the grim sounds of ribs cracking during CPR.

It was not uncommon to witness families desperately shouting, “Do everything,” even when there was little …

Physician well-being: Overcoming administrative hurdles

Pat Rich

Policy

December 6, 2023

Representatives of a battered and stressed Canadian medical profession gathered in Montreal and virtually last week for the 7th annual Canadian Conference on Physician Health (CCPH) – the first such meeting in four years and the largest to date. One of the main pain points identified as facing individual physicians is the burden of administrative work, and this was the focus of a special cross-border plenary session featuring Canadian Medical …

Depression treatment with ketamine and SSRIs [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 5, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

Join L. Joseph Parker, a research physician, as we explore the intricacies of depression treatment. We’ll delve into the prevailing theories about serotonin, the delayed effects of SSRIs and SNRIs, and the emerging neuroplastic theory of depression. …

Escape diagnostic rabbit holes with Markov chains

Anonymous

Physician

December 5, 2023

If you find yourself heading down a rabbit hole pursuing a diagnosis, consider using a Markov chain to get back out. No, it’s not a physical chain. It’s a metaphorical chain.

In mathematics, statistics, and research, a Markov chain is a series of branching events where the options of what comes next at each branch point are not limited by what happened at a previous branch point. That is, each step …

Health care’s hidden problem: hospital primary care losses

Christopher Habig, MBA

Policy

December 5, 2023

Health care is constantly evolving, and it’s no secret that many hospitals are bleeding money when it comes to their primary care practices. On the low end, a hospital loses $127,000 per year on a primary care physician. Anecdotally, a rural hospital in Indiana expressed that they lose nearly $500,000 per year!

Headlines are filled with stories about rural hospitals (& many others) struggling to keep their …

How medicine’s demanding training took my sleep away

Jennifer Lycette, MD

Physician

December 5, 2023

I, like many of my peers in medicine, am a terrible sleeper.

And it’s no wonder, after all. I spent the better part of my twenties and thirties training my brain not to give in to sleep when I needed it. Then, in the rare hours I did sleep, I was forced to wake at a moment’s notice and go from deep sleep to high alert. Sometimes, I was asked to …

Navigating physician shortages in rural communities

Stacy Wentworth, MD

Physician

December 5, 2023

In the rural area where I practice, two general surgeons recently retired, a medical oncologist moved out of the community, and two urologists left over a year ago. My patients with cancer are left wondering who will care for them. And this small community is not alone. An aging physician population, burnout, and understaffing of other health care workers all contribute to rising rates of physicians moving and leaving communities.

One …

Coping with grief in health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 4, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

Join Natalya Beneschott, a pediatric infectious disease fellow, as she shares her personal experience and insights on coping with the lasting impact of a patient’s death, the challenges medical professionals face in processing grief, and the importance …

Kintsugi: Embracing brokenness and empathy

Nessa Meshkaty, MD

Physician

December 4, 2023

In the Japanese tradition of kintsugi, broken things are repaired with gold joinery. The repaired object is even lovelier than the original. The breakage and repair become an acknowledged part of the object’s history. The scars and wounds are cherished rather than disguised. What a beautiful reminder to harness the powers of darkness and light that exist within us and the world.

In the book, Born for Love: Why Empathy …

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