It is well documented that the under-represented often suffer from less than ideal health care in the U.S. This has been apparent for more than a century and is one of the reasons the U.S. has the worst health care outcomes compared to all other developed countries. It is also well-documented that concordance between patients and providers in race, ethnicity, and, in some cases, gender leads to better health care …
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during my second year of medical school. It happened while I was on a neurology rotation when I approached the neurologist after a lecture and expressed my suspicion of a flare-up. Subsequently, a lumbar puncture and a contrast brain MRI confirmed the diagnosis, leading to my treatment with IV steroids and later disease-modifying medications.
It has now been 18 years since my diagnosis, during which …
Physician burnout and the shortage of physicians are pressing issues within the health care industry, often unnoticed by the general public until their own health is at stake. The erosion of the title “doctor” and the increasing encroachment on physician authority have contributed significantly to this problem. Physicians have allowed the interference of the federal government, burdensome regulations, and insurance company restrictions to impede their ability to provide quality care. …
Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, anecdotal evidence and small survey-based studies show that women were leaving academic medicine in droves and were not returning— up to 40 percent of women leave medicine or go to a part-time position within six years of finishing residency. One landmark study pointed out the rarity of women in leadership positions— thirty-five years ago, less than 11 percent of women faculty were …
If you are a patient, we all are at some point. Undoubtedly, you have experienced some of the difficulties patients face today in getting approved for and receiving medical care in a timely fashion. From scheduling doctor visits to undergoing tests, procedures, obtaining medications, and even surgeries, the process can be challenging.
It’s easy to be tempted to blame your doctor for the long wait times to schedule an appointment, the …
Medical school is a wild ride, filled with anticipation and unforgettable experiences. From the excitement of the first day of orientation to the white coat ceremony and meeting new people, every moment is etched in your memory. Endless hours of lectures followed by late nights of studying at home, the thrill of dissecting for the first time, and the camaraderie of study groups and problem-based learning create a unique atmosphere. …
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Join Kelley Butler, a family medicine resident and member of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU, as we delve into the financial struggles faced by health care workers, focusing on the experiences of resident physicians. We discuss …
An excerpt from Why Not Better and Cheaper: Healthcare and Innovation by James B. Rebitzer and Robert S. Rebitzer with permission from Oxford University Press, © 2023 by Oxford University Press.
In a famous essay, Nobel prize-winning economist William Nordhaus studied the evolution of lighting. From medieval times until the …
A recent conversation about a young man’s reluctance to seek help made me reflect on society’s attitude regarding expectations for men and their impact on their mental health.
Lately, there has been growing recognition of the importance of mental health and well-being. However, despite the progress made in understanding and addressing mental health issues, there still persists a significant disparity in how men approach and perceive mental health. Men’s attitudes towards …
Clinician burnout is one of the most tenacious problems facing the contemporary health system. Recent years have seen a plethora of guidance on reducing burnout and improving health care workers’ well-being following the pandemic, but little evidence of improvement. Seeing the problem through an occupational health lens can reveal different solutions.
Occupational health is a subfield of public health concerned with promoting workers’ health, safety, and well-being. From …
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Nicole Rochester is a pediatrician and advocate for improving the doctor-patient relationship. She shares her personal experiences and discusses the importance of intentional human connection in clinical encounters. We delve into the root causes of the empathy …
When registering individuals who are unresponsive to stimuli, unconscious, unaware, or lacking alertness, it has been customary to assign them the names John Doe or Jane Doe, based on physical characteristics, while also assigning their sex accordingly. If their family members or legal guardians arrive or are contacted, their sex is determined based on their recollections until the individuals themselves awaken and become capable of expressing their gender preferences, affirming …
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Through a combination of coincidental privilege, silly circumstances, hard work, persistence, and perseverance, I ended up becoming a doctor. The journey post-graduation is a difficult one, as it introduces you to a world beyond books and examination halls. It’s a world where people are in agony and depend on you for every single ray of hope—a task that is both immense and heavy on the heart.
Being a doctor who takes …
Mental health conditions are common among individuals with long COVID due to various factors. These include the direct effects of COVID-19 on the body, such as neuroinflammation, as well as the circumstances often associated with the condition, such as job loss, reduced income, disconnection, isolation, chronic pain, immobility, and the persistent feeling of being unwell. Alongside cognitive impairment and fatigue, mental health issues form what I call the “unholy trinity” …
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Join Monika Roots, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and health care executive, who explores the concerning rise in diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems, the shortcomings of the current mental health care model, and the potential …
On a hot and humid July afternoon, the white coat ceremony for the class of 2025 at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine was in full swing. As I walked onstage, slipped into my brand-new white coat, and accepted the coveted “medical student” title I had spent years working for, I thought about why I was embarking on this journey: my family of Vietnam War refugees, my brother who has …
For 21 years, I have had the privilege and honor of coaching and mentoring medical students. Most of this mentoring takes place in my outpatient internal medicine-pediatrics practice, where each student spends two to three days with me every week for a month-long rotation. Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to work with students from all years as a facilitator in the REACH and 4C coaching programs. Throughout these experiences, …
In every aspect of our lives, whether it is online banking or shopping, we rely on technology to make things better, more convenient, and more efficient. Yet in health care, and particularly cancer care, that is not the case. Oncology has been revolutionized in recent decades by therapies targeted to specific biomarkers and immunotherapy. Despite being a leader in therapeutic innovation, oncology lags behind in adopting easy-to-use apps and other …
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In this episode, we delve into the serious consequences of fecal impaction and chronic constipation on patients’ well-being and health care costs. Our guest, Mahesh Moolani, an internal medicine physician and author of Tough Decisions In Care …
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