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When mandates fail to protect, science can help

Ken Blaker

Conditions

October 21, 2023

On October 28, 1918, a San Francisco horseshoer named James Wisser urged a street corner crowd to throw away their masks in defiance of a local mask mandate issued a few days before. He was shot twice after resisting a local health inspector’s attempt to force compliance. At that time, most of the medical community believed that cotton gauze masks were useful in slowing infection rates, but dissenting …

Ghosting in mental health

Holly MacKenna, MD

Physician

October 21, 2023

In psychiatry, we are trained to prepare our patients for the end of treatment. Treatment planning focuses on goals and strategies to help the person eventually end their need for therapy and external interventions. Interestingly, even with this anticipation of ending our relationship as part of the focus, it is not unusual for patients to disappear.

Ghosting doctors and treatment personnel is sadly commonplace in the mental health space. I have …

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Ghosting in mental health

Heroes of pandemic control [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 20, 2023

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Join Nicholas A. Daniels, an internal medicine physician and the author of Outbreaks and Pandemics: The Life of a Disease Detective. In this episode, we delve deep into the crucial role disease detectives play in solving and …

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Heroes of pandemic control [PODCAST]

The lifesaving power of CPR: a 30-year journey

Sarah C. Smith, DO

Conditions

October 20, 2023

A woman who asked us to call her Strawberry taught me cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for the first time, more than thirty years ago. I was getting my Girl Scout badge in babysitting, and it was a requirement. The class involved an overview of the “ABC’s” and half-hearted compressions on our friends. We did a craft afterward.

A few years later, I took my second CPR class in my high school natatorium. …

Disappointment with a specialty board’s response to Israel crisis

Anonymous

Physician

October 20, 2023

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment in my specialty’s national board organization and its lack of response to the tragedy still unfolding in Israel. Ophthalmology oral boards are currently scheduled for 10/20/2023 through 10/22/2023, and I have received multiple notifications this week regarding testing logistics but not a single reference to a terrorist attack on the scale of the bombing of the Twin Towers in New York City. …

My takeaways from an entrepreneur and real estate conference for physicians

Miguel Villagra, MD

Finance

October 20, 2023

Navigating the dynamic world of real estate investment and entrepreneurship has always been an exhilarating journey for me. As both an investor in real estate and the proud business owner of a coaching program, I’ve always believed in the power of continuous learning and forging meaningful connections. I recently attended one of the largest entrepreneurship and real estate conferences for physicians.

I attended with three clear objectives: to connect with like-minded …

The cost of silence: Dr. Nakita Mortimer’s tragic story

Anonymous

Physician

October 20, 2023

When I received an email from her in March, it was exceptionally helpful and genuine. You could tell she exuded that class president energy and was a true leader. Dr. Mortimer sounded excited for residency to begin.

We met each other across the green at the mandatory, unpaid 4-day orientation. She seemed laid-back and content. I remember the one week of electives we were granted was scheduled early for her. By …

Inside the life of a transplant physician [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 19, 2023

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Join David Weill, a pulmonary and transplant physician and author of Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant. In this episode, we explore the emotional and ethical challenges faced by David during his career, where every …

Rediscovering life: a day of heightened awareness

Sylvia M. Castro, MD

Physician

October 19, 2023

The dryer clanks and clangs, a rhythm I thought I knew by heart. Cars hum past the house—loud, then quieter, until they fade into the distance. I’m alert, but it’s a selective kind of alertness. I sit in the stillness, waiting for the next thought to arrive. Except, it doesn’t. Is this what living in the moment feels like? Just waiting? Waiting for what?

In an attempt to understand time—this elusive …

The future of U.S. health care: 2030 and beyond

Dike Drummond, MD

Physician

October 19, 2023

What will the U.S. health care industry look and feel like in 2023?

If you want to call the U.S. health care a “system” today, what will that “system” look like in the year 2030, and how will it handle the health care needs of an older, sicker population?

With nearly everyone calling for system change and reform, including “burn it to the ground” and more, let’s look at the demographics of …

The dark truth about dialysis

Amol Shrikhande, MD

Physician

October 19, 2023

When a colleague recommended a book, I hoped it would be something enjoyable – perhaps a sports anthology, a music biography, or even a novel. Unfortunately, it was about dialysis, the great American scam that it is.

As a nephrologist (kidney doctor), I had already come to the same conclusion. Here’s why, supported by Tom Mueller’s meticulous research in How To Make a Killing: Blood, Death and Dollars in American …

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The dark truth about dialysis

Physicians behind bars: the consequences of medical misjustice

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Physician

October 19, 2023

In 1985, Mr. Charles McCrory was on trial. Charles had found his wife dead, and her family was convinced that he was responsible, despite the fact that Charles denied any involvement and just wanted to grieve in peace. There was no real evidence against him, but the state had an ace up its sleeve in the form of Dr. Richard Souviron.

Dr. Souviron was a forensic odontologist, which is a dentist …

Diversity and inclusion: Go beyond performative actions

Nasrien E. Ibrahim, MD

Physician

October 19, 2023

The performative actions of institutions, corporate America, academia, and hospitals among other entities have made me highly dislike the acronyms DEI, EDI, DEIB, or whatever other fancy acronyms the C-suiters come up with. I remember hearing from a colleague that their institution did not want the words “anti-racism” included in the title of one of these phony task forces because it was too “violent”… Hmm, violent? Sort of like the …

Mental health matters: lessons from a surgeon’s journey [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 18, 2023

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Join Mohini Dasari, a general surgeon. She shares her personal journey through the demanding world of surgical training, touching on her experiences with mental health challenges, the difficult decision to leave a prestigious transplant surgery fellowship, and …

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and why medical professionals should care

Adithya Sivakumar, MD

Policy

October 18, 2023

On October 7, Hamas, a terrorist group, launched an unprecedented assault against Israeli civilians. Thousands have been confirmed killed, while hundreds have been taken hostage. Israel has retaliated by pounding Gaza with rockets, killing thousands more Palestinian civilians. This is the most severe escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades. The death toll continues to rise, with civilians dying every day and Gaza under siege.

In 2023, multiple crises have already …

The clinical AI revolution: 3 things to know

Tim O’Connell, MD

Tech

October 18, 2023

The use of natural language processing (NLP) in the clinical domain dates as far back as the 1960s, with important early work performed in the 1970s and 1980s. While great technical advances were made during this period, clinical NLP failed to live up to initial expectations as accuracy rates were too low to use for much other than research or bulk analytics.

An AHIMA article explained why clinical text …

Bringing words to a knife fight: Why we’re losing the health care war

Steven Merahn, MD

Physician

October 18, 2023

Every week, I explore with great interest the commentaries, viewpoints, perspectives, podcasts, social media posts, and other dispatches from my peers and colleagues who are seeking to explain and influence the state of both the health care professions and our systems of care.

With each reading, I find modern parallels to the published words of my late mentor, Dr. Carleton Chapman, a former dean of Dartmouth Medical School and one-time president …

Alcohol’s impact: hangovers and health risks

Greg Smith, MD

Conditions

October 18, 2023

In July, we all got at least one day off to celebrate a very American holiday, Independence Day. If I were a betting man, I would say that many, if not most of you, participated in at least one of those grand old American pastimes: eating hotdogs or apple pie, barbecuing, going to a baseball game, floating in the pool, watching a movie, or … drinking alcohol. After your celebration …

Inner practices for navigating health care burnout [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 17, 2023

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

Join Wendy Lau, an emergency medicine physician, as we delve into the world of health care burnout and the moral challenges faced by medical professionals. Discover valuable insights, practical strategies, and the importance of inner practices to …

How busy clinicians can advocate for fossil fuel divestment

Sandra H. Jee, MD, MPH & Vi Thuy Nguyen, MD

Policy

October 17, 2023

As general pediatricians whose intention is to promote health and wellness in children and youth, we witness the direct and indirect health effects of increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The climate crisis looms as an existential threat to humans and many other species. Due to their size, metabolism, developmental stages, and behaviors, children, particularly those living in poverty and in racial/ethnic minority communities, disproportionately suffer from climate change-related health problems …

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