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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 …

Why health care professionals must back full care continuum for autism and intellectual disabilities

Irene Tanzman

Conditions

October 17, 2023

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that health care entities provide full and equal access for people with disabilities. Physicians must diagnose and treat such individuals, even though they receive little or no training in medical school. It’s tricky when the patient cannot convey where it hurts or describe their pain and may refuse to cooperate with medical procedures.

Many physicians have refused to take on my 35-year-old son, who …

Understanding childhood mental health [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 16, 2023

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Join child psychiatrist Shivana Naidoo as she explores the delicate world of mental health in children and young adults. Delve into her unique perspective on how mental illness can be part of normal growth, the evolving role …

How to stay safe as a traveling physician

Janelle Jones, MD

Physician

October 16, 2023

There was nothing unusual about my hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, when I checked in, but when I headed down to check out the laundry facilities and saw police swarming the lobby and parking lot, I knew it was time to move.

Thankfully, experiences like that have not been common during my time working as a locum tenens (physicians who work in temporary assignments to fill critical gaps in care) for over …

A breakthrough in chronic pain detection?

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Conditions

October 16, 2023

Recently, a group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reported that they may have found the holy grail of pain management. They accomplished this by performing “the first-in-human, long-term direct brain measurement of chronic pain-related neural activity.”

Physicians have long sought a reliable way to detect and track the presence of chronic pain and its response to treatment but have failed completely so far. Old tropes like …

Halloween is almost here. Why aren’t you writing?

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

October 16, 2023

Sir Isaac Newton dedicated as much, if not more, of his time to the study of alchemy than he did to the natural order of the universe, but most of his work as an alchemist remained unpublished until long after his death when a metal chest full of his belongings was auctioned in 1936. The great man of science, the first of the Age of Reason, was simultaneously the last …

Too big to fail: health care’s moral quandary

Deepak Gupta, MD

Physician

October 16, 2023

This could be the mythical and mystical tale of organized health care. Humans and their systems may become organized to evolve as large and stable entities, as disorganized ones may never grow large and may remain perpetually unstable, risking disintegration. However, once they reach the status of being “too big to fail” and become self-aware of this situation, the lines between ethics, morality, and legality may begin to blur. This …

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