The other day, I spent an excessive amount of time trying to dry some lettuce leaves for a salad. After failing to act on my thought many times, I decided I needed a salad spinner. Due to my menopause brain (attention span: zero), I grabbed my phone, opened the Amazon app, and ordered the highest-rated salad spinner.
None of this information is groundbreaking, but what was impressive was that the package …
Her back was mottled, and she could barely sit up. She was weak from her invasive cancer. I visited her on Easter Sunday. Perhaps it was God’s will that I didn’t have an elaborate Easter dinner with ham, rolls, pies, and house decor filled with decorative bunnies. Instead, I went to visit this dear friend I met by happenstance and her dear husband who always seemed to help me out. …
How many times have you wished that you had more time? Do you feel like you’re too busy? Feel frazzled, rushed, and stressed?
No matter how much fame and fortune we may have, time is one thing that money can’t buy. One constant for every single one of us. Whether you are Jeff Bezos or a frenzied physician, we all only have 24 hours a day, seven days a week, …
As ethnic diversity increases in the United States, it is important for physicians (and all in the health care delivery workforce) to keep in mind what factors play significant roles in the matter of ethnic health disparities.
With a U.S. population of over 330 million, Hispanics—inclusive of Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and South Americans—now number 62 million, according to the 2020 Census. This equates to almost 19 percent of the …
No one feels sorry for American doctors. They are some of the highest-paid in the world and spend their lives in the country with the highest nominal GDP in the world. But why is it so hard to find any doctors who actually like their job? Why do so many dream of walking away? Here are five reasons why.
The electronic medical record (EMR)
Technology is amazing, and the EMR is no …
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In this episode, we sit down with Stevan Walkowski, an osteopathic physician, to discuss the impact of technology on medicine and medical education. With the recent news of artificial intelligence passing the USMLE, we delve into questions …
My brother and I like to swap stories about our medical encounters. I suppose our ages – 69 for me and 74 for him – lead to varied encounters and tales.
“It’s a sh*t-show,” he tells me from his home on Martha’s Vineyard. “No one’s left here on the island. The doctors who remain have stopped seeing new patients or have incredibly long waiting lists.” My brother is forced to go …
As the health care industry continues to evolve with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies, it’s more important than ever for medical professionals to identify and develop skills that set them apart from their peers. Embracing these skills can help you survive and thrive in an AI-driven health care system. Here are some essential skills that will enable you to maintain relevance and find your unique …
As physicians, we are bound by four ethical principles. Beneficence (acting for the benefit of the patient), nonmaleficence (avoiding the harm of the patient), autonomy (respecting patients’ right to make their own decisions), and justice (fair and equitable treatment of patients). When people think of the ethical principles that guide physicians, “First, do no harm” comes to mind.
Unfortunately, our medical system in the United States is violating all four …
Well before the advent of chat GPT, popular culture has explored how technology might affect health care, often with a dystopian bent.
Take, for example, the 2013 sci-fi movie Elysium, set in 2154 (spoilers ahead). Matt Damon’s character, Max, is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation when his factory supervisor threatens to fire him if he doesn’t perform a dangerous task. Because he can’t afford to lose his job, Max does …
The recent failures of major banks such as Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse have highlighted the fragility of the modern banking system. These events occurred within a week, unlike the drawn-out process of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The quick succession of bank failures underscores the inherent risks of a money system based on government fiat, central banks’ ability to print money and manipulate interest rates, and …
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In this episode, we explore the intersection of education and finance with guest Michele Cho-Dorado, a pediatric gastroenterologist. As physicians, we often prioritize academic excellence and lifelong learning, but one critical aspect of education that is often …
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There has been much hand-wringing about the 555 (18.4 percent) unfilled match spots in this year’s emergency medicine (EM) residency match. Several long-standing, excellent programs with outstanding patient pathology and well-known faculty in major metropolitan areas did not fill.
Most hand-wringing has focused not on inherent attributes of the specialty, but temporal issues likely to fluctuate over time, including:
1. An overproduction of 8,000 emergency physicians (EPs)
As a doctor who has cared for countless critically ill patients, I cannot stress enough how important therapists are for patient recovery. Whether it’s occupational, physical, or speech therapists, these health care professionals play an integral role in helping patients regain their abilities and quality of life after an illness or injury.
In my experience, occupational therapists are especially crucial for patients who have experienced loss of motor function from a …
Every physician, regardless of their specialty, vividly remembers their experiences during grand rounds as a medical student or resident. A preceptor, senior resident, or attending physician would lead a pack of eager students and residents from room to room on the clinical ward. Suddenly, the pack would stop, and the questioning would begin.
“What are the top differential diagnoses?”
“What test do we need to order?”
These memories linger because they are how …
When my now ex-husband and I first met, he asked me about my favorite things to do. At that time, I did not have a ready answer. It was my third year of general surgery residency, a time for proving that I could handle it all: being the in-house senior surgery resident on call, starting to manage surgical teams, and being responsible for lists sometimes reaching dozens of patients. I …
What guides and directs your decisions in your private practice? As the physician owner, it should be your choices and decisions, made without influence from third parties. That is physician autonomy.
In 2012, an article by E. J. Emmanuel and S.D. Pearson defined physician autonomy as “the freedom to determine both the conditions of practice and the care delivered with the principal goal that care decisions are aimed at promoting the …
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a best-selling self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. The book outlines universal principles that can be applied to personal and professional success. This article explores how health care professionals can use these principles to improve patient care, collaboration, and effectiveness.
1. Be proactive. Health care professionals must be proactive in staying up-to-date with the …
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