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Rural health care advocacy: Inspiring communities

Physician

October 9, 2023

As a resident physician working in a rural state that recently underwent a legislative session characterized by an overwhelming anti-patient, anti-trans, anti-abortion, and anti-physician-patient relationship stance, I find myself invigorated by the commitment and action of community members who persistently call for change and advocate for their right to health. They remind me of the expansive diversity within rural communities.

Despite state legislators who may present a loud, anti-diversity voice, they …

Will Kaiser Permanente see a spike in medical malpractice from the strike?

Aron Solomon, JD

Conditions

October 9, 2023

The Kaiser Permanente strike, with over 75,000 impacted employees, is the largest health care strike in the history of the United States. CNN reported that the affected workers are represented by a coalition of unions across California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington and Oregon.

The strike, which is intended to last four days and involves 40 percent of Kaiser Permanente’s staff, could deeply impact patient care. The reality …

Balancing medical ethics in opioid treatment

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Physician

October 9, 2023

What is a legitimate medical reason to prescribe an opioid medication today? For pain or addiction? Who decides which patients are worthy of treatment? This question is not just of academic interest. Any prescribing medical provider today must constantly live in fear that a law enforcement agent somewhere will disagree with the prescriber’s answer to these questions. On its face, it seems simple. If a patient has severe pain, a …

Navigating complex ICU conversations: a trauma surgeon’s perspective

Stephen Cohn, MD

Physician

October 9, 2023

An excerpt from All Bleeding Stops: Life and Death in the Trauma Unit (Mayo Clinic Press, December 2023).

Trauma surgeons, particularly in our roles as directors of a surgical intensive care unit, must frequently chat with families of critically ill patients after they have sustained …

Navigating grief: a doctor’s personal journey [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 8, 2023

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Join Humeira Badsha, a rheumatologist, as she shares her recent, unexpected journey through grief, offering profound insights into the emotional challenges faced by medical professionals. From a tearful moment of vulnerability with a patient to the traumatic …

Harnessing ignorance: quantum reality and medicine

Curtis G. Graham, MD

Physician

October 8, 2023

Scientists refer to this seeming paradox as being derived from the nature of quantum reality and Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Ignorance can be a “strength.” For example, when we want to identify someone, the photons that arrive at our retinas will be different depending on the many other factors surrounding that person.

However, we tend to disregard most of the objects, colors, or obstacles in the way and conclude that it is …

Expressive writing reduces caregiver stress

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

October 8, 2023

Today, more than one in five Americans are caregivers, providing care to an adult or child with special needs at some time in the past 12 months. Given this sobering statistic, I’m surprised we do not see as many health narratives written by caregivers as, say, doctors and patients, at least not in print.

Caregiving is emotionally draining. However, writing when you are in a caregiving role is one of a …

Navigating medication prescriptions in a DEA-observed world

L. Joseph Parker, MD

Physician

October 8, 2023

I sit in my clinic office, looking at today’s schedule. It’s a nice office with lots of white and pastels, modern furniture, an up-to-date computer, and a desk. I always wanted my clinic to look like something from the future, and now, after twelve years, it finally does. Besides the screen on my desk, there is a large screen on the wall to my left, the patient’s right. From my …

Coping with haunting memories of a patient’s loss

Natalya Beneschott, MD

Physician

October 8, 2023

“That patient still haunts me,” I heard one of the PICU fellows murmur as he walked out of the auditorium. I wondered if I should have taken comfort after hearing that I was not the only one still struggling with this patient’s death. Despite months passing since this baby died, the memories of this family and their child continued to gnaw at me. It wasn’t until after that morbidity and …

Navigating miscarriage: support and healing insights [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 7, 2023

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

Nurse practitioner Maria Petty shares her experience with miscarriage in March 2023. She discusses the support she received from an early pregnancy assessment clinic, the importance of self-compassion, and practical tips for coping. Maria also touches on …

Cosmetic surgeons’ contribution to mental health

Bilge Gregory, MD

Physician

October 7, 2023

The global cosmetic surgery market has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years—in 2021, it was valued at $67.3 billion, and projections suggest it will reach a staggering $201 billion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 percent from 2022 to 2031. We can largely attribute this exponential growth to society’s increasing desire for enhanced aesthetic value and the evolving beauty standards of our time. As societal …

The health care disruptors are not coming. They are here.

Konye Ori

Policy

October 7, 2023

Plenty has been written and said about how health care in the United States is too convoluted to be disrupted by new entrants. Dan Munro, health care author, and Forbes contributor compiles most of the rationales provided by thought leaders in his 2018 article titled “10 Reasons Healthcare Won’t Be Disrupted.” While traditional health care systems carried on with some air of certainty, would-be disruptors continued …

Generative AI’s impact on patient care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 6, 2023

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

Join Shiv Rao, a cardiologist and physician executive, as we delve into the transformative potential of generative AI in health care. We’ll discuss how generative AI can help doctors eliminate distractions, improve patient care, and enhance the …

Don’t put off medical care: X-ray for minor knee pain finds tumor

Jennifer Wood, MD

Conditions

October 6, 2023

My fiancée had been complaining on and off about minor knee pain and swelling for months. She kept putting off doing anything about it, because she’s a former college basketball player who had already had two surgeries on that knee, and she assumed it was residual effects from those injuries. But I was having a slow day in clinic, so I told her to come in for an X-ray.

And then …

Pageantry: an unconventional catalyst for career advancement in academic medicine

Hailey Nelson, MD & Kara Wada, MD

Physician

October 6, 2023

In an unlikely intersection, pageantry has the potential to play a pivotal role in accentuating career progression in academic medicine. Through meticulously crafting one’s professional demeanor and image, physicians can hone their interpersonal and networking skills and bolster their professional credibility. Drs. Wada and Nelson share how their participation in pageants over the years has served as an influential catalyst for success, both in medical school admissions and academic promotion.

Pageantry, …

The role of institutions in medical misconduct

Chloe N. L. Lee, MD, MPH

Conditions

October 6, 2023

There are no words more devastating than, “Our hands are tied” to a survivor reporting abuse and seeking some semblance of accountability from a larger institution. “The institution admitted no fault” is a close second.

Picture this sequence: a trusted physician at a renowned academic medical center sees a patient at a vulnerable stage in her life for a regular appointment. As she is exposed for a standard physical exam, he …

Innovations in mental health care solutions [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 5, 2023

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

Join Tom Zaubler, a psychiatrist and physician executive, for a discussion on the shortage of behavioral health professionals in the United States. We’ll explore its impact, the surge in mental health care demand, and the role of …

From medical humanities student to physician

Nicholas Bellacicco, DO

Education

October 5, 2023

At seventeen, I envisioned two types of physicians: the doctor who cared about me and my needs, and the doctor who was cold and detached. At that point in my life, I had experienced both types of physicians from the patient perspective. My dream was to become a physician. I wanted to be the empathetic doctor, the one who saw the patient as a person. I aspired to become the …

Bridging disciplines: the unseen power of bilingualism in AI and health care

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Tech

October 5, 2023

In the bustling corridors of medical facilities, a new language is quietly making its presence known, intertwining with the traditional vocabulary of health care professionals. This language, artificial intelligence (AI), is not spoken in words but in algorithms and data, reshaping the health care landscape in unprecedented ways. The University of Texas at San Antonio has perceptively recognized this evolution, launching a pioneering dual-degree program that intertwines medicine and AI, …

Lessons from VA hospitals: Meeting basic needs improves wellbeing

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

Policy

October 5, 2023

I started my career at a state hospital but transitioned to a VA hospital in 2007. I had been a resident at the hospital and was familiar with the unit and population. The unit had 19 beds, and typically these were filled. Often, admissions were for crisis stabilization due to suicidal ideation, and recidivism was very high. Typically, an unmet need other than psychiatric care was being addressed in many …

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