Ratcheting down the hypercompetitive medical school application process

Education
April 5, 2023

Premedical students are more stressed out and burned out than ever. It’s easy to see why: pre-med courses, medical school admissions committee expectations, and application process and cost are daunting and, in their current iteration, often harmful to students and society.

I am an emergency medicine and internal medicine physician at public and private teaching hospitals and direct and teach undergraduate courses at an affiliated university. I mentor/advise pre-med (particularly …

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The crystal ball of cinema: How movies predict the future of technology

Tech
April 5, 2023

The world of cinema has always been a platform for creative minds to explore and express ideas about the future. Movies, especially those in the science fiction genre, have a unique ability to inspire innovation and predict future technologies. The intriguing portrayal of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology in films often encourages researchers to transform these visions into reality. This article …

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Successful life after residency: 6 key ways  to recover and thrive

Education
April 5, 2023

As a therapist and physician spouse who works with physicians and physician couples, I’ve seen the excitement and difficulty of exiting medical training and becoming an attending. The shift is a celebratory culmination of the physician’s hard work and a jarring transition with its unique challenges. Here are six things a new attending can do to recover from their residency experience and build a thriving next chapter.

1. Process …

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Breaking the stigma: Using life coaching to navigate chronic disease [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 4, 2023
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Join us with guest Kimberly Jackson-Bekemeier, a family physician with a personal story of managing Type 1 diabetes amidst the pandemic. Kimberly shares her journey of struggling with the diagnosis, feeling lost and alone, until she discovered …

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The heartbreaking story of Jimmy Carter: a call for Medicare reform in end-of-life care

Conditions
April 4, 2023

The purpose of the serious illness conversation is to offer patients a clear choice between treating and not treating an incurable disease like liver cancer. The goal is to give the person permission to alleviate pain and suffering. The individual might decide to be treated as a patient or honored as a person if given this option near the end of life.

A non-serious illness conversation ends with the patient wishing …

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I’m a medical oncologist. Here’s why AI isn’t going to cure cancer.

Tech
April 4, 2023

As a cancer physician, the amount of data I obtain on my patients is ever-increasing, along with options for cancer therapies. This is, as the saying goes, a good problem to have, but the amount of data management oncologists must do after hours (because there isn’t enough time in the clinic day) to keep up with the deluge of input contributes to burnout.

Many things keep oncologists up at night, …

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The shocking truth about the lack of business education for medical students

Physician
April 4, 2023

For the last century, no medical school in the U.S. has ever offered or provided business education to any medical students. Check it out yourself. Then consider, that over 95 percent of graduating physicians are business ignorant, after never being informed while in medical school about the substantial value that a business education provides to any physician, especially those in private medical practice. Why would that be?

That’s around 22,000 medical …

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The secret to finding joy: Defining what is enough for you

Physician
April 4, 2023

My hands were wet with warm soapy water as I washed the dinner pots and dishes. My mind wondered into autopilot, as it tends to do when I am doing my chores. I find washing dishes so mundane, so simple, so irritatingly boring. I begin the process grudgingly. After a few minutes, my thoughts start to change. I notice a certain peace and tranquility that comes from the process of …

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Transforming the future of point-of-care diagnostics [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 3, 2023
YouTube video

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The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth, vaccine manufacturing, and point-of-care diagnostics, improving patient access to immediate care. In this episode, we welcome Nigel Lindner, …

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Breaking the silence on the harmful effects of the EMR

Physician
April 3, 2023

Well, it finally happened.

To me.

A physician.

I became an MD 30 years ago, long before the EMR existed. This was also well before Dr. Google appeared on the scene. A time when medical records existed only on paper.

I remember getting frustrated when I had to see a patient without their paper chart, as it was still in another physician’s office. I was griped about not being able to find a particular …

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Why would a pediatric neurosurgeon go crab fishing in the Bering Sea?

Physician
April 3, 2023

At one point, many of us will ask the questions, “Am I going to die? Am I safe? Who can I count on? It could be as you face your mortality or find yourself in a dangerous situation. Or, as it has been for many frontline health care professionals while facing a job-related risk like contracting COVID-19. Medical professionals are not the only ones who have experienced high levels of …

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The culture of my health care organization is broken. Is there hope?

Physician
April 3, 2023

A strong organizational culture is considered the secret sauce of successful organizations. But the Latin term, “Abyssus Abyssum Invocat” (“One Hell Calls Forth Another”), explains perfectly why it is increasingly difficult to maintain optimized organizational cultures in health care organizations.

Hell #1: Pre-pandemic, health systems and their workers in both Canada and the United States were highly stressed. The reasons were different; the end-consequences the same. And then, as predicted, this …

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Physicians cry too: 6 tips for coping with death and grief as a health care worker

Physician
April 3, 2023

“FYI, your patient died.”

This message from another physician sat in my Epic inbox. Feelings of disappointment and sadness surfaced as I prepared to start my overnight shift in the emergency department. The death of a child simplified to an Epic chat message felt eerily impersonal and distant. 

Months prior to receiving this message, I had another traumatic patient experience in the same emergency department. I will never forget the feeling …

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Breaking the silence on infertility: a urologist’s journey through IVF [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 2, 2023
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We sit down with Lei Chu, a urologist and author of IVF Diaries: A Female Urologist Infertility Journey. Lei shares her personal journey with infertility and the heartbreak of undergoing numerous IVF cycles. She sheds light on …

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AI and health care: the elephant in the board room

Tech
April 2, 2023

In recent years, the health care industry has undergone a significant transformation, and one of the main drivers behind this change is artificial intelligence (AI). As the adoption of AI continues to accelerate, it is becoming a topic that cannot be ignored. However, despite its potential to revolutionize health care, it remains the elephant in the board room – a topic often …

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When losing a patient is more than just a defeat: a doctor’s story

Physician
April 2, 2023

“I feel tired,” said Mr. T. Mr. T was a 72-year-old man who came to our ED. For the last three days, he had been passing reddish urine. Two weeks before this, he had a bout of bronchitis that did not require hospitalization, just ciprofloxacin. He had made a full recovery. The emergency department ordered many tests, among which was a comprehensive metabolic panel and a complete blood count. It …

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What was right with me when I developed severe depression?

Physician
April 2, 2023

For several years, I fixated on what was wrong with me rather than seeing what was right with me when I developed symptoms of severe depression.

If you’re struggling, too, you’re not broken, either. What is your brain telling you?

While I am not a mental health professional and strongly advocate for people to get the support they need, as I have done throughout my journey, I share this reflection as a …

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Collaborating with occupational therapists: a game-changer for behavioral health [PODCAST]

Podcast
April 1, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, psychiatrist Maryna Mammoliti discusses the importance of collaborating with occupational therapists. Occupational therapists are health care professionals who can help assess and accommodate patients’ daily activities, including work and home life. Maryna shares her …

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