Exhausted. This is the word that comes to mind when asked how I am. Instead, it’s the usual “Good!” with a smile on my face. Not that this is unique per se. Many others work long hours. A friend who is an accountant will work 80-hour weeks in the month up to the tax filing deadline. Another who works in automotive design will sometimes work 60 to 80-hour weeks to …
Medical residencies: Balancing high stress and low compensation
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Join Maria Iliakova, a bariatric and general surgeon, as she shares her challenging yet transformative journey through surgical residency, where she faced overwhelming pressures and doubts. Discover how she found solace and fulfillment in the operating room, …
A surgeon’s inspiring journey [PODCAST]
Medical education is a rigorous journey that demands dedication, resilience, and compassion. However, as medical students, we often find ourselves navigating through the pressures of this journey while silently grappling with our mental health. By sharing personal experiences and insights, I aim to initiate a candid conversation about mental health and advocate for positive changes within the medical community.
The weight of the white coat
The iconic white coat symbolizes not only …
Navigating mental health challenges in medical education
Do your friends assume you are a “rich doctor,” and thus you feel pressure to meet that expectation?
Do you want to reward yourself after all the years of training and stress with some nice luxury toys?
Doctors often find themselves caught between two choices: living a luxury lifestyle and securing their financial future. It’s a delicate balance that requires careful planning and strategic decisions. But it doesn’t have to be an …
How to build a financial safety net without sacrificing your lifestyle
In the future, I foresee a world without pandemics, cancer becoming a thing of the past, and advancements that enable bionic adaptations to our bodies, leading to a life expectancy of easily over one hundred years.
While some of these advancements may seem distant, we are on the cusp of making them a reality within the next few decades. However, it’s essential to question whether human greed could hinder technological progress, …
The future of medicine: Advancements and greed collide
Late last year, I decided I needed to get my health checked up on. I went through the motions, trying to make an appointment with the doctor that was assigned to me. Nothing was available for months. I called every other day, asking about cancellations that would fit into my schedule for days I already had off. It was a pain and difficult as well to switch a single workday …
Teaching moments in medicine: Balancing autonomy and comfort
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Join Kim Downey, a physical therapist, and Michael Hersh, a gastroenterologist, and discover how coaching can help physicians navigate challenges, change their lives, and find personal and professional growth. Don’t miss their insights on finding the right …
Empowering physicians: the benefits of personalized coaching [PODCAST]
An excerpt from My Grief is Not Like Yours.
In March of 2018, I took Momma to a women’s conference in Dallas. We didn’t get great seats, but we were in the middle section, halfway back in a group with about 2,300 other people. I was hoping there would be a …
Lessons from Momma: the power of being present
There has always been a research bias against the case of one. A success story that isn’t part of a research pool is called “anecdotal.” The implication is that no doctor should base treatment on a story of one. Then we devised the term “evidence-based” to reinforce the notion that physician decisions should be based entirely on numbers in research studies. However, the physician’s prerogative has always been to read …
Personalized hypertension care in pregnancy: Beyond evidence-based thresholds
According to Sir William Osler, “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business …” This calling inherently involves sacrifices. How many of us would sacrifice our freedom, livelihood, or even lives for this calling as the clinicians in Iran have been doing? Iranian doctors demonstrated their bravery in September 2022 when 800 members of the Iranian Medical Council denounced the authorities’ attempt to …
Iranian doctors’ bravery: Upholding medical ethics amidst oppression
Patient safety, patient experience, workforce health, and cost-effectiveness are critical outcomes that share important common roots. They are all impacted by our ability to communicate effectively and respectfully. This can be challenging, in part, because communication involves underlying emotional intelligence, which is hard to develop and practice, especially in high-stakes, high-stress work environments or toxic cultures.
Furthermore, our ability to communicate affects our capacity to establish healthy professional relationships, collaborate in …
“YES AND”: a vital, versatile, and visionary leadership tool
In recent years, the disparities between doctor of osteopathy (DO) and doctor of medicine (MD) applicants in securing coveted residency slots across various medical subspecialties have garnered increased attention. Despite the acceptance of DO-trained physicians within the broader medical community, there remains a significant discrepancy in match rates between DO and MD applicants in highly competitive specialties. This disparity is complex and multifaceted, requiring efforts from every level of the …
Disparities in DO vs. MD applicants to subspecialties: Identifying challenges and bridging the gap
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Join Erkeda DeRouen, a family physician, as we delve into the recent remake of The Little Mermaid. Discover how this Disney film led Erkeda on a journey to explore the inspiring story of Howard Ashman, his battle …
The Little Mermaid’s impact on storytelling [PODCAST]
Introduction: In the face of adversity, my journey from being a hospitalist to a utilization management physician advisor was not without its challenges. However, this transformation’s story is filled with hope, networking, and empathy, showcasing the power of compassionate leadership during times of employee turmoil.
Hope: Even in the darkest days, when injuries prevented me from fulfilling my duties as a physician, I clung to hope. Believing in the possibility of …
The art of compassionate leadership during employee turmoil
Treating patients with respect and dignity is essential to the medical profession. This is true even when the patient lies unconscious in the operating room. It seems unnecessary to stress the importance of creating a secure and comfortable environment to ease the patient’s anxiety and stress and develop confidence. Respect is also crucial to promote successful outcomes. By prioritizing these values, medical professionals can ensure that patients feel valued and …
Patient respect in medicine: Ensuring well-being and trust
We all know that life is in transition, and we all go through different changes during our careers, from personal to professional growth. We all strive for a reasonable life-work balance.
Early in my career, after completing my residency training, I was discouraged by many of my mentors from pursuing a hospitalist career. The common agreement at the time was that hospital medicine was the recipe for burnout, and a fellowship …
Thriving through transitions: lessons from a hospitalist’s journey
“We need more doctors who look like us.”
I led a small group discussion with high school students enrolled in the Medical Careers Education and Emergency Preparedness (MedCEEP) ‘s Summer Pipeline Program. Our task was to brainstorm solutions to address a critical health disparity, and our group was assigned the topic of “Maternal Health.” The students, all young Black and Latina women from the Southside of Chicago, unanimously agreed that increasing …
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Join patient advocate Richard A. Lawhern as he challenges prevailing myths surrounding the opioid crisis. With insights from medical literature, he questions the link between opioid prescribing and toxicity, highlighting the need for evidence-based public health policies. …
Reshaping opioid policies: a patient advocate’s call [PODCAST]
The annual suicide rate of physicians over the past few decades has amounted to about 400 highly trained and competent American physicians per year and is now increasing. That wipes out about one large medical school four-year class each year in our nation.
Our medical school education system has for the last century rejected and intentionally prevented offering an academic business education to all medical students, which has unfortunately become a …
Medical schools’ hidden crisis: the dark truth behind physician burnout
This article is sponsored by Pfizer.
As a primary care provider (PCP) specializing in headaches and migraine, I cannot stress enough the important role of PCPs in diagnosing and treating migraine disease. Almost 40 million Americans and over a billion people worldwide live with migraine and the significant burden that comes with the disease. Migraine is classified as a primary headache …
Understanding the changes in migraine treatment
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