3 hospitalists’ struggles with board certification: a tale of ineligibility, cancelled tests, and unfair fees

Physician
February 21, 2023

When I finished my pediatric residency almost 20 years ago, I embarked upon a career in general pediatrics because I didn’t enjoy any particular subspecialty enough to commit my career to it. After spending several years in a mostly outpatient setting (peppered with child abuse consults, circumcisions, and an unsatisfyingly small number of hospitalized patients), I knew I had to change and move across the country to pursue pediatric hospital …

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Jimmy Carter brings attention to hospice care: the compassionate side of modern medicine

Conditions
February 20, 2023

The recent decision by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to transition to hospice brings much-needed attention to this crucial part of health care. Hospice care is an essential and compassionate component of modern medicine, providing support and care to patients and families during the most challenging time of their lives. Historically, hospice care has been long stigmatized as giving up on treatment. However, the truth is the opposite. Hospice provides …

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Breaking the stigma: Making HIV and COVID screening routine in primary care [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 20, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we welcome clinical research assistant professor, Maranda C. Ward, to discuss the importance of routine screening for both HIV and COVID-19 in primary care. During the COVID pandemic, we became familiar with answering questions …

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The rise of spiritual science: Uniting the soul and science

Conditions
February 20, 2023

Until recently, mainstream science has not recognized the field of spiritual science because the consensus has been that science and spirit (soul) are like oil and vinegar — they do not mix. Science is all about facts and evidence relative to the hypothesis, theory, and actual proof. At the same time, it is said that the spirit and the soul cannot be proven and are solely based on faith.

However, thanks …

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From AI to love: the key to a better future in medical education

Education
February 20, 2023

With the recent news of ChatGPT artificial intelligence successfully passing the United States Medical Licensure Exam (USMLE), we have been catapulted into a new era in medicine and medical education. What has always been regarded exclusively as a human skill and profession has now been demonstrated to be technically mastered by artificial intelligence. Rightfully, the detractors today will say that passing a board exam does not make …

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From toys to tragedy: the threat of button batteries to children’s health

Conditions
February 20, 2023

The Doctors Company

According to a study published in Pediatrics, it is estimated that between 2010 and 2019, more than 70,000 emergency department (ED) visits in the United States were related to battery ingestion, mouth exposure, and ear or nasal insertion among children under 18 years old. ED visits occurred more frequently among children ages five years and younger. Button-type and …

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Ensuring universal access and quality care: the advantages of a mixed health care system in Canada

Policy
February 20, 2023

Canadian physicians, like many other Canadians, generally support the country’s publicly funded health care system, which is designed to provide universal access to medical care.

However, despite its strengths, there are some areas where the public system falls short, and there is growing evidence that a combination of public and private health care could help address some of these shortcomings.

One of the main benefits of a mixed system, as seen in …

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Chris Hemsworth and personalized medicine: How genetic testing can impact your health [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 19, 2023
YouTube video

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Today, we’re discussing the news about actor Chris Hemsworth and his genetic test results. Hemsworth announced that he is taking a break from acting after learning that he has a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Our …

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The Dark Knight of health care: a doctor’s tale of gift cards and patient satisfaction

Physician
February 19, 2023

I was surprised when I began receiving gift cards to a national chain of coffee shops in recognition of positive patient satisfaction comments from my emergency department patients.

Reviewing them in my provider report card genuinely felt good, especially when someone remembered my name in a follow-up phone call while saying something positive. Still, the token incentive met with disapproval for several reasons.

In particular, the most meaningful comments expressed gratitude for …

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The regret of leaving an old friend behind

Conditions
February 19, 2023

I once knew a lady who eventually died of pancreatic cancer. She must have been by then in her early seventies. Her name was Marilyn, and I went to grade school with her son Tom. we went back a long way. I guess I was in my early thirties by the time what happened, happened.

Marilyn’s husband, Forrest, had died a few months earlier. I knew him, too. She missed him …

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The cost of overpreparing: my experience with the USMLE and what I learned

Education
February 19, 2023

“It’s all in your head.”

When my friends, family, and mentors said these five words to me in the days leading up to the pre-pass/fail USMLE Step 1 exam, they meant it literally: everything you need to know to succeed is already in your head. When my internal dialogue repeated those words, they took on a different meaning. The question banks had been answered, and the …

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Trauma in an interview: a not-so-perfect personal statement

Education
February 19, 2023

I have to write a “perfect medical school personal statement.” I have to write about learning and growth. I want to show empathy and grit. Most of all, I must resonate with the medical school admissions committee reading my story.

The overwhelming consensus around Student Doctor Network, the forum of terrible but successful premeds, is: don’t make waves. Adcoms can be radical feminists or religious fundamentalists, born from wealth or recently …

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The hidden illness: Understanding and overcoming depersonalization-derealization disorder

Conditions
February 19, 2023

A strange mental health issue affects millions of people every year. Yet, almost no one in the medical community is aware of it. Many suffer in silence without having the right guidance and support. In this article, I’d like to help you understand what depersonalization-derealization disorder is and how you can overcome it.

Depersonalization-derealization disorder, often referred to as DP/DR, can be a debilitating and scary mental health disorder for the …

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Navigating complex medical issues: one family’s story of advocacy and hope [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 18, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we have a special guest, Laura Fernando, a patient advocate, who shares her heart-wrenching story of her daughter Lily’s medical journey with COVID-19 and other health conditions. Joining her and Lily is Linda Bluestein, …

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Why patients choose who they trust: Understanding the psychology of health care relationships

Physician
February 18, 2023

Most people, should they be in need of a transcatheter aortic “valve-in-valve” replacement procedure for a failed aortic valve replacement, would be delighted to have one of the world’s foremost experts (who has performed over 6,000 of these procedures at one of the world’s foremost heart hospitals) perform the procedure.

But not my father, despite having dyspnea on mild exertion owing to a trans-valvular gradient of 50 mmHg.

Naturally, he wanted a …

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Can personalized medicine live up to its hype in health care?

Meds
February 18, 2023

The genius of Henry Ford was in his perfection of mass production. Ford’s assembly lines produced oodles of Model T, with economies of scale so that the cost of each car fell to the point that even those working in those lines could afford them. His method was copied by other car manufacturers and ultimately by other industries as well.

The pharmaceutical industry was one of them. The industry mass produces …

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Assess your tech health in 2023: How screen use is affecting your life and ways to improve

Physician
February 18, 2023

My patient, a retired teacher, looked embarrassed as he said it.

“I don’t have a smartphone. I don’t have a computer.”

I had to check the readings — somehow, despite this lack of technology in his life, his heart rate was perfectly normal. His oxygen reading was also in the normal range. Skin color looked perfectly healthy. He even wore a smile on his face.

Quickly, trying to keep him from noticing, my …

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Mostly miserables: a physician-mother’s struggle during COVID-19

Physician
February 18, 2023

It was the year 2020 — the month of March. The world shifted on its axis in ways we could not imagine. The job of a physician-mother is one of never-ending tightrope walking while juggling batons on fire and crystal figurines, all while herding cats.

You see, the physician and mother are so intertwined in our being, one cannot leave either role for the other at their respective doorway. There is …

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The tragic case of the anguished physician

Physician
February 18, 2023

In his “Nicomachean Ethics,” the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle points out that anger is not always a moral failure. To be sure, it is usually wrong to give in to it, but situations can arise when a good person naturally experiences a sense of moral indignation. The human mission is not always to hold anger at bay but sometimes to feel it appropriately – why, with whom, when, where, and …

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Breaking the communication barrier: a survival guide for doctors, nurses, and patients [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 17, 2023
YouTube video

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In this episode, we sit down with attorney and author Michael J. Grace to discuss his book, The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication. As a defense lawyer representing health care providers, …

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