4 traits every new attending physician needs to thrive

Conditions
June 13, 2025

When I conduct therapy for doctors after residency, I am supporting new attending physicians as they navigate one of the most intense and disorienting transitions of their careers. These early attendings often arrive feeling untethered. They’re rediscovering who they are, working through long-ignored anxiety, stepping into their authority, and trying to build lives that don’t begin and end with medicine.

When I talk about what makes a new attending “successful,” I’m …

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2 hours to decide my future: Why the NRMP’s SOAP process is broken

Education
June 13, 2025

“We are sorry, you did not match to any position.”

That sentence alone is enough to crush someone who has spent over a decade chasing the dream of becoming a physician. But what came next was a blur of rushed decisions, emotional exhaustion, and the pressure to uproot my life—without knowing if the choice was right for me or my family.

I entered SOAP, the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program—advertised as a …

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Essential questions about nurse practitioner liability insurance [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 12, 2025
YouTube video

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Nurse practitioner Surani Hayre-Kwan discusses her article “Are you protecting your career? 5 essential questions about your NP liability insurance.” Surani discusses the critical need for nurse practitioners to secure their own …

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Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

Physician
June 12, 2025

There’s so much we don’t say out loud.

Not because it’s not true.
Not because it doesn’t matter.
But because somewhere along the way, we were taught that strength looks like silence—and that if we’re struggling, it must mean we’re doing something wrong. Or maybe we just forgot, in the brain fog of postpartum hormones and the blur of sleepless nights.

I’m a family physician. I’m also a mother to an amazingly bright and …

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9 domains that will define the future of medical education

Tech
June 12, 2025

A comprehensive 2025 framework on medical education reform has laid bare a critical challenge: The traditional path to becoming a doctor is failing to meet the demands of modern health care. The consequences are stark: 70 percent of medical students report frequent feelings of burnout, persistent health disparities remain entrenched, and a median debt of $200,000 is pushing graduates away from essential careers in primary and public service care.

This new …

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When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

Conditions
June 12, 2025

I’ve spent my career as a neurologist diagnosing and managing neurodegenerative diseases. I’ve counseled families through heartbreaking prognoses, navigated complex care plans, and educated patients about conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. I thought I understood what it meant to live with a memory disorder, until my mother became my most challenging, most personal patient.

Her diagnosis came gradually, as these things often do. First, it was the missed appointments and forgotten dates. …

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What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

Education
June 12, 2025

For years, I cared for patients as a nurse practitioner—managing chronic disease, guiding them through acute illness, counseling them through the often messy realities of life and health. I loved my work. I loved the relationships I built with patients, the trust they placed in me, and the opportunity to make a difference in their lives.

But over time, a quiet restlessness began to grow—a sense that I wanted to deepen …

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Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

Conditions
June 12, 2025

In cities like Los Angeles, accessing advanced cardiac imaging is not always a matter of medical need. It is often a question of logistics. Even in major metro areas, where advanced technology is available, practical barriers—like scheduling delays, traffic, and long waitlists—can prevent patients from getting scans when they need them.

Many wait weeks for appointments or travel across the city to reach a facility equipped for high-quality cardiac CT. In …

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Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 11, 2025
YouTube video

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Internal medicine and pediatric physician Charles LeBaron discusses his article “How the CDC’s opioid rules created a crisis for chronic pain patients.” Charles discusses the 2016 CDC opioid guideline, initially framed as …

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Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

Tech
June 11, 2025

Healthcare organizations continue to face financial and operational efficiency pressures to implement or upgrade their electronic health record (EHR) systems, driven largely by the push for greater interoperability and the need to consolidate disparate systems. While the benefits of modern, integrated EHR systems are clear, the path to successful implementation remains complex and challenging for many organizations.

The foundation: Stakeholder engagement and leadership buy-in

The success of any EHR implementation hinges on …

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How proposed NIH budget cuts could derail Alzheimer’s research

Conditions
June 11, 2025

Recent budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have dominated the headlines since February of this year, when the NIH announced a 15 percent cap on indirect costs — a move that jeopardizes essential research infrastructure by slashing funding for facilities and administrative support vital to the advancement of scientific innovation.

Now, leaked documents threaten to compound this issue: The Trump administration plans to cut the NIH’s …

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Removing vaccine advisers could jeopardize lives

Physician
June 11, 2025

“Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Didn’t take long, did it?

The quote in the title is from George Santayana. The movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey along with Clarence Odbody, who played Clarence the angel. The scenes are from the moments when Clarence shows George what the world would have been without him and his value to his family, his friends, …

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Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

Policy
June 11, 2025

As a pediatrician and public health advocate, I’ve spent my career serving families whose lives often depend on a strong safety net. Medicaid is that safety net. It provides care for over 70 million Americans — including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Right now, federal policymakers are considering dramatic Medicaid cuts that would threaten coverage for millions. This is not just a policy debate. It will spark a …

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What teenagers on TikTok are saying about skin care—and why that’s a problem

Social media
June 10, 2025

“We’re six minutes in now, and she’s applied almost ten products.”

That’s how Dr. Molly Hales begins the video abstract for her recent Pediatrics study on TikTok skin care trends. The clip she’s referring to features a young girl layering product after product—acids, toners, serums—each promising glowier, cleaner, brighter skin.

This child isn’t an outlier. In a recent study analyzing 100 viral TikTok skin care videos posted by users aged 7 to …

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Professional identity: a new narrative for medical education [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 10, 2025
YouTube video

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Otolaryngologist Kevin C. McMains discusses his article “The hero’s journey: Understanding professional identity formation in graduate medical education.” Kevin discusses the ongoing crisis of burnout and mental health issues in medical training, …

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A spoonful of vinegar: Why simple glucose hacks deserve more medical attention

Conditions
June 10, 2025

In the age of glucose monitors, blood sugar charts, and wearable tech, one of the most effective strategies for stabilizing post-meal glucose levels might already be sitting in your kitchen cabinet: vinegar.

As someone with a strong interest in endocrinology and women’s’ metabolic health, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to the work of educators like Jessie Inchauspé (popularly known as Glucose Goddess), who break down blood sugar science in ways that …

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Living through injury: one family’s journey to the other side

Conditions
June 10, 2025

For a while, I enjoyed telling Dave’s story. In the beginning, I found it therapeutic. It was just as unbelievable to me as it was to the person I was telling it to. Somewhere along the line, telling the story of Dave’s accident and the health care nightmare that followed became more matter of fact. Then, it became heavy.

What I didn’t tell most is that Dave’s injury took more than …

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Why retail pharmacies are the future of diverse clinical trials

Meds
June 10, 2025

The importance of diversity in clinical trials is well-documented, yet unfortunately the lack of diversity still occurs at an alarming rate. As a result, we continue to have less effective treatments, poorer health outcomes, one-size-fits-all medicine that falls short of many patients, and many more negative impacts on health care.

The reason for lack of diversity in clinical trials is similarly known, with language barriers, limited access to health care facilities …

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Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

Tech
June 10, 2025

There’s a growing disconnect between the promises being made about artificial intelligence in health care and what’s being delivered. If you’re a health system leader, it’s time to take a discerning view—not because AI lacks potential, but because many of the solutions entering the market are more marketing than medicine.

We’ve seen this dynamic before.

Earlier this month, a fintech founder was charged with defrauding investors after promoting an AI-powered shopping app …

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How school meals can transform health [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 9, 2025
YouTube video

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Osteopathic medical student Scarlett Saitta discusses her article “The school cafeteria could save American medicine.” Scarlett discusses the profound connection between childhood nutrition and long-term health outcomes, drawing from her personal experiences …

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