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Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

Physician

May 5, 2023

No one feels sorry for American doctors. They are some of the highest-paid in the world and spend their lives in the country with the highest nominal GDP in the world. But why is it so hard to find any doctors who actually like their job? Why do so many dream of walking away? Here are five reasons why.

The electronic medical record (EMR)

Technology is amazing, and the EMR is no …

Love in medical education: Why it’s vital to nurturing empathy and compassion [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 4, 2023

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In this episode, we sit down with Stevan Walkowski, an osteopathic physician, to discuss the impact of technology on medicine and medical education. With the recent news of artificial intelligence passing the USMLE, we delve into questions …

Medicine is a joke, except no one is laughing

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

May 4, 2023

My brother and I like to swap stories about our medical encounters. I suppose our ages – 69 for me and 74 for him – lead to varied encounters and tales.

“It’s a sh*t-show,” he tells me from his home on Martha’s Vineyard. “No one’s left here on the island. The doctors who remain have stopped seeing new patients or have incredibly long waiting lists.” My brother is forced to go …

Thriving in an AI-driven health care system: essential skills for medical professionals to stay relevant and make a difference

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Tech

May 4, 2023

As the health care industry continues to evolve with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies, it’s more important than ever for medical professionals to identify and develop skills that set them apart from their peers. Embracing these skills can help you survive and thrive in an AI-driven health care system. Here are some essential skills that will enable you to maintain relevance and find your unique …

Not treating addiction in criminal justice settings violates the 4 ethical principles in medicine

Casey Grover, MD and Reb Close, MD

Physician

May 4, 2023

As physicians, we are bound by four ethical principles. Beneficence (acting for the benefit of the patient), nonmaleficence (avoiding the harm of the patient), autonomy (respecting patients’ right to make their own decisions), and justice (fair and equitable treatment of patients). When people think of the ethical principles that guide physicians, “First, do no harm” comes to mind.

Unfortunately, our medical system in the United States is violating all four …

How popular culture has historically portrayed tech in health care and what we can learn from it in the ChatGPT era

Jennifer Lycette, MD

Tech

May 4, 2023

Well before the advent of chat GPT, popular culture has explored how technology might affect health care, often with a dystopian bent.

Take, for example, the 2013 sci-fi movie Elysium, set in 2154 (spoilers ahead). Matt Damon’s character, Max, is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation when his factory supervisor threatens to fire him if he doesn’t perform a dangerous task. Because he can’t afford to lose his job, Max does …

2023’s banking failures: a wake-up call for an unstable financial system and potential solutions

Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD

Finance

May 4, 2023

The recent failures of major banks such as Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse have highlighted the fragility of the modern banking system. These events occurred within a week, unlike the drawn-out process of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The quick succession of bank failures underscores the inherent risks of a money system based on government fiat, central banks’ ability to print money and manipulate interest rates, and …

Raising financially savvy kids: tips from a physician parent [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 3, 2023

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

In this episode, we explore the intersection of education and finance with guest Michele Cho-Dorado, a pediatric gastroenterologist. As physicians, we often prioritize academic excellence and lifelong learning, but one critical aspect of education that is often …

The inherent problems with emergency medicine that make it contradict new values and behaviors

Anonymous

Physician

May 3, 2023

There has been much hand-wringing about the 555 (18.4 percent) unfilled match spots in this year’s emergency medicine (EM) residency match. Several long-standing, excellent programs with outstanding patient pathology and well-known faculty in major metropolitan areas did not fill.

Most hand-wringing has focused not on inherent attributes of the specialty, but temporal issues likely to fluctuate over time, including:

1. An overproduction of 8,000 emergency physicians (EPs)

The underappreciated heroes of health care: a doctor’s appreciation for therapists

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Physician

May 3, 2023

As a doctor who has cared for countless critically ill patients, I cannot stress enough how important therapists are for patient recovery. Whether it’s occupational, physical, or speech therapists, these health care professionals play an integral role in helping patients regain their abilities and quality of life after an illness or injury.

In my experience, occupational therapists are especially crucial for patients who have experienced loss of motor function from a …

Disparities in health care: How physician heuristics can negatively impact patient outcomes

Jay K. Joshi, MD

Physician

May 3, 2023

Every physician, regardless of their specialty, vividly remembers their experiences during grand rounds as a medical student or resident. A preceptor, senior resident, or attending physician would lead a pack of eager students and residents from room to room on the clinical ward. Suddenly, the pack would stop, and the questioning would begin.

“What are the top differential diagnoses?”

“What test do we need to order?”

These memories linger because they are how …

The joy of surgery: How one doctor discovered her passion

Maria Iliakova, MD

Physician

May 3, 2023

When my now ex-husband and I first met, he asked me about my favorite things to do. At that time, I did not have a ready answer. It was my third year of general surgery residency, a time for proving that I could handle it all: being the in-house senior surgery resident on call, starting to manage surgical teams, and being responsible for lists sometimes reaching dozens of patients. I …

A doctor’s journey through grief and writing [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 2, 2023

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

In this episode, we have Ryan McCarthy, an internal medicine physician, who discovered writing as a way to cope with grief. His journey started with the death of his friend Dan from pancreatic cancer, which led him …

Breaking free: the power of physician autonomy in patient care

Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA

Physician

May 2, 2023

What guides and directs your decisions in your private practice? As the physician owner, it should be your choices and decisions, made without influence from third parties. That is physician autonomy.

In 2012, an article by E. J. Emmanuel and S.D. Pearson defined physician autonomy as “the freedom to determine both the conditions of practice and the care delivered with the principal goal that care decisions are aimed at promoting the …

Use ChatGPT to apply the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in health care

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Physician

May 2, 2023

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a best-selling self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. The book outlines universal principles that can be applied to personal and professional success. This article explores how health care professionals can use these principles to improve patient care, collaboration, and effectiveness.

1. Be proactive. Health care professionals must be proactive in staying up-to-date with the …

The powerful bond that overcomes the toughest challenges

LaBianca Wright, MD

Physician

May 2, 2023

Towards the end of a busy clinic afternoon, I felt my phone buzz with a page in my jacket pocket. It is rare to receive pages on our phones in the middle of the day because we usually get messages through the EMR or direct calls to the office. I called back the number to the sound of an exasperated ER doctor who had been trying to reach the PCP …

The 4 habits of highly effective physician leaders

Anonymous

Physician

May 2, 2023

How big is my ego? The trouble with a career in medicine is that you spend four years in a classroom and not managing people. It is impossible to gauge the size of your ego if you don’t have a stack of small unit leadership situations with which to calibrate it. The most needed quality as a physician leader (or any leader) is humility. Athletes and prior military folks tend …

Reversing the aging process with neuroplasticity [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 1, 2023

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

Join orthopedic surgeon Michael Day as he shares his insights on how to reverse the acceleration of aging through lifestyle, habits, and even thoughts. Michael explains the role of neuroplasticity in enhancing the performance of our bodies …

Against all odds: 17-month-old defies death and improves neurologically after craniospinal irradiation

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions

May 1, 2023

Three months ago, a case was discussed in the multidisciplinary tumor board. A 17-month-old child was admitted through the ER with a posterior fossa tumor (brain tumor) and multi-level spinal cord compression due to tumor deposits. The tumor was so extensive that only a biopsy could be performed rather than maximum safe resection. The biopsy report was discussed in the MDT (it was medulloblastoma), and after considering the neurological deficits …

Surviving monkeypox: a story of compassionate care and an emerging disease outbreak

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Conditions

May 1, 2023

Mr. Sanchez had been feeling unwell for days before he decided to visit the emergency room. When I walked into his room, I immediately noticed that he was scared and anxious. His sore throat had been persistent for five days and was now so severe that he couldn’t eat or drink anything. He had also developed a rash covering his entire body, which was only getting worse. The lymph nodes …

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