I write this letter with a heavy heart. Our story began during my sophomore year in college, but after a decade with you, I can’t help but feel our dynamic has changed. Intrusive thoughts of leaving you have etched their way to the forefront of my mind. The harder I try to quiet them, the louder they declare themselves. They’ve grown from whispers to screams, and I can’t ignore them …
Breaking up with nursing: a heartfelt letter
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
In this episode, we speak with George Tewfik, an anesthesiologist, about the importance of recognizing and addressing knowledge gaps in anesthesia residents. George discusses how new residents may arrive with a sense of false confidence that can …
Empowering anesthesia residents: lessons in trust from an anesthesiologist [PODCAST]
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented event for worldwide health care. The call to action for organizations included setting up mass testing sites to serve their communities. I helped set up multiple locations across several counties using a mobile model. We tested hundreds of patients each day in various places. Once the vaccine was approved, we began our vaccination efforts using our mobile model and mass vaccine sites, including …
Understanding the end of the COVID public health emergency
During my night shift at the emergency department, I encountered a 72-year-old decorated war veteran named Mr. Sun. Accompanied by his concerned wife, he came to address a year-long struggle with fatigue and a non-productive cough he’d been experiencing in recent weeks. Initially resistant to seeking medical attention, Mr. Sun finally gave in to his wife’s insistence.
As I entered the room to assess Mr. Sun, it was immediately apparent how …
A veteran’s battle against possible lung cancer
In theory, the widespread adoption of health information technology (HIT) and integrated applications can improve patients’ access to their health information and facilitate patient-centered care. In reality, this increased reliance on patient-facing technologies and data derived from connected devices, machine learning, and artificial intelligence can widen gaps in access, create new barriers to health equity, and generate biases that influence research and clinical decision-making that negatively impact the patient experience …
How data and technology influence health in ways that doctors don’t
Physicians are frustrated, and rightfully so, by the number of individuals and companies that do not provide direct medical care to patients yet profit off our services. Salary suppression is one of the many reasons physicians are leaving traditional medicine and seeking alternative careers. Although physicians have seen an increase in pay over the past 20 years, it has not matched the inflation rate. For example, Medicare reimbursement lags over …
January 2nd was a rough day for the sports world. People were captivated by the on-field “death” of a player. Players, coaches, fans, and staff were stunned by seeing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in real-time, maybe even for the first time. Thankfully the NFL had excellently trained teams on the sidelines prepared for these emergencies. Chest compressions were started in seconds, and spontaneous circulation returned in less than ten minutes. Damar …
How the NFL could have boosted CPR awareness
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
In this episode, pediatrician Wendy Schofer discusses physician appreciation. She emphasizes that appreciation is an offering of love that fulfills the psychological need for belonging and love. Wendy relates the five love languages to how physicians can …
This year’s Match Day for graduating medical students had the highest number of unfilled pediatrics residency spots in recent years. Fewer pediatricians means fewer pediatric subspecialists. Like too many of our deepest health disparities, this hurts teens the most and the current political climate may be to blame.
About 1 percent of pediatricians pursue fellowship training in adolescent medicine, a board-certified subspecialty devoted to …
The current political climate is leaving youth and their physicians behind
In a Black Mirror-esque video I watched recently on YouTube, a young man with a persistent cough notices a booth labeled “Instant Doctor” as he’s waiting in a train station, and decides to give it a try. The somewhat pleasant robot voice immediately recognizes him and dutifully (creepily?) reads off his age, height, and weight. She then tells him he has two diagnoses: the first, a mild bronchial infection, is …
AI vs. human doctors: Why patients prefer the real thing
“Hispanic community makes up more than half of coronavirus cases in Southwest Michigan county” was the headline in the newspaper that caught my eye in August 2020 – that infamous year that the nation went into lockdown to prevent the spread of what was still a new and emerging virus.
It shocked me to realize that only three counties west of my Southcentral Michigan home, Latinos were …
Medicine and history: a seemingly unlikely but necessary duo in understanding COVID-19 disparities
The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have brought groundbreaking technologies that have revolutionized various industries, including health care. Two of the most promising AI innovations are Bing Copilot, powered by ChatGPT-4, and large language models (LLMs), which can potentially transform clinical practice and patient care. As the application of AI in health care becomes more prevalent in the future, it is …
It was a busy night in the emergency department, as usual. I rushed from one patient to the next, trying to keep up with the constant stream of people coming in with various ailments and injuries.
One patient, in particular, stood out to me that night. He was an older man, probably in his early 70s, who had come in complaining of severe back pain. After a thorough examination and some …
A tale of two patients: one journey, two stories of courage
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
In this episode, we are joined by Tracey O’Connell, a radiologist and physician coach, to discuss the pitfalls of “do what you love” as career advice, particularly for college graduates. We explore the role of love in …
Why work shouldn’t define your self-worth [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Huntington’s Disease Heroes: Inspiring Stories of Resilience from the HD Community.
These days as my father’s Huntington’s disease progresses and I take on more and more, I have learned how quickly being a caregiver can consume my life. Yes, he is still living two hours away, and …
The heartbreaking realities of being a caregiver with Huntington’s disease
Depression is a complex and multifaceted illness that affects millions of people worldwide. For a long time, the prevailing explanation for depression has been that a chemical imbalance in the brain causes it, and I, like many other clinicians, accepted this definition. However, looking back at my early years in clinical practice and comparing it to what I have witnessed and studied, the past diagnosis didn’t fully appreciate the uniqueness …
Breaking the silence on mental health: Why understanding past traumas is key
In a grocery store recently, a friend’s young child gave a big hug to a brightly colored, meter-high plastic cartoon mascot for a well-known candy brand standing at the end of an aisle surrounded by many bags of the candy on sale.
“Aww, that’s so cute!” was the mother’s first reaction.
Then it dawned on her – it wasn’t cute at all.
It was, she realized, very effective and invasive marketing. Not only …
When cute is actually harmful: It’s time to end the in-store tricks that hurt our kids’ health
Childhood obesity has become a health crisis in the U.S. across all socioeconomic levels. CDC statistics from 2017 through 2020 indicate the following for children and adolescents ages two through 19:
“We need an urgent pain consult for patient Lucy Bee in room 5621. She’s a 17-year-old drug addict and is screaming and wanting morphine,” I was told. Lucy Bee is not a real patient, but a composite of patients I have cared for either when providing pain management services on our inpatient floors, or in the operating …
Words matter: Caring for pain patients with suspected opioid use disorder
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
In this episode, we talk with family physician Heather Awad about how to be an example of what’s possible for your patients on their weight loss journey. Heather shares her experience of embracing imperfection and how that …
How to make small changes for big weight loss wins [PODCAST]
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
