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In this episode, guest Sara L. Merwin, co-author of The Informed Patient: A Complete Guide to a Hospital Stay, shares her experience helping a family navigate their loved one’s hospital stay during the height of the COVID …
A medical advocate’s role in the COVID ICU [PODCAST]
Last week I walked past him sitting outside of the OR. It was morning, before all of the first start cases, but he had been there all night. I already knew this. Two back-to-back transplants overnight. He, a surgical fellow, me, a critical care anesthesiologist who was a surgical resident over a decade ago. I could see the circles under his eyes that seemed to take up over half of …
The surgeon-anesthesiologist relationship: Learning to work together in the OR
In a recent posting, “The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools,” the author concluded that climate change is “here and undeniable” and, based on her experience of wildfires, that the cataclysmic consequences are already upon us.
Many would disagree, including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. Ivar Giaever who, on resigning from the American Physical Society (APS) in protest, wrote: “In the APS it is OK to discuss whether …
Uncovering the controversial debate surrounding climate change
In November 2022, revisions to the United States Pharmacopeia’s (USP) General Chapter <797>, a standard for sterile pharmaceutical compounding – defined as the process of “combining, admixing, diluting, pooling, reconstituting, repackaging, or otherwise altering a drug product or bulk drug substance to create a sterile medication” – were published. USP <797> plays a major role in guiding …
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Join us for this episode with guest Farid Gharagozloo, a cardiothoracic surgeon, as we discuss the unintended consequences of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA). While the act was designed to protect public health …
When peer review goes wrong: the impact on physicians’ civil and constitutional rights [PODCAST]
I am naturally a problem solver, and I share this characteristic with most of my fellow physicians. When I felt burned out at one point in my career, I was certain that a literature search would help me solve the problem by giving me answers I could use to make my burnout a thing of the past.
My research, within the academic literature and information on the web, led to some …
Physician burnout solutions should be focused on subtraction not addition
“My best friend’s mother arrived at our oncology outpatient department. She had recently been diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer and was understandably apprehensive, filled with numerous questions. I took her medical history and performed an examination. She didn’t have any relatives with cancer, so all the treatments and terminology were completely unfamiliar to her. Her medical workup was completed, and she began neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with surgery planned for a …
Finding hope in the face of cancer
Physicians caught in the tentacles of employment as a means of possibly earning higher incomes and, unfortunately, believing such a platform of medical practice is the panacea of satisfaction and reaching your medical practice expectations that permeate your retirement with regrets.
During my 14 years of clinical medical practice in various settings, including the military, HMOs, and as a hospitalist, my experiences disrupted my initial career plans and intensified my desire …
Medical autonomy: the untold struggles of employed doctors
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In this episode, we discuss personalized medicine with guest Ketan Desai, a physician-executive. We explore how Henry Ford’s mass production method influenced the pharmaceutical industry, and how personalized medicine presents new challenges. CAR T-cell therapy is an …
Is personalized medicine worth the cost? [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Twenty-Six.
5 a.m.
“Reminder to everyone, morning round at 6, lots of new patients,” flashes a message from Puta on the residents’ WhatsApp group.
It’s dawn, and the first rays of sunlight illuminate the corner of the bedroom. I roll over, but the alarm clock on my phone keeps ringing. …
Confessions of a surgical resident: trials, tribulations, and the 26-hour shift
Nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure, but hypertension disproportionately affects Black Americans, with 56 percent of this population affected. The disparity is especially stark for stage II hypertension, which affects 42.1 percent of Black Americans compared with 28.7 percent of white Americans. “In the United States, at any decade of life, blacks have a higher prevalence of hypertension than that of …
How do we reduce hypertension in Black Americans?
We all know that life has its ups and downs.
And sometimes life gets really messy — and there are days and times that really suck! (No toxic positivity here.)
But we’re all just trying our best with what we have at that moment in time. (Don’t forget to give yourself some credit!)
That being said, there are also some habits that you may be (unconsciously) doing that are making …
Are these 6 habits making you unhappy?
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In this episode, we welcome Maria Xiang, a pediatric neurologist, join us to share her personal journey and insights on how to remain emotionally present in the midst of life’s challenges.
Maria opens up about how she believed that virtue and self-sacrifice were her protection, leading her to overwork and overprepare without considering her own …
From overworking to self-care: a pediatric neurologist’s journey [PODCAST]
Residency applicants, especially today, come from diverse backgrounds, including various careers, SESs, gap years, and geographic location. Despite an increase in applicants from diverse backgrounds, the application process may still perpetuate inequities for students and presents operational challenges for reviewing committees. Many of these intrinsic challenges to the application process have been compounded by shifting incentives inspired by changes to the Step 1 exam switching to a pass/fail format.
In light …
The unintended consequences of ERAS: Are we losing unique applicants?
In a broad, ironic sense, the relationship between privileged humans and the marginalized wilderness has shifted over time. As humanity evolved and overcame its previous disadvantages, people began to consider the possibility of limiting human population growth to protect the environment. However, with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), it seems that privileged humanity may eventually become marginalized itself. This raises questions about whether AI should be restricted or …
When AI rises: the great reversal of human privilege and its impact on society
Usually, patients remain unaware of the demands health care technology makes on the time and attention of physicians. The patient may sense the doctor is always rushing and perhaps not spending as much time with them as they would like, but they don’t realize that the computerization of the medical office is part of the reason why.
Health care providers, for their part, may feel the reliance on computer platforms has …
The hidden impact of health tech: How to regain control and prioritize patient care
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In this episode, we’re joined by Heidi Chumley, dean at the Ross University School of Medicine, to discuss the barriers facing aspiring physicians in their journey to residency. Heidi will delve into the challenges of the residency …
Overcoming obstacles: Increasing diversity in residency programs [PODCAST]
I saw a patient recently with a new brain tumor. She came with an internet search that suggested she had five years to live. I cannot beat that predictive confidence. The best I could do was to poke holes in the assumptions that servers and algorithms had made, to question the arc of the future, and finally to tell her that the tumor was small, likely benign, with minimal effect …
Why the internet can’t replace your doctor
With the booming economy of predatory publishing in medicine, it is time to rethink what constitutes peer review and how peers are being standardized.
Perhaps with the absence of standardization for anonymous peers, manuscripts should undergo a pre-publication trial solely by editors (judges) rather than awaiting trial by peers (juries) unless the recruitment of editors is not standardized as well.
By suggesting peer reviewers at the time of manuscript submissions, authors might …
Are predatory medical publishers exploiting peer review system? Here’s a solution.
I treat at the dental school in my community, Louisville, Kentucky. I have been a patient there for more than 30 years, so I have had many soon-to-be licensed dentists and dental hygienists look at my teeth. I have never had a bad experience or a clunker as a student in all those years.
Students come from everywhere in America and beyond. Recently, I had one from Afghanistan, another from Syria, …
Proud dental school patient shows off a rare gold foil filling
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