My patient and I were born on the same day. It took a tragedy to bring us back together.

Physician
December 5, 2021

It was a hot afternoon, but no dog day humidity yet. I was driving back from a satellite office when our nurse practitioner called. A patient with a condition we’d seen many times before, a brain hemorrhage, her consciousness waning. The CT scan showed blood in the ventricles obstructing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.

The pressure was building and our patient was dying. She needed an external ventricular drain to relieve …

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War is really not all it’s cracked up to be

Physician
December 5, 2021

An excerpt from All Bleeding Stops.

42nd Surgical Hospital
Phu Bai
Republic of Vietnam
December 1967

Private Ira Stein has so many wounds, has lost so much blood, that the corpsmen nearly bring him straight to Graves. Steve Benson can’t get a pressure. He shakes his head. “Matthew, there’s no point taking this kid to the OR. He’s too far gone. He has no chance.”

“Bullshit!” …

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Instead of focusing on your time, focus on your energy [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 4, 2021
YouTube video

“I can attest to the tremendous power of simply noticing these rhythms and attending to them. It’s part of a larger attempt to live a more authentic life. So much of my time over the past 20 years has been vying to achieve someone else’s standards or to live …

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Our patients become an inextricable part of our lives

Physician
December 4, 2021

In the early evening, I stand in the grocery store checkout line.  A young mother in front of me presses a pig-tailed toddler against her hip as she rummages for her credit card, and a man with silvered hair and a monogrammed shirt shifts impatiently behind me.  As I watch the toddler, I’m hit with a twinge of nostalgia.  I think of how I used to pull my daughter’s hair …

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The voices of women physicians with infertility

Physician
December 4, 2021

“I wish I had known how common this is. I would have started sooner.”

It is currently estimated that one in four women physicians has infertility (compared to one in eight in the general population). Why do I care? Because I’m one of them. But truly, we should all care. These women are our partners, colleagues, trainees, and friends. Their experiences shape the landscape of physician wellness for all of us.

To …

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The pain of doctoring and a call for change

Physician
December 4, 2021

Below are moments from my intern year of general surgery residency. They represent moments that occurred over three years ago, which I took home to my journal to process and work through. Back then, the moments left me speechless. And today, re-visiting them, the moments clearly demonstrate the fragility of the human spirit.

A silently sobbing 7-year-old the day after surgical repair of his broken femur. His face contorted. His pain …

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Stories of surgery, clarity, and grace [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 3, 2021
YouTube video

“My mother, bless her ninety-year-old heart, is slowing down. The things that made her happiest — getting to church, visiting friends, taking walks, and wandering the aisles in the grocery store —are increasingly difficult. She worries that her lack of energy will soon make every activity impossible.

It is 2005 and …

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Racism in medicine much more than just overt

Physician
December 3, 2021

When the term white supremacy culture is used, people get uncomfortable — they picture the skinhead as the prototypical racist. And while those people are dangerous, whether by their openly racist views being broadcast or in other subtle ways, they are largely recognizable.

White supremacy culture is inescapable in the United States. We have been saturated in it. Our country was founded on its tenants. The far more dangerous racist is …

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Parallels between Alec Baldwin’s Rust movie set and the unvaccinated

Physician
December 3, 2021

The recent tragic shooting on the Rust movie set shocked me. A good friend, a prominent cinematographer in Hollywood, texted me his blunt assessment: “Live rounds on a set. Ridiculously unprofessional.”

Humans are naturally shaken when there is a senseless loss of life. Or are they?

As a hospital physician who has personally watched many people die unnecessarily of COVID-19, I found this fatal filming accident to be a powerful metaphor that …

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A physician’s guide to the best way to invest in real estate

Sponsored
December 2, 2021
YouTube video

This article and podcast are sponsored by CityVest, providing investors with insider access to pre-screened, institutional real estate investments historically unavailable to individuals.

Alan, please tell us about your background.

My name is Alan Donenfeld, and I’m …

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There is no quick fix for kids’ cold and flu symptoms but there are things you can do

Conditions
December 2, 2021

Colder weather is upon us again – and so is cold and flu season. Nearly two years into the fight against COVID-19, we welcome children returning to schools, daycare, and sports. But with the loosening of restrictions and increased social contacts, we are also now seeing increased circulation of common seasonal respiratory viruses.

Kids are experiencing cough and cold symptoms, including fever, congestion, and sore throat due to other respiratory viruses …

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A physician’s exam room should be educational and inviting

Physician
December 2, 2021

Today’s health care system has become so standardized that if a person in a medical office were instantly and magically transported to a medical office in another city, the person would instantly recognize that they were still in a medical office. Our offices are now antiseptic, cold, and devoid of educational material and humanity, and this office decor can adversely impact a physician’s ability to provide care to their patients.

When …

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Grow, share, eat: We have the opportunity to subvert the dominant supply chain

Policy
December 2, 2021

You might not be able to afford the usual Christmas roast this year.

According to the USDA, beef prices in the U.S. are up nearly 10 percent this year over last. And it’s not just in the U.S.  Distribution and other supply chain problems have led to severe price inflation for produce in Beijing, where a pound of lettuce now costs as much as a pound of pork. China’s agriculture ministry …

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Bonnie Koo, MD on taking control of your finances and pursuing financial independence [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 1, 2021
YouTube video

“While much of the conversation around financial independence is tied to the ability to retire early, the real prize is flexibility.

I hear a lot of ‘I love what I do and will work until I die’ amongst physicians. Not so fast. Your goals and priorities will likely change as …

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Life as an MD online with Kevin Pho, MD

KevinMD
December 1, 2021
YouTube video

It was an honor to be interviewed by Jonathan Baktari, MD on his show, the Baktari MD Show. In this hour-long episode, Life as an MD Online, I discuss how I got started, online reputation and social media, the KevinMD …

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Do you have any idea how beautiful you are on the inside?

Physician
December 1, 2021

Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? Well, OK; maybe for some it’s were. Before you got a little thick in the middle, smoked, or even just breathed city air for enough years, or drank a little, or did a few drugs, there was a time — and maybe it’s still true — when you were knock-down, take-your-breath-away gorgeous. While operating inside a belly, I’ve often stopped working …

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A physician and sister, but also an accomplice?

Physician
December 1, 2021

My older sister, Joy, will soon die from metastatic breast cancer.  She will pass away at age 50.  She will leave behind a husband of 21 years and the three children they nurtured to young adulthood.  Our elderly parents will lament the unnatural timing of their firstborn’s death.  And, I will mourn this loss, wondering whether my support of my sister’s spiritual beliefs makes me, as a physician-scientist, an accomplice in her death.

For the …

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Top 5 interview questions and strategies for medical students

Education
December 1, 2021

Thousands of medical students are in the midst of interviewing for their dream job. The importance of interviewing well cannot be overstated. Below are the top five common interview questions that could be asked during your interview. 

Tell me about yourself.

Purpose:

  • Open the interview and quickly gauge how personable you are.
  • To understand who the applicant is beyond their application.
  • Although this is one of the most common interview questions, …

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What you don’t know about pain will hurt you [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 30, 2021
YouTube video

“If you treat chronic pain, or are someone living with it, remember this: Changing the brain can change pain. Addressing emotional health directly impacts physical health, because brain and body are always connected. Pain psychologists can serve as pain coaches – it doesn’t mean you’re crazy, and it’s not …

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Reflections after the last ER shift

Physician
November 30, 2021

Working in an ER is unlike any other branch of medicine.  Your specialty is unpredictable.  You have no scheduled patients and no set pace.  You could be fighting boredom one hour and running around with your hair on fire the next, or the next 11, for that matter. Your patients are not stratified by age, gender, body part, or severity of injury.  Your next patient could have an infected cuticle, …

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