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“Hospitals and health systems should bolster the skills of care teams through education to improve patient outcomes by minimizing variations in obstetric care and being equipped to prevent, identify, and address any possible maternal emergency. Our obstetrics …
How a positive staff helped an uncertain hospital stay [PODCAST]
As a pediatrician serving under-resourced families in Washington, D.C., I was glad to see health leaders converge for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Solutions to food insecurity and diet-related diseases are urgently needed to address the crisis of chronic disease, which afflicts six in 10 Americans.
One of the important issues discussed at the conference is the critical need for more education and training in nutrition …
There are 50,000 medical malpractice lawsuits filed per year. Each doctor has a 5 percent chance of being sued each year, and every doctor will be sued at least once in 20 years. 70 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits are non-meritorious and are dropped. These represent 35,000 frivolous lawsuits. Until now, there is no way to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit.
America is a litigious society. The medical liability …
How to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit
First, I want to extend my thoughts, wishes, and prayers to Damar Hamlin, his family, and his teammates. Seeing his collapse on television stirred many emotions in me; I can’t imagine what those who were on the field or in the stadium experienced.
As a pediatric emergency physician, I can tell you that anything related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is difficult. America got a real glimpse of the horrors of CPR …
I remember feeling like I was on an island, and any time I separated from her and put her down, I frantically looked around for her, daydreaming she was lost at sea.
When I was pregnant, everything was contained and controlled. Her womb gymnastics, even at night, were welcome interruptions to my sleep.
It was my first time breastfeeding, and even though I was a pediatrician, getting her to get a good …
My journey parenting with chronic depression as a physician mom
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“If patients had an accurate diagnosis and their physicians knew the root of their illness and could treat it effectively, then the medical care costs would go down. The effect on patients of being diagnosed years earlier …
Treating rare, multi-system illnesses [PODCAST]
Six years ago, I met a man who was 93 years old. I sat down to listen to him, something we physicians don’t do as often as we should in the long-term care setting.
“I want you to treat me like I’m 73,” he said,
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I don’t want to be denied treatment just because I am 93 years old. I want you to give me the same …
Breaking the silence: a doctor’s plea for clarity in end-of-life care
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on long-term care in Canada. During the first two waves in 2020, over 80 percent of all Canadian COVID-19 deaths happened in long-term care homes. While vaccination and policy changes have helped to reduce the number of deaths, long-term care homes are still experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and severe staffing shortages.
The people who provide front-line care to our most vulnerable seniors in long-term care have experienced …
Care aides in long-term care were traumatized during COVID-19
Driving around, searching for children’s Tylenol and a pharmacy that had the antibiotics my son needed, was not how I wanted to spend the holidays. I am not alone – shelves are bare, and antibiotics are in short supply as we head into the new year in the midst of a triple threat of COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
While this drug shortage is incredibly frustrating, at least there is …
Timely treatment decisions: the promise of surrogate markers
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“In many ways, internet of things (IoT) is a double-edged sword: connected devices are capturing huge volumes and varieties of data that can be mined for everything from potentially life-saving health care information to guidance toward peak …
Why the internet of things (IoT) must pivot to achieve health care potential [PODCAST]
I recently read the article, “Perfectionism will kill you.”
Our perfectionism is often worn like a badge of honor. It signifies our complete commitment, at times at the expense of others. Wanting to do your best job is what drives “good” perfectionism. Woody Allen quipped, “80 percent of life is just showing up.” And the other 20 percent is reserved for perfectionists.
Success often comes from attention to detail, something perfectionists …
Why perfectionists in medicine need to practice compassion
My mom is putting garlic oil in her ears because her house cleaner told her it would help with her recent hearing loss. When I asked her why she was continuing to do this even after being assessed by two physicians, including an ear, nose, and throat specialist, she just shrugged and told me she wants to fix the problem.
You see, she has recently been through a difficult six months …
From cough to cancer: one woman’s determination to find answers and relief
A shocking scene during the Monday night football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. According to the New York Times:
During a Monday Night Football game, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin tackled Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. After the tackle, Hamlin quickly stood up and took a few steps before collapsing and becoming unconscious. Medical personnel administered CPR and attended to Hamlin for 10 minutes before …
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This time of year, advice abounds on how to develop New Year’s resolutions that last. Some assert the need for resolutions and goals that reflect the deep desire for meaning-making, living life to the fullest extent possible, and establishing healthier, fuller lives moving forward.
Spiritual care is an essential part of any health care resolution.
Some describe a recent Journal of the American Medical Association study as “the most rigorous …
Keep the faith: Why the role of spiritual care in health care is critical
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“Health care has changed dramatically in the last decades, from the introduction of electronic medical records to the COVID-19 pandemic serving as a catalyst for telehealth and virtual care options to the increased familiarity with digital therapeutics, …
Secrets from a physician-entrepreneur [PODCAST]
Self-compassion does not make you soft. Boundaries do not make you closed off or selfish.
I had to repeat this many times before I started to understand how true and how essential self-compassion and boundaries are in our lives.
I did not realize how much I maintained my resistance to these ideas until Dr. Brené Brown provided her research findings at a conference held in Houston this year. Dr. Brown shared her …
Reflections from a (former) self-compassion and boundary setting skeptic
A 23-year-old girl reached out to me, a medical professional, seeking advice. “I’m not afraid of them killing me,” she said, referring to the torture and rape that men and women endure in Iranian prisons. “What I’m afraid of is what they’ll do to me in captivity. What pill can I take to end it [if I’m caught at the protests]?” As a physician, my oath is to save lives, …
Iranian women’s rights movement faces brutal retaliation from government
The luridness of it made me feel like the female lead in a bad Lifetime movie. The person whom I trusted most was a monster: an affair with a middle-aged prostitute who verbally abused me, an Ashley Madison account, and countless payments to sex workers – those were the tip of the repulsive iceberg that was my relationship.
And sadly, these were the least of my problems. My once-kind then-partner’s face …
It can happen to you too: Women in medicine also experience domestic abuse
Our health care employees are suffering from the after-effects of COVID, the great resignation, stripped-down staffing levels, and the misrepresentation of human clinicians as factory floor machines. When frontline employees and senior managers are depleted, C-suite executive leaders become depleted too. And depleted leaders are at heightened risk of burnout.
When struggling with burnout, executive leaders tend to get caught up in reactivity patterns that profoundly affect employee workplace satisfaction, engagement, …
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“As trainees, we have unpredictable schedules. Sometimes we work days; others, we work long nights. As the weekends come by, my best friend inevitably asks me: “Who’s showing up this week at work, Batman or Bruce Wayne? …
A physician’s passion for obstetrics-gynecology [PODCAST]
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