What my 10 year old is teaching me about boundaries

Physician
October 8, 2022

My youngest daughter turned ten on Saturday.

I have been in awe of the privilege, joy, and honor I have been given to raise my beautiful, spirited, brilliant, and incredibly loving kids.

One of the most unexpected, amusing, and honestly humbling things I experience with my kids comes from my work as a personal and executive coach, facilitator, speaker, and teacher for mission-driven and heart-centered physicians and helping professionals. Because they know …

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Who are the neurodiverse people in your life? [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 7, 2022
YouTube video

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“Neurodiverse individuals enhance our lives. Without neurodiverse people, we wouldn’t have Ghostbusters (Dan Akroyd has Asperger’s syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum), the theory of relativity (Einstein likely had dyslexia), or Microsoft (Bill Gates does have …

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The resilience of children throughout the pandemic isn’t what you think

Physician
October 7, 2022

“Don’t forget your masks!”

This phrase has been the daily refrain in my household for my children for the past two years. Masking became as natural as wearing a coat in the winter, and going without a mask would have seemed as strange as going to school barefoot.

The new school year has just started for us; my five-year-old had her first day of kindergarten, and my seven-year-old started second …

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How the mind-gut connection affects total health

Conditions
October 7, 2022

As a colorectal surgeon, I address complex intestinal issues with state-of-the-art interventions. Fortunately for most people, the key to a healthy digestive system isn’t that complicated. A proper diet, regular exercise, and stress reduction all help create a healthier and happier gut.

The “mind-gut connection” influences how you think and feel. Imagine a marathon runner nervous at the start of a race who runs to the bathroom first. Or how a …

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Should physicians own timeshares?

Finance
October 7, 2022

Timeshares have an undeserved bad rap. I’ve owned and used my timeshare for great and cost-effective vacations all over the world for 30 years.

I believe one of the biggest reasons timeshares get bad press is the wrong people buy them. When they become unhappy because their lifestyle, amount of vacation time, or pocketbook doesn’t allow them to fully enjoy their timeshare, they spread negative vibes. When you learn how to …

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There are so many paths to financial freedom [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 6, 2022
YouTube video

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“More than anything, I want to help our physician colleagues build financial freedom. We work with so many talented and passionate individuals. I know each one of you has dreams and passions that drive you. You may …

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How my sister’s death changed everything

Conditions
October 6, 2022

It was fall. Sun-slanted rays filtered into the church from a cold November sky, creating a false sense of warmth. My nephew Dru stood before family and friends who were gathered to remember his mother. He began by telling how, in-between trips to the emergency room, oncologist, radiologist, and myriad other health care providers, he would find himself preoccupied with her eulogy. He worried he would not be able to …

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My postpartum depression was a stumble, but am I really past the trauma?

Physician
October 6, 2022

The sound of beeping monitors of ICU, the blood pressure cuff going off on a patient after having detected an unsatisfactory read undisplayable on the screen, hearing a child cry while walking past ED rooms. These sounds, not alien to the ears of a physician, were no longer everyday noises that I could pass by without bothering to register. I could not figure out why such mundane and run-of-the-mill sounds …

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Meet the emergency physician who writes satire [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 5, 2022
YouTube video

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“In the dark radiology reading rooms, only the gentle hum of the computers and the quiet chatter of residents dictating radiology reads break the silence. Among the computers sits Dr. Exner, a senior radiology resident at Hospital …

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We tell our stories, but who will listen?

Conditions
October 5, 2022

You and I are different from who we were yesterday, last year, three years ago. We have been impacted by the pandemic, loss, and stress. We are struggling to bring some semblance of normality back into our lives. War, climate change, racial discontent, political division, and economic upheaval have affected our psyche and health.

We long to tell our stories, first to ourselves and then to those whom we trust to …

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Adding more team members is the wrong answer to decreasing physician burnout

Physician
October 5, 2022

I recently read an article about reducing physician burnout written by a health care consultant who proposed the creation of an enhanced medical scribe, or “team care assistant” (TCA). According to the article, the TCA obtains the patient’s medical history through “template-driven questions about the chief complaint.” After obtaining the history, the TCA then calls the physician into the exam room to present their findings. The article …

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What to do when doctors develop “portal hypertension”

Tech
October 5, 2022

This article is satire.

Physicians today are confronting yet another epidemic, one that affects doctors directly and is not caused by a virus. It is the result of the “patient portal” through which patients send typed messages directly to their physicians. Though the portal has benefits, anecdotal experience suggests that high message volume is having a deleterious effect on doctors’ blood pressure.

I have dubbed this phenomenon “portal hypertension,” despite the objections …

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Public health requires collective courage [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 4, 2022
YouTube video

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“To create a healthier, more just, and more equitable world, we must confront the truth, and that requires an act of collective courage. Perhaps there needs to be a whole new consciousness that abandons ideas of reforms …

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Managing migraine in women: How doctors can help women get back to living their lives

Sponsored
October 4, 2022

This article is sponsored by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.

While everyone has dealt with a headache at some time in their life, a migraine is more than “just a headache.” This I can say from my own experience is true. As a headache specialist with a foundation in family medicine for 22 years, I know firsthand how the debilitating symptoms of migraine can wreak havoc on a person’s life, especially if not …

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The reality of being a physician and a son at the same time

Physician
October 4, 2022

On February 25th, 2022, my father was placed on oxygen a week after I had surgery for a torn Achilles. He was facing his first idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) flare. I knew this day would come; it was only a matter of time. I’ve seen and cared for patients who have faced IPF, but it hit home that our lives would drastically change.

As I concluded the video visit with his …

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Hearing loss is a significant public health problem

Conditions
October 4, 2022

Hearing loss can be a real pain in the rear. Aside from its annoyance on friends and loved ones, it can pose a significant health problem. For instance, there is growing evidence linking hearing loss and dementia.

Yes, impaired hearing can lead to dementia, which is an impairment of cognition. Cognition is the mental process that allows one to acquire knowledge and understanding through thought. It is the …

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Where are we going with monkeypox?

Conditions
October 4, 2022

Monkeypox has been in the news since May 2022. Barely recovering from the anxieties of COVID-19, the natural question in our mind is how is this all going to play out? We might not have accurate predictions yet, but almost six months into the outbreak, we have more information that we can rely on.

The graphs below show the number of confirmed monkeypox cases on a daily basis and on a …

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Premature babies grow up. It’s time to pay attention. [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 3, 2022
YouTube video

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“Premature babies (a.k.a. preemies) and their families are increasingly becoming a powerful voice in society. Life in and after the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is like being dropped off a cliff. I support the preemie community …

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Are antibiotics too much of a good thing?

Meds
October 3, 2022

Since the development of antibiotics in the 1940s, patients presenting with an infection could be expected to respond quickly to a prescribed course of antibiotics by their physician. While the antibiotic prescription model has helped countless lives, this paradigm has degraded over time due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The net impact is a global health crisis, worsened by continuing the over-prescription and misuse of antibiotics.

The more drugs …

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