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“As a parent of elementary school children, every mass shooting, particularly ones killing school children like in Uvalde, jolts my doing-the-mom-thing-just-keep-busy-can’t-stop denial. On the last day of school before summer vacation, when the bus doors squeaked open, …
Bulletproof backpacks: There’s more we can do [PODCAST]
When I started my company in 2009, personal experience was a driving force in identifying the problem I wanted to help solve. As a neurosurgeon, I often treated patients who were neurologically devastated by acute bleeding in the brain after years’ worth of poorly controlled high blood pressure. In many cases, when I asked the family why the patient quit taking their hypertension medication, they described the patient as “not …
The unstoppable momentum of a medical “fact” with no source
Life is short, so make yours extraordinary. Capitalize on what makes you, YOU, and be your own unapologetic self.
The Almighty designed us as unique but imperfect and flawed individuals, prone to sin and blundering error. But that’s the great part of being human; we’re expected to sin, blunder, and make mistakes. We’re made to err for the sake of learning and growth; otherwise, we’d wither into uninspiring nothingness. Keep this …
Bring the real You to your workplace
Anti-immigrant rhetoric was at an all-time high during the midterm election season, and now as the 2024 presidential election gathers momentum, it is urgent to note how it fosters violence against immigrant communities and creates a chilling effect.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues busing immigrants to sanctuary cities from Texas, including new arrivals in Philadelphia, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defends his practice of sending immigrants to …
Migrants need and deserve access to healthy lives in the U.S.
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“You have the power to make healthier choices to reduce your risk for prostate cancer. While things like genetics are out of your control, there is a wealth of research showing that there are simple ways to …
Preventing prostate cancer with simple, proactive choices [PODCAST]
If you like real estate, you may have heard the term “real estate syndications.” This is a fancy term for group investment, where several people get together to acquire a big asset (like an apartment complex), they form an LLC, and there are active investors who manage the property and passive investors who help with the capital for the down payment, and they get to share the profits with the …
A case against real estate syndications
“What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?”
– “Harlem” by Langston Hughes
“$23.46,” the Walmart cashier distractedly mentioned to me as I got ready for my first ride. I had signed up and passed the background check. My …
From Uber driver to Harvard Medical School
Ongoing consultations with a new-to-me internist have raised attention to my in-office blood pressure measurements. In preparation for my next appointment, I regularly record my BP, sometimes several times a day. In other office visits, for cancer talks and such, I simply explain I regularly home and grocery store measure my BP, which always seems to be in the established normal range. I am confident that these in-office rises are …
Much more than simple white coat syndrome
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“Picture this. A patient in a hospital or rehab facility has just finished exercising with therapy. He is thirsty, and he thinks he might as well ask for a snack now because he will be hungry in 30 minutes. …
Time constraints in physical therapy [PODCAST]
We get what we incentivize.
This is a basic rule. I’d love to say it’s a basic rule of humanity, but unfortunately, I have a background in psychology, so I know it goes a lot deeper than that—it’s a basic rule of every living creature. Humans are, in many ways, just very big pigeons. We reliably prioritize certain rewards. We prefer smaller sooner rewards to larger later rewards; we push the …
Historically, students’ three-digit scores on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 were a main factor in determining competitiveness for residency programs. In February 2020, the world of medical education shifted drastically when it was announced that the USMLE Step 1 would transition to a pass/fail scoring system. One of the main factors driving this change was that medical students and residency programs were attributing too much …
The immediate impact of the transition to a pass/fail Step 1 exam
After a great game of doubles tennis, a good friend brought up a recent visit with his primary care physician while sitting with friends, trying to cool down. He expressed appreciation for his position but complained about the need to see his doctor every three or six months, all the while acknowledging various medical problems being addressed.
This led to general comments by several non-physician friends about how they feel that …
Why even doctors need regular doctor visits
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“Empathy, intelligence, and commitment are crucial traits every doctor must have to succeed. However, there is one trait that stands above the rest. One of the most important aspects of an effective doctor is the desire to …
Effective doctors need to be challenged [PODCAST]
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Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) represents one of the most promising developments in psychiatry in decades. The treatment typically involves the infusion of a compound such as LSD, psilocybin, or MDMA during an extended therapy session with licensed professionals.
Although it lacks widespread regulatory approval or clinical use, significant advances have been made in the study of PAT in the past decade, with a pronounced increase in recent years. Recently, a Read more…
Prudence and promise in psychedelic-assisted therapy
Last evening I crumbled in the arms of my patient and wept. This was unknown territory to me, an unexpected role reversal. For three weeks after my Mom’s death, I maintained a stoic distance as patients offered their condolences, as they asked about my mother, and empathized. We doctors have been trained to do this, to face death, to keep our emotions at arm’s length. But this patient, who has …
Dear Dr. El-Dalati,
I am sorry that we will not be able to publish your recent letter to the editor regarding the Chowdhury article of 16-Sep-2021. The space available for correspondence is very limited, and we must use our judgment to present a representative selection of the material received. Many worthwhile communications must be declined for lack of space.
The response from The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) seemed simple and …
When your letter to the editor is rejected or ignored
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“During addiction, the brain becomes ‘hijacked,’ which then ‘exaggerates the need for the drug and minimizes the dangers associated with the use of the drug.’ This is so affirming because the chemicals in my brain told me …
Let doctors in recovery be able to recover their careers [PODCAST]
This article is sponsored by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience. AI-driven ambient clinical intelligence (ACI) promises to help by revolutionizing patient and provider experiences with clinical documentation that writes itself.
What is cognitive load?
Cognitive load is a psychological theory that deals with how the human brain uses its working memory, how …
What is cognitive load? How can we help clinicians manage it?
Although the holidays are typically associated with feelings of joy and thankfulness, it is imperative that people should not automatically assume these emotions are commonly shared. Three percent of all individuals are impacted by seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the holidays – a statistic many people are unaware of. The media promotes an unrealistic expectation that everybody should be happy during this time, but this is not the case …
5 tips for treating seasonal depression during the holidays
I’ve always been curious about the top 0.1 percent.
Their mindsets, backgrounds, upbringing, perceptions, skills, and behavioral traits that got them there.
After living through the Dot-com bubble, 9/11, Enron-WorldCom, the 2008 financial crisis, the meteoric rise of technology (search, e-commerce, social media, sharing economy), and the rise of a new class of billionaires, I intuitively sensed that there was a disconnect between what was going on in the real world, and …
The most valuable health care companies of tomorrow will be technology companies
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