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The U.S. health care system ranks poorly among high-income countries, but the direct primary care (DPC) model offers a potential solution. In this model, primary care providers are paid a consistent fee through a retainer or membership …
How direct primary care can revolutionize health care [PODCAST]
I ran across one of those bordering-on-sappy Facebook posts that always pull me in, asking people to describe their job poorly and make it comically accurate. The photographer admitted she would flash clients, shoot someone, and then frame someone else. The bartender alluded to being a psychiatrist, marriage counselor, babysitter, and thirst quencher. You get the picture.
I am sure that each specialty in medicine has its own pithy, confuscating …
The hidden costs of teaching surgery: an academic surgeon’s perspective
My eyes fell upon a horrible newspaper headline from 2008: “Fat kids die earlier.” That is the first article that I remember talking about obesity in childhood, but there were plenty more in the early 2000s. At the time, I clipped it because it reinforced my approach at the time: identify issues, educate, act, and avoid.
Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of children …
It’s time to stop focusing on family weight
Coaching is a synonym for mentoring, counseling, guidance, preceptor, teacher, tutor, and professor. Regardless of how you choose to perceive the word “coaching,” the significant action implied by the word is to provide the client with appropriate verbal, video, written, and audio communication or information necessary to enable you to reach a higher level of success or accomplishment in your medical career.
Ads to physicians, like those below, occasionally have a …
Navigating the challenges of coaching in the medical field
February 3rd marks the annual observance of National Women Physicians Day, a special day dedicated to honoring the countless female physicians who have dedicated their lives to the health and well-being of their patients. The holiday was created in response to the fact that although women make up over half of all medical school graduates, they still only make up a small percentage of physicians in practice today. This day …
Not just another Hallmark holiday: Happy National Women Physicians Day
We lived in the woods. Five acres of trees. You could barely see the sky. We left the big city for this piece of heaven. And by chance, we met a couple that had a 5-year-old daughter. Our son was four years old. They became best friends. They’d swing on the swing set, play in the sandbox, and splash each other in our little pool.
Kayla was this sweet, tiny girl. …
An angel in the woods: a tragic story and the gift of life
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In this episode, Molly M. Murray, a physician assistant, shares her personal experiences of working alongside nurses who are overworked and undervalued. From being spit on and cursed at, to being denied proper breaks and cost-of-living increases, nurses in …
Uncovering the hidden struggles of NYC nurses: an insider’s perspective [PODCAST]
The recent case of Lindsay Clancy has weighed heavily on my heart over the past several days. According to her husband, she was a young mother who was suffering from postpartum depression or psychosis and receiving treatment in an intensive outpatient program. She allegedly took her children’s lives and tried to end her own life.
The DSM 5-TR nomenclature for this condition is peripartum onset, referring to mood onset during pregnancy …
Postpartum depression or psychosis: Understanding the reality behind Lindsay Clancy’s story
On January 2, 2023, Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin collapsed secondary to cardiac arrest on live television, horrifying millions of Americans. We saw broadcasters, fans, players, and reporters crying on live TV as they watched the psychological trauma of a resuscitation. “No one should ever have to witness this” was a common refrain during the broadcast. For that one night, America was privy to what thousands of health care workers …
A cardiac arrest is a tragedy. Multiple cardiac arrests are a moral injury.
Surveys show that people are pretty unhappy with the state of health care in the United States these days. Insurance is way too expensive, and co-pays and cost-sharing are out of control, with patients paying the bulk of office visits out of their own pockets. Staffing shortages mean fewer people answer phones, and finding a primary care doctor open to new patients is darn near impossible in my neck …
7 ways to help your doctor help you: a guide to improving your health care experience
While one could say I was born in the South, I had to move a lot closer to the Mississippi to find that my Southern California momma and daddy had left certain nuances of expressive gentility untouched in the process of raising me right. Northwest Arkansas, where we’ve come to settle, may not be considered the Deep South, but you certainly can hear it from here.
One good place to do …
How to speak “Southern” in the ER
I recently worked an evening shift in the emergency department the day before New Year’s Eve. Patients arrived in waves, by car and by ambulance. They seemed to check into the triage area every few minutes. When I left at midnight, there were 23 patients awaiting admission in the ER waiting for four, six, 12 or more hours — some for a full day.
Simultaneously, there were about 20 waiting to …
Hospitals at a breaking point: Lack of staff and resources leave ERs in chaos
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In this episode, we talk to Holly MacKenna, an integrative psychiatrist, about her experience as a chronic patient in the health care system. Holly shares how emotional and overwhelming the process was, and how she was able …
Navigating the health care system as a chronic patient and physician [PODCAST]
Tax benefits are one of the primary reasons many doctors invest in real estate. The U.S. government incentivizes real estate ownership as it is considered starting a business, which creates jobs and increases tax revenue. One way to achieve significant tax savings is by becoming a real estate professional, but this is impossible for those working full-time. An alternative option for these individuals is short-term rental properties.
A short-term rental (STR) …
The short-term rental tax loophole: a game-changer for physicians
Recently I was scrolling through posts from a physician leadership Facebook group. I came upon one that caught my eye. It said something like, “Does anyone have information I can share with my radiologists to show them the impact of working through lunch?”
I was happy to see a post that focused on physician well-being. A leader who cares enough and wants her physicians to take a break. And then …
Breaking the burnout: How health care leaders can support physician well-being
I wrote an article on letting grief make you stronger and talked about a trip to the grocery store where I was not as strong as I hoped. I walked by the Cream Puffs and broke into tears. My husband passed away almost four months ago, and he always used to ask me to get cream puffs when I went to the store. I didn’t even think about it until …
Cream Puff Days: Coping with grief and finding comfort
“Life is about taking chances, trying new things, having fun, making mistakes, and learning from them.”
– Anonymous
Early journey as a science nerd
In high school, science was my thing. I wasn’t like the others. I wasn’t interested in teenage drama. The boys didn’t chase me, and I didn’t chase them. I was that nerd; I was committed to science. My love for science drew me to a degree in biology which …
From science nerd to accomplished ballroom dancer: my story as a hospitalist
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In this episode, we welcome Cindy Perlin, a licensed clinical social worker and chronic pain survivor, to discuss the ongoing issue of prescription painkiller abuse and the dangers of relying on medication to treat pain. Research shows …
Pain management beyond prescription pills [PODCAST]
Sharon Stone has publicly said that medical professionals missed a large fibroid tumor. This followed a prior incident where she reported that she was given larger breast implants without her knowledge while undergoing reconstruction surgery. We all know that Michael Jackson was killed by his personal doctor, who failed to monitor him while he was given Propofol (an anesthetic that is never used at home). Dr. Murray was on the …
The dark side of celebrity medicine
Psychosis is a broad term that describes a change in the perception of reality. It can be caused by various conditions, including metabolic, psychiatric, neurologic, genetic, and other medical conditions, as well as licit and illicit substances, particularly cannabis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) states that abnormalities define these disorders in one or more of the following five domains: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), …
The dark side of cannabis: increased risk of psychosis
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