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Timely treatment decisions: the promise of surrogate markers

Meds

January 4, 2023

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 …

Why the internet of things (IoT) must pivot to achieve health care potential [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 3, 2023

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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 perfectionists in medicine need to practice compassion

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

January 3, 2023

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 …

From cough to cancer: one woman’s determination to find answers and relief

Mikel Segal, MD

Conditions

January 3, 2023

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 …

Tragedy strikes Monday Night Football as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest. Is commotio cordis to blame?

Kevin Pho, MD

KevinMD

January 3, 2023

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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Tragedy strikes Monday Night Football as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest. Is commotio cordis to blame?

Keep the faith: Why the role of spiritual care in health care is critical

Jung Kwak, PhD, MSW and Rev. Brian Hughes

Conditions

January 3, 2023

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 …

Secrets from a physician-entrepreneur [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 2, 2023

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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, …

Reflections from a (former) self-compassion and boundary setting skeptic

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Physician

January 2, 2023

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 …

Iranian women’s rights movement faces brutal retaliation from government

Montreh Tavakkoli, MD

Policy

January 2, 2023

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, …

It can happen to you too: Women in medicine also experience domestic abuse

Chloe N. L. Lee, MD, MPH

Conditions

January 2, 2023

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 …

5 questions C-suite leaders must be willing to ask to address burnout and create thriving health care organizations

Nicola F. De Paul, PhD

Conditions

January 2, 2023

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, …

A physician’s passion for obstetrics-gynecology [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 1, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

“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? …

Let teens self-consent to vaccines

Cady Chen

Policy

January 1, 2023

I still remember the exhilaration I felt upon learning that my peers and I could finally return to our in-person classrooms. After a year of Zoom lectures, asynchronous exams, and more, the prospect of seeing each other again thrilled us.

However, we had not anticipated the constant fear and uncertainty that would accompany this transition. Despite implementing safety measures like masking and one-way hallways, the number of COVID-19 cases continued to …

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Let teens self-consent to vaccines

Shame as an unethical teaching tool

Elisheva Nemetz

Education

January 1, 2023

The senior medical student is hours into her on-call shift on her surgical rotation. She’s been up since four, exhausted, and can’t remember if she had eaten anything since breakfast. The staff surgeon on call “pimps” her on surgical anatomy, pointing at the various arteries and veins in the patient lying in front of them on the operating table. The student has difficulty remembering the various arteries and nerves while …

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Shame as an unethical teaching tool

Are pediatricians too nice?

Jennifer Shaer, MD

Physician

January 1, 2023

One summer a few years ago, I went to pick my son up from camp. He was attending a week-long specialty day camp where the kids spent a week with an expert in some area of interest. The camp offered everything from basketball, soccer, and tennis to acting, magic, and chess. It was the first time I was going to pick him up, and I wasn’t exactly sure where to …

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Are pediatricians too nice?

You can take your teeth to the grave

Ananda P. Dasanayake, PhD, MPH

Conditions

January 1, 2023

My grandma went to her grave with no teeth. I made a full denture for my dad as a dental student. But you can take your natural teeth to your grave. Just before last Halloween, there was a sign near the elevator on my floor in my building in Greenwich Village asking the tenants to check a box if they welcome trick-or-treaters. That means our willingness to give children cavity-causing …

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You can take your teeth to the grave

Leadership lessons from Mayo Clinic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 31, 2022

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“In the emergency department I treat patients based upon my expert judgment. I can explain to you the sensitivities and specificities of the tests I order, I can detail the physiology and pathology involved in my differential …

7 tips to survive night float

Alexandra Ruan, MD

Education

December 31, 2022

My friend texted me the other day that she was thinking of quitting her training program.

Some schedule changes earlier in the year led to her being scheduled for back-to-back month-long night float rotations. She was in the middle of her second straight month of nights and was feeling tired, depressed, and burned out.

Now, this might be a unique situation since night float rotations, on average, are only one to two …

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7 tips to survive night float

Doctors trained abroad will save rural health care

G. Richard Olds, MD

Policy

December 31, 2022

Health care is growing hard to come by in rural America.

Three-quarters of rural counties suffer from doctor shortages. More than 200 rural hospitals are at risk of closing due to financial hardship within the next two to three years, according to a study published this spring. And while 20% of the U.S. population lives in a rural region, just 10% of physicians practice in these communities.

Fortunately, there’s a group of …

Why have we let our diseased health care system go untreated?

Michele Luckenbaugh

Policy

December 31, 2022

“To serve the art of medicine as it should be served, one must love his fellow man.”
– William Osler

There is sadness in my heart and my mind. With so many advances in the treatment of illnesses of the mind and body, why have we let our diseased health care system go untreated?

Hospitals in rural areas are being closed down and deemed non-profitable, forcing their patients to seek alternatives; those alternatives …