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Leaders who elevate diverse employees create psychological safety

Policy

December 15, 2022

When I transitioned into a new role as a training faculty member at an academic medical center a few years ago, it didn’t take long to realize that the program had a problem with psychological safety. There wasn’t much.

As I got to know the trainees and heard specific feedback, I began to understand why. The trainees felt criticized and unsupported by the training faculty. And every time there was a …

Ethical consumerism: How to shop responsibly for the holidays

Spencer Kelly and Recha Bergstrom, MD

Physician

December 15, 2022

After record-setting sales of $889.3 billion last holiday season, the National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will spend between $942-960 billion this year. Deloitte forecasts that each American will make $1,455 worth of holiday-related purchases individually.

It is possible to have your holiday spending support impactful companies and causes while getting the gifts you want your loved ones to enjoy.

What is ethical consumerism?

Business Insider defines ethical consumerism as “the practice of spending …

Everything you need to know about a physician mortgage loan

Loretta Kilday, Esq

Finance

December 15, 2022

People might think having a medical degree can help you get a home loan. But it’s more complex and nearly impossible for physicians. Medical professionals, especially recent graduates, often have a high debt-to-income ratio because of student loans, making it difficult to qualify for conventional home loans. Doctors also have trouble when they don’t have any savings.

Fortunately, there is an alternative tailored explicitly for physicians called …

How clinicians can respond to the “big ask”

Susan MacLellan-Tobert, MD

Physician

December 15, 2022

“Between stimulus and response, there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
– Viktor Frankl

In the post-pandemic practice environment, the autonomy-squishing “big ask” within many organizations is for providers to see more patients and improve practice efficiency with dwindling resources so as to buffer the bottom line and allow for system recovery. This mandate may make us …

Remembering Twitch: a star who shone bright

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

Physician

December 14, 2022

I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Stephen “Twitch” Boss. He was a talented DJ and dancer who brought joy to many with his infectious personality and smile. He will be remembered for his incredible talent and the joy he brought to those around him. He leaves behind his wife and three children.

The truth is that psychiatry is a challenging …

Why Black and brown kids are falling through the cracks [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 14, 2022

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

“Our primary care systems should be designed for all the kids and families they are intended to serve. Incorporating system navigators to support the needs of our most vulnerable families is a feasible step in the right …

Sweet bitter: a doctor’s cancer diagnosis

Anonymous

Physician

December 14, 2022

I screen patients for skin cancer on a regular basis, and one of my research interests is to find new biomarkers of cancer prognosis – to be able to separate out cancers that won’t actually do someone any harm versus cancers that could very well spread, grow unchecked and uncontrolled, and potentially end a life. I know that cancer treatments have advanced beyond my imagination in recent years, with …

The mistress of medicine

Susan Hart Gaines

Physician

December 14, 2022

When I married my husband, I had no idea there would be a mistress one day.

When I met the man who would become my husband, he was not yet a doctor. He was 22, a black belt, a waiter in a fancy restaurant, and very handsome. He knew all kinds of things about champagne and paté, cocktails, and sushi.

We met in our college martial arts club. I was 19 and …

Read more…

The mistress of medicine

The solution to a crumbling primary care foundation is direct primary care

Sara Pastoor, MD

Policy

December 14, 2022

In a report published by the Commonwealth Fund and released in August 2021, the performance of the U.S. health care system was compared to that of other high-income countries. The results were stunning: despite investing far more of its gross domestic product in health care, the U.S. ranks dead last overall and last on access to care, administrative efficiency, health equity, and health …

You need to ask these questions to teens starting hormone therapy [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 13, 2022

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

“A good history and physical, including screening, can prevent consequences that burden a patient’s daily life and increase health care costs. Assessing cardiovascular risk is a key part of the evaluation. Transgender individuals may have a compounded …

A job behind bars

Martha Rosenberg

Conditions

December 13, 2022

At least two million people in the United States are incarcerated in 122 United States prisons. Little is known about the prisoners themselves. Did their background condemn them to bad behavior? Or did they just make grievous mistakes? Do they suffer from a mental illness masquerading as criminal behavior? Can they change their life path? A mental health specialist with 25 years of direct …

Read more…

A job behind bars

Don’t be like Elon Musk. Get a lawyer for your clinic.

Kristin Puhl, MD

Physician

December 13, 2022

Employers need lawyers. This doesn’t just apply in medicine — it’s true everywhere. For a recent high-profile example, let’s consider Twitter. If massive layoffs had been made without adequate notice as required by California law, they could be on the hook for millions of dollars in damages.

However, medicine likes to consider itself as different from other businesses. It’s a nice idea, this fantasy of the country doctor who delivers babies …

Is it really a woke nightmare for medical schools?

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Education

December 13, 2022

Among the many definitions and meanings of the terms “woke” and “wokeism,” the two that capture the ideology best are contrasting meanings. The definitions are:

“The behavior and attitudes of people who are sensitive to social and political injustice” (Collins English Dictionary),

and:

“A system of thought and behavior characterized by intolerance, policing the speech of others and proving one’s own superiority by denouncing others” (Psychology Today).

The first implies a benevolent society that …

What my 10 year old is teaching me about boundaries [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 12, 2022

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

“As I’ve been coaching physicians, I’ve realized that many of us have a tendency to just ‘grin and bear it’ when it comes to the challenges and stresses of the medical profession. We often tell ourselves that …

Drop the euphemisms and get uncomfortable when talking about abortion

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

Physician

December 12, 2022

It does not behoove us to mince words in a politically charged climate. To productively discuss any controversial topic, we must first define terms and get past the jargon and doublespeak that commonly muddles conversations on serious issues. The Oxford Dictionary defines euphemism as “a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.” We often use euphemisms …

Physician secrets that nurses need to know

Ronald Hirsch, MD

Physician

December 12, 2022

There is no one prototypical physician. Every physician has their own practice style, their own knowledge base, and their own preferred method of communication. In my role as medical director for case management at my community hospital, I was given 30 minutes during new nursing orientation to provide nurses tips when communicating with doctors.

I put together this list of things that physicians wished hospital nurses knew about them, both good …

U.S. adults should get routine anxiety screening. But then what?

Taylor Gurley, OTD

Conditions

December 12, 2022

For the first time, primary care physicians (PCPs) are being urged to screen their patients, above and below age 65, for mental health concerns alongside screening for physical health conditions. The United States Preventive Services Task Force has published its first recommendation for PCPs to screen adults for anxiety as standard practice. This recommendation followed a peak in the prevalence of mental illnesses in 2020. During this time and …

Every physician should own a timeshare [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 11, 2022

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

“One of the biggest misconceptions about timeshares is the idea that you have to visit the same location every year. In reality, timeshare owners have access to a wide range of properties and destinations through timeshare exchange …

Communication protocols exist for a reason

Michael J. Grace, JD

Conditions

December 11, 2022

An excerpt from The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication.

Team building is a popular trend in health care. It promotes cooperation, trust and respect, improves communication, and enhances patient outcomes. Most of the time.

But the camaraderie and familiarity of working with the same group of people …

A physician in denial after being diagnosed with COVID-19

Alen Voskanian, MD

Conditions

December 11, 2022

Over the last three years, we have faced the original COVID-19, followed by Omicron, Delta, and monkeypox.

It is apropos that on the third anniversary of COVID-19, we are facing the tripledemic of COVID, influenza, and RSV.

After almost three years of not getting COVID-19, I started believing that my childhood fantasies about me being superman were true and that my immune system was superpowered with bullet-proof antibodies that would keep me …

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