When I think of Big Joe, I see his overalls and how he filled them. And how a couple of months after I operated on him, there was room for both of us in there. Big Joe: farmer, salt of the earth, tough, stoic. And now, bright orange. My initial recommendation, while probably justified, damn near killed him. Big Joe hadn’t been sick a day in his life. He worked …
Big Joe: living proof of a surgeon’s fallibility
Paula came to my office on a Monday afternoon, a few months after burying her husband. She and John had been inseparable. They were both my patients, so I knew John had spent the last six months battling lung cancer. They had been married forty-five years when John died. I sincerely offered Paula my condolences on that Monday afternoon. I could tell she was in pain and shared how she …
Not listening carefully to a vulnerable patient can become a matter of life or death
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“It is impossible to fix a system with an unwillingness to bend. It means working together to accomplish a goal.
Living in the gray requires a commitment to growth and discomfort. In the gray, it is possible to …
Protect Black women’s maternal health [PODCAST]
Once again, it’s time to consider universal health care. What are the implications? Could it happen?
After something of a hiatus during the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the battles over its implementation, legislative committees in Oregon and Washington are looking at new proposals for state-based universal health care. Oregon’s task force report was completed in September, while Washington’s “baseline report” was finished this month.
While there’s a fair amount …
New proposals for universal health care in Oregon and Washington
“Are you analyzing me?”
Psychiatrists become acclimated to this question being launched by anyone to whom we are brave enough to disclose our occupation. Mental health stigma persists, and psychiatrist jokes are part of that legacy. All humor holds some truth, and this joke reflects discomfort around the mystique of psychiatry. How does it actually work? What do psychiatrists actually do to heal people? How do you know when a psychiatrist …
Coaching vs. therapy: A physician coach and psychiatrist explains
I drive through my leafy suburb, awash in beautiful foliage. It’s peak color, with vermillion juxtaposed with citrine and crimson. And I see the reality of our ugly world peeking in every so often. Proposition 3 signs are casually sprinkled on lawns, intersections, and billboards; they’re in harsh black and white, implying the proposition is too confusing or too extreme. And the issue it represents is a clear-cut dichotomy.
We are …
Physicians and activism: Why did it take Roe’s downfall for us to get involved?
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“If any of those people get infected, their illness will potentially impact dozens more. COVID infection may now be ‘just a cold,’ at least for the vaccinated. But no one should think this ‘you do you, I’ll …
My one case of COVID impacted dozens of lives [PODCAST]
I normally start October off by changing my Facebook profile picture to a pink survivor ribbon and celebrating my breast cancer survivorship, but this October was different. I slept on October 1st because I had spent 48 hours at Gulf Coast Medical Center when hurricane Ian struck Southwest Florida three days before. I was absolutely exhausted when I arrived home after the storm. The world was turned upside down. Then …
Say “I love you” often and mean it
I shall translate.
This is her big day! She is meeting with her specialist for the first time, excited to finally hear that she will be cured from her annoying disease.
I am there to interpret back and forth between her and her doctor to eliminate the language barrier.
She has been suffering from this terrible disease affecting multiple organ systems in her frail body for a long time.
Today, she is done!
With her …
There is no cure for your disease
The finality of death is a powerful teacher. For some patients, being diagnosed with a terminal illness is an experience that lends a tremendous shift in perspective and newfound authenticity. This can be instructive to them and the people around them. As psychologist Charles Garfield says, “The living have much to learn from the dying.”
This applies not only to the experience of a terminal illness but also to its …
What being a hospice volunteer taught me about health care
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“Try incorporating the three small practices of your choice into your day-to-day for two weeks and watch your experience of your life transform.
You have worked far too hard to just go through the motions forever. Starting today, …
Stop going through the motions and actually have the life you dreamed of [PODCAST]
It was the best of medical encounters; it was the worst of medical encounters. But it is indeed a story of how two physicians viewed the same situation very differently, and how one brought trauma to a young patient, and one (two) brought healing to that very patient with the same set of information.
My daughter was a healthy and vibrant 12-year-old when she first had COVID in June 2020. She …
My daughter and COVID: a tale of 3 doctors
When you visit your doctor for your regular check-up, just like every human being, your body and health are judged by three main scientific standards to determine if you are healthy and “normal.”
Standard 1 is the Standard Scientific Human Body Anatomy Book Body Type (BT1) found in any scientifically approved human body anatomy book. According to mainstream science and medical doctors, every human being is born in a standard BT1. …
Why body type standards are wrong in measuring health
I’ve had my share of therapy.
My mother was a clinical psychologist, and I grew up around the concepts of consciousness and the unconscious, growth and awareness, and “authenticity” before “authenticity” was even a buzzword. I’m quite certain she did some sort of therapy on me during my childhood. I remember vividly her briefcase with the blocks from the Stanford-Binet IQ test. She prepped me at home, at 4, in advance …
A doctor’s foray into online therapy
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“You received an interview invite based on ERAS filters the program set, so you already have your foot in the door. Don’t have them yawning at a two-page extravaganza of your life story that makes them wonder …
Who reads personal statements? [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Care: How People of Faith Can Respond to Our Broken Health System.
“Why do you have to be such an asshole?”
Roger was visibly angry with me and ready to get up to leave. Forty-five years old, he worked long hours repairing cars and had very poor control of …
How people of faith can respond to our broken health system
You start off your morning by receiving the patient handoff, then you “pre-round” on the EHR (furiously scribbling down information), then you physically pre-round on patients (or at least the “sick” ones), then you move onto some form of “proper” rounds that are generally attending specific (walk rounds, sit-down rounds, family-centered rounds, etc.), with the aid of the EHR or flying by the seat of your pants (a.k.a. depending on …
The merry-go-round of rounding
An excerpt from Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception.
During the COVID shutdowns, my medical practice—like that of most doctors—dramatically slowed down, giving me a lot of unaccustomed downtime. One day, my twin daughters approached me and urged, “Dad, there are some really good doctors on TikTok. You …
Being an influencer has the potential to be destructive: a physician’s cautionary story
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“No wonder doctors feel like hamsters running on an exercise wheel to nowhere. And this sense of futility is driving burnout. How much patient care will you get out of docs who have moved on to nonclinical …
Doctors are like hamsters running on an exercise wheel to nowhere [PODCAST]
Rheumatoid arthritis is a common autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1.5 million people only in the United States. The most common symptoms that will bring patients to the doctor are:
Unfortunately, rheumatoid arthritis is not only a disease of the joints. Chronic, ongoing inflammation …
Why adopt a lifestyle pyramid for rheumatoid arthritis?
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