Managing stress with coping strategies for the perfectionist-driven physician

Physician
February 15, 2021

As doctors, we are taught the art of assessing our patients through the doctor-patient relationship. We learn a series of open-ended questions to gain insight into our patients’ values and thoughts regarding their personal health. We learn how to evaluate lab values and make diagnoses. Through all of this, we strive to make optimal decisions for our patients to avoid the legal ramifications of medical errors and because physicians thrive …

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Infertility and the physician journey [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 14, 2021
YouTube video

“I am a medical doctor—a hospitalist working in an environment with many talented professionals. We share our knowledge and our approach to medicine with one another in ways that profoundly affect our patients and other personnel in the hospital.

At our best, we are a community whose foundation is a willingness and …

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I’m the best anesthesiologist there is

Physician
February 14, 2021

A moment in medical school that left a huge impression on me was when we had chairman’s rounds with the department of medicine’s chair.  He was a renowned breast oncologist and researcher and described a bit of his process when interacting with a patient. The process he had developed over his years of experience was so fine-tuned that there was not a single movement, action, word, or breath that was …

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Train in the United States. Practice medicine abroad. [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 13, 2021
YouTube video

“Oh, Canada! Every presidential election cycle, my colleagues joke that if the election result is not to their liking, they will move to Canada. On election night 2016, ‘move to Canada’ trended on Google, and the Canadian immigration website crashed. This election cycle America is having an existential crisis. What does …

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Women in medicine need to have each others’ backs. Too often, they don’t.

Physician
February 13, 2021

The recent controversy and backlash surrounding Kamala Harris’s Vogue cover shows that it is still fashionable to diminish powerful women.  It also is the latest example of the sad fact that no matter how far we have come, women are still held to a different standard—by both men and women.

As a female vascular surgeon, I have spent my career pushing back on ideas about what …

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Why teachers aren’t going back to school: a physician’s take

Policy
February 13, 2021

All across the United States, elementary and secondary school teachers are refusing to go back to school. Before you join the growing lynch mob that’s going after these teachers, you may want to consider why they’re staying home.

For starters, many school boards make their decisions based not on what is best for students, teachers, or the community they’re supposed to serve, but on the vested interests of the …

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Empty chairs at the table this pandemic holiday season [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 12, 2021
YouTube video

“It is often difficult to reflect on the holidays when we are grieving positively. One thing to keep in mind is that the loved one/ones we lost would want us to remember them fondly and enjoy the holiday season. The holidays are rare occasions when families who are often separated by long …

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Changing the national conversation on wound care

Conditions
February 12, 2021

We all think we know what a bruise looks like. Black and blue, brownish around the edges. But depending on the circumstances, the same bruise can look different from one person to another.

To a well-loved child who skinned her knee, a bruise might look like a bad memory of an epic tree-climb attempt. To a patient with diabetes, a similar bruise might look like the onset of a life-threatening emergency. …

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Positive growth from the COVID-19 pandemic [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 11, 2021
YouTube video

“The pandemic has been difficult, but it has managed to change my perspective for the better. I mourn for the suffering and loss we have experienced as humanity, and moving forward, I have a new sense of appreciation. I am hopeful for the future, and I know we are in this together. We should try to focus on appreciation, resilience, adaptability, and self-discipline. This is the most difficult …

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Recommending yoga to your patients? Consider this first.

Physician
February 11, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and highlighted many health issues, particularly those suffering from chronic pain.

An estimated 50 million people in the U.S. live with chronic pain, of which approximately 19.6 million experience high-impact chronic pain that interferes with life, social, and occupational activities. Regardless of the pathology of pain, chronic pain may involve Read more…

Physicians need growth days

Physician
February 11, 2021

Physicians are overwhelmed and burned out. We have an epidemic of “too busy.” Many of us think we could get so much more accomplished if we had more time. Why aren’t we taking the time? Doctors need to start taking growth days. These aren’t sick days, mental health days or vacation days. Growth days are days strategically taken during the month that are specifically meant for personal growth. This could …

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#ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 10, 2021
YouTube video

“Vaccines have been around as early as 1776 when Edward Jenner first pioneered the smallpox vaccine and Louis Pasteur produced a rabies vaccine. As a microbiologist’s child, I grew up hearing these stories from my father and thinking of these men as heroes. Vaccines have been proven so effective and safe …

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Gun and health care workplace violence: Dr. Lindley Dodson’s tragic death

Policy
February 10, 2021

As a pediatric emergency physician in Chicago, I am no stranger to the effects of gun violence in our patient population and society.  But what do we do when gun violence is turned on our own community as physicians?

Recently a beloved pediatrician in Austin, Texas, Dr. Lindley Dodson, was held hostage and killed in a murder-suicide carried out by another pediatrician with whom she had no relationship. This senseless tragedy has …

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Nephrology and kidney care during the pandemic [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 9, 2021
YouTube video

“COVID-19 wreaks havoc on multiple areas of the body, and myself and my fellow frontline workers across the globe have been forced to quickly identify what tools work best in our quest to keep our patients alive.

While we’re working to identify which technologies can improve our patients’ outcomes, it’s encouraging that …

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After a stroke, a physician experiences true vulnerability

Physician
February 9, 2021

“I think I’m having a stroke.”

The words struggled to leave my mouth as I spoke to the 9-1-1 operator. Emotionally in disbelief, the words seemed so unusual to say in the first person. Ten minutes earlier, overwhelming nausea and drenching sweats woke me abruptly from sleep. Thinking it was something I ate, I immediately regretted the preceding meal that must have been responsible. My attempt to get to the bathroom …

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Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma

Conditions
February 9, 2021

It’s been almost a year since nursing home workers began fighting on the front lines of COVID-19. They’ve witnessed and experienced extreme trauma. They’ve seen seniors they care for suffer in fear and loneliness during prolonged and repeated lockdowns.  They’ve seen residents fall catastrophically ill and too many of them die.

More than 17,000 seniors are dead from COVID-19 in Canada; Read more…

Reforming the peer review process [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 8, 2021
YouTube video

“The peer-review process is fallible, slow, and biased, and it takes advantage of the scientific community’s altruism. We need to keep pushing the conversation forward about making publishing more equitable, timely, accessible, and fair. An obvious and easy way to begin is to pay the experts who perform the peer reviews. …

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The case for physician peer coaching

Physician
February 8, 2021

I love metaphors. I think they can be so powerful and can convey so much, sometimes with just a few words.

One metaphor we use in coaching to describe the coach’s role in a session with their client is that of a swimming pool. The client is in the swimming pool, and as the coach we have the job of not jumping in the pool with them.

Imagine you …

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