A few weeks back, Match Day welcomed smiles and celebratory tears across the nation. This particular match season was fueled by a pandemic and virtual interviewing. I reached out to my friend who got matched to his top internal medicine residency spot in the Lone Star State.
“I’m ready to make some money,” he excitedly mentioned over our phone conversation. “No more filling in the blanks in FAFSA and piling additional …
COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of society as we know it, and doctors in hospitals across America are at the forefront of those changes. As a pediatric infectious diseases doctor who also writes curriculum to help the next generation of doctors prepare for their medical exams, I’ve seen firsthand how this current pandemic is changing our roles with patients, shifting what families and communities expect from us, and expediting …
“It is dangerously unfortunate that the use of masks has been politicized in many parts of our nation. The Dakotas (or North and South COVID as they were recently called on Saturday Night Live) are far from exempt from this phenomenon. Likely, if Governor Burgum’s decision was less influenced by fear …
As a fortunate incoming medical student, I would like to congratulate my future physician colleagues on getting accepted into medical school during an unprecedented application cycle. This piece is dedicated to the members of the class of 2025. Like you, I worried about matriculating into the class of 2025 on top of all the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic threw at all of us: worries about our …
In the “before times,” most Americans went about their lives relatively unpreoccupied with death. In fact, one CBS News poll found only 14 percent of Americans spent “a lot of time” thinking about their own mortality.
What a difference a pandemic makes. With every masked trip to the grocery store, every passerby who coughs too close and every “doom scroll” through …
As a young professional who is trying to build wealth, I invest money. Although there is a myriad of different investment accounts and strategies, I invest in index mutual funds through my employer-sponsored retirement plan and my own Roth IRA. Yes, I have both types of accounts. Let me tell you why.
I invest in my employer-sponsored retirement plan (which is a 403(b), which is very similar to a 401(k) because:
1. …
“If PCPs want to meet the new competition from virtual primary care plans, I suggest that they gradually increase the percentage of their visits that they do through telehealth. Now that payers are reimbursing those visits at the same level as in-person visits, they have nothing to lose financially. Of course, there …
I have seen great leadership and bad leadership. As a leader, I have also made my share of mistakes, and I am sure I will make more. When I do, I will immediately take ownership of it, learn from it, and do all I can not to make the same mistake. However, there will be times I may not recognize my failure, as can happen with any leader. This points …
“Looking back on these words at the end of my rotation, I understand what I had felt, and I feel confident naming it: the futility of medicine. We can comfort and treat patients, but there’s nothing more we can do after a certain point. As a bright-eyed medical student who wrote …
A letter of recommendation is a document written about the applicant by a previous employer, professor, or anyone working in close contact with the applicant. This one document is supposed to describe you, your qualities, and your abilities — all in less than a few paragraphs. It can be an enormous determining factor in getting the job position, being accepted to a university, or matching your number one residency program. …
An excerpt from The Big Lie: How One Doctor’s Medical Fraud Launched Today’s Deadly Anti-Vax Movement.
Inside the Royal Free Hospital in London, scores of reporters, physicians, and hangers-on packed the Atrium conference room, waiting for a press briefing to begin for five medical specialists who would deliver what would prove to be a historic—and dangerous—announcement.
It was February …
“Motherhood has been the biggest gamble of my adult life thus far. How was I going to operate for 12-plus hours while 39-weeks pregnant? Where would I be when I went into labor? How would was I going to return after three weeks? How would I pump during and in between OR …
I’ve been speaking with women physicians about the top challenges they face today. I’ve learned there are many—which honestly didn’t surprise me, given that 48 percent of women physicians report burnout symptoms (compared with 37 percent of their male counterparts).
Several have mentioned the challenge of breastfeeding while working—rather ironic considering what is known about the health benefits for mother and infant. Maybe their colleagues and …
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It was past midnight in the ED, and she was writhing on the bed, palms clutched over her abdomen. I pulled up a stool, notebook, and pen in hand. I was ready to listen to Mrs. Walker’s story. But I also felt a sense of dread rising: From a quick chart review, I knew that Mrs. Walker had 23 negative CT scans for abdominal pain within the last 18 months. …
“COVID-19 disproportionately impacts those with pre-existing conditions, and our health care system leaves one in five Americans with a pre-existing condition uninsured. Further, with multiple COVID-19 vaccines already in early but slow distribution, attaining universal coverage is critical, particularly in light of uninsurance having an inverse relationship with vaccination rates.
President Biden …
It is not a secret that being a physician can be exhausting and time-consuming, but do most nonphysicians really know what it’s like to be one? The answer is a resounding no. Television glamorizes the role of the physician and hides the tedious everyday realities. Spouses and partners of physicians know too well the frustration of having a partner that seems to be “always working and not shutting work off.”
Being …
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When I sat down to write this article, my thoughts immediately went to the tragic loss of one of my best clients, a physician who recently passed away after battling COVID-19. I remember him not only as an excellent physician but even more so as a great person.
Unlike many physicians I speak to in the course of my work, this client had the foresight to do some careful estate planning. …
“The patient knocking on your door is not your enemy. They’re sick. They’re scared. They’re in pain. They don’t know why, and they’re hoping for an answer. If you can’t find the source of a problem quickly, it doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
Denise Reich is a patient advocate.
She shares her story and …
Before you jump on the diet bandwagon with your brother-in-law (who’s crowing about shedding all that weight with so little effort), think about the potential downside.
The problem with an ill-thought-out diet:
Fad diets are designed to take off weight as quickly as possible. They often ignore the long-term effects that might occur regarding both the brain and spine. Someone embarking on a radical weight loss …
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Many who know me might be shocked by this: I shot my first pistol when I was 8 or 9, taught by my father, a physician, aiming at targets in our basement. At summer camp, I loved riflery the way some kids loved art. Staring through the sight, down the barrel, I proved an excellent shot, gathering ever more advanced medals from the National Rifle Association. As a reward, for …
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