A patient of mine — we’ll call her Ruby — is a 79-year-old woman from the same part of rural Tennessee as my mother. Her recent successful experiences with treatment illustrate some of the themes that my colleagues and I encountered when we undertook an 18-month practice-design-thinking process. Let’s start with Ruby’s example and then dig into Primary Care …
Primary Care 2.0: new thinking and practice redesign
This essay is inspired in part by my recent encounter with a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). For starters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — or NASA for short — is an agency of the U.S. government responsible for America’s space program and aeronautics research. JPL, NASA’s research and development center located in Pasadena, California, produces spacecraft called rovers used in extra-planetary explorations.
It turns out that this …
America is a magnet for global STEM talent
The myth that people are either right-brain dominant (creative and artistic) or left-brain dominant (logical, good at math, etc.) is just that – a myth. The truth is, we only have one brain – and the corpus callosum joins the left and right cerebral hemispheres because they are meant to work together. Numerous examples of people have excelled in both the sciences and arts.
Albert Einstein is remembered for being one …
Bridging the gap between art and science for better health
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“There is silence, then the words from the family flow forth. Angry, accusatory, confused, dismissive, worried, ugly, personal. The words cut deeply, and when I pick up the next chart, I feel as though I am still …
A pediatrician reflects after a difficult conversation [PODCAST]
I went to Poland and Ukraine in April and May of 2022, hoping to support the Ukrainian people in their defense of their country and democracy itself.
Vladimir Putin had put the world in a vise.
“Let me do what I want, or you will risk nuclear war,” was the implication. We’ve seen this before, I thought. Putin is Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin all rolled into one, and he needs to be …
I went to Ukraine to help. Here’s what you can do.
In response to a medication administration error that led to the death of a 75-year-old patient, RaDonda Vaught, a registered nurse working in Tennessee, was recently found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross negligence of an impaired adult.
As a result, she was sentenced to three years of probation with the promise that her criminal record would be expunged if she successfully completes the sentence.
Months after this …
What hospitals can learn from the RaDonda Vaught case
I have recently undergone (yet another) transition and am now back to living at home with my family full time instead of in an apartment half of the time. So wonderful most of the time … I think.
It is amazing and a very big wake-up call that I missed many of my children’s lives. And that those two years I will never get back, but it’s also just so hard …
Working in medicine isn’t an all-or-nothing situation
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“The consequences of making miscarriage management unsafe will land most heavily on the marginalized and vulnerable. Our appalling maternal mortality rate in people of color will increase by miscarrying while Black. Our country and health care system …
Miscarriages in a post-Roe world [PODCAST]
Health care has a dirty little secret. And if you aren’t part of the club, chances are that you don’t know anything about it. Aside from COVID-19, short staffing, and the lack of hospital beds to accommodate those who need them, another crisis has been overshadowed and hidden from public view.
What is the secret? Health care is dangerous.
In fact, so many doctors and nurses are choosing to leave the bedside …
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 athletic performance, but it is incredibly difficult to convert that raw data into truly meaningful and actionable insights.
IDC projects that, by 2025, IoT devices will generate more than 73 zettabytes of data globally …
The focus of the internet of things (IoT) must pivot to achieve health care potential
The University of Utah Physician Assistant Students Supporting Equity and Diversity (PASSED) group believes it’s important to discuss what it truly means to be an ally. This term has recently become more popular; however, it seems that “allyship” is being confused with “generalized/passive acknowledgment.” The definition of an ally is one who unites themselves with another to promote a common interest. Allyship calls for understanding the constant oppression that plagues …
What does it mean to truly be an ally?
An excerpt from Epigenetics and the Psychology of Weight Loss: How to Lose More Weight with Less Effort.
We know that people with chronic pain are more likely to be obese; but does this happen because people with chronic pain struggle to exercise and suffer from a high load of stress …
We cannot ignore nutrition’s impact on both pain and obesity
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“We need to stop simply clapping our hands in support of health workers — and start planning to create better workforce conditions for them. Let’s make improved health workforce science in Canada a key legacy in support …
Exploring the critical gaps in Canada’s health workforce planning [PODCAST]
He was in the Ivy League for med school. His dad was an MD, and they lived not too far from this small town. Daddy’s house, a “mini-mansion,” was right around the corner.
After successfully completing his residency, Dr. David became our ER physician. This was a big deal—a big fish in a little pond.
He had an aura of wealth about him. He had an arrogance about him, too.
He was new …
It doesn’t matter where you are in the health care hierarchy
I was nervous, but I knew what I needed to do. I reminded myself that I would have regrets if I did not initiate the conversation I envisioned in the proceeding days. After a resident with whom I worked closely on my family medicine rotation gave me feedback on my performance, I asked if it would be OK to give him some feedback. He willingly agreed. After telling him how …
Families come in various forms
My youngest daughter turned ten on Saturday.
I have been in awe of the privilege, joy, and honor I have been given to raise my beautiful, spirited, brilliant, and incredibly loving kids.
One of the most unexpected, amusing, and honestly humbling things I experience with my kids comes from my work as a personal and executive coach, facilitator, speaker, and teacher for mission-driven and heart-centered physicians and helping professionals. Because they know …
What my 10 year old is teaching me about boundaries
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“Neurodiverse individuals enhance our lives. Without neurodiverse people, we wouldn’t have Ghostbusters (Dan Akroyd has Asperger’s syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum), the theory of relativity (Einstein likely had dyslexia), or Microsoft (Bill Gates does have …
Who are the neurodiverse people in your life? [PODCAST]
“Don’t forget your masks!”
This phrase has been the daily refrain in my household for my children for the past two years. Masking became as natural as wearing a coat in the winter, and going without a mask would have seemed as strange as going to school barefoot.
The new school year has just started for us; my five-year-old had her first day of kindergarten, and my seven-year-old started second …
The resilience of children throughout the pandemic isn’t what you think
As a colorectal surgeon, I address complex intestinal issues with state-of-the-art interventions. Fortunately for most people, the key to a healthy digestive system isn’t that complicated. A proper diet, regular exercise, and stress reduction all help create a healthier and happier gut.
The “mind-gut connection” influences how you think and feel. Imagine a marathon runner nervous at the start of a race who runs to the bathroom first. Or how a …
How the mind-gut connection affects total health
Timeshares have an undeserved bad rap. I’ve owned and used my timeshare for great and cost-effective vacations all over the world for 30 years.
I believe one of the biggest reasons timeshares get bad press is the wrong people buy them. When they become unhappy because their lifestyle, amount of vacation time, or pocketbook doesn’t allow them to fully enjoy their timeshare, they spread negative vibes. When you learn how to …
Should physicians own timeshares?
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