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The most important tool a medical student can have is the ability to reflect on experiences

Education

September 19, 2022

Throughout my life, I have been trained by Jesuit institutions. I have loved all of what they have prescribed – to “find God in all things,” to “care for the entire person,” to “be a woman with and for others.” But the most important pillar that I have gained from these educational institutions is to have a reflective mind – the ability to ask why and dig deeper into a …

Should all health professionals be teetotalers?

Steve Adelman, MD

Physician

September 19, 2022

I recently published “Avoid ‘Shots in the Dark’ to Maintain Pristine Professional Boundaries” in Psychiatric Times to demonstrate how drinking alcohol in public may lead well-meaning licensed health professionals onto the slippery slope of boundary violations and costly career jeopardy. Across the United States, millions of doctors, nurses, and other licensed health professionals are permitted to perform the sacred work of healing others because we have been authorized to …

Lessons from Radonda Vaught: Nurses need to raise their voices [PODCAST]

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Podcast

September 18, 2022

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“One thing is hard to ignore – nurses need better treatment. Nurses need a seat at the table and advocacy. Nurses need to raise their voices, listen to each other, and unify to achieve the progress that …

How this primary care doctor found his dream practice

John Machata, MD

Physician

September 18, 2022

Eleven years ago, I escaped the drudgery of the corporate medicine hamster wheel to set up a solo family practice where I could be my own boss and practice medicine my way.

After 38 wonderful years as a family doctor, I am ready to retire. I hope to gift my practice to a doctor eager to be independent, well compensated, and enjoy a balance between work and life.

Who might be the …

The consequences of unmasking and ending quarantines

Stephanie Marcovici

Conditions

September 18, 2022

The CDC has updated its COVID masking and quarantine guidelines as children return to school and more adults return to work at the end of summer.

Unfortunately, the new, less restrictive guidelines are premature.

As most people know, the current COVID variant is extremely contagious. Many argue that since a majority of the public has already been exposed to COVID either by vaccination or infection, we can relax into less vigilance.

However, it …

A neurosurgeon puts down the knife [PODCAST]

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Podcast

September 17, 2022

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“MRI studies of these patients determined that it was not only the circuitry that was affected by the burnout but also the size of the brain structures. Compared with the controls, patients suffering from burnout showed volume …

Patients come to you for treatment, not your politics

Shah-Naz H. Khan, MD

Physician

September 17, 2022

As he was being wheeled in for surgery, President Reagan joked, “I hope you are Republicans.” The surgeon, a liberal Democrat, replied, “Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.”

All very appropriate and from another era. As a usually intelligent and intellectual segment of society, it is not surprising that physicians should have opinions, including politics. As citizens, they are entitled to them too.

In fact, one would hope that physicians participate …

As doctors, caring is our poetry

Steven Kamajian, DO

Physician

September 17, 2022

Poiesis is a Greek term that evolved into the word poetry in English. According to Wikipedia, in philosophy, poiesis is “the activity in which a person brings something into being which did not exist before. Etymologically derived from the ancient Greek term which means to make.” The word is used as a suffix, as in the biological term hematopoiesis, the formation of blood cells.

In the book All Things Shining, Hubert …

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As doctors, caring is our poetry

You need to ask these questions to teens starting hormone therapy

Maria Mba Wright, MD and Carol Reavis, RN

Conditions

September 17, 2022

In medical practice today, we have all types of providers in charge of birth control counseling and treatment: medical doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and even medical assistants who report to their licensed providers. Having a standardized questionnaire that all providers can easily use and incorporate into their practice would help safeguard against regretful avoidable mistakes. Taking a good history is cheap. Health care costs for strokes …

How to stay off my operating table [PODCAST]

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Podcast

September 16, 2022

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“Health isn’t about luck — it’s about intentionality. But even if you’re doing and saying all the right things, you might not be any closer to your goals.

I know because I was there.

As a heart surgeon, I …

Why psychological explanations for long COVID are dangerous

V. Jo Hsu, PhD

Conditions

September 16, 2022

Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and their allies will rally in DC, London, and Edinburgh this September to “demand bold, urgent governmental action” for the millions of people living with ME, long COVID, and other infection-associated, chronic diseases.

As researchers continue to find many similarities between ME and long COVID, the history of ME offers crucial lessons for approaching long COVID and some pathways toward more effective research …

Focus on the rheumatoid arthritis patient, not on their disease

Diana M. Girnita, MD, PhD

Conditions

September 16, 2022

Medical school, residency, and fellowship taught me pathophysiology, diagnosis, and the most advanced treatments for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. As an attending physician, seeing my own patients, I noticed that targeted therapy is not able to control the disease in all patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The results varied. I could not stop asking myself, why is it so different?

In my previous article, I wrote about one of my patient’s …

Women doctors face challenges globally

Toni Brayer, MD

Physician

September 16, 2022

As I looked around the hot, humid room at the male doctors in their white coats, I couldn’t believe I was actually participating in a medical training mission in Rwanda. After months of planning and securing equipment, I was actually in Africa. I watched as the medical residents listened intently to the lectures United States physician volunteers provided.

Forty-two Rwandan OB/GYN residents came to the University Hospital in Kigali for a …

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Women doctors face challenges globally

Why are women leaving medicine? Gaslighting. [PODCAST]

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Podcast

September 15, 2022

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“We cannot change societal norms, gender biases, childhood needs, the education system, or stop a pandemic. But, we can stop gaslighting 50% of the population. We can start acknowledging that the simple fact of gender does greatly …

Don’t give up on private practice just yet

Helen Rhodes, MD

Physician

September 15, 2022

The medical landscape for practicing physicians is changing. Seemingly the option of “hanging one’s shingle,” being your own boss, setting your schedule, and providing personalized care in a warm and cozy environment, “Marcus Welby style,” isn’t a viable option anymore.

Rather, graduating physicians are choosing between the options of becoming a hospital-employed physician, hospitalist, employed physician in a large multispecialty group, joining the faculty at an academic institution, or, sadly, electing …

Death is what gives life meaning

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Physician

September 15, 2022

“He knew it was his time a month ago. We were sitting at the kitchen table, and he told me he couldn’t feel half his face. He kept tapping the left side and saying he couldn’t feel anything. I knew he had a stroke because my daughter had one. He was stubborn, didn’t want to go to the doctor.”

One week ago, I saw Mr. Samson for the first time in …

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Death is what gives life meaning

How pediatricians can get involved with behavioral health

Rosie Gellman, MD

Conditions

September 15, 2022

Boom! Crash! Ow!

That was the feeling of many pediatricians nationwide as we were hit in the face with the bomb of the COVID pandemic and all of the challenges it would bring, notably in the demands for mental health care. This skyrocketing demand led to the declaration of a state of emergency by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2021 and a call for pediatricians to do more to address …

Why physicians require business skills [PODCAST]

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Podcast

September 14, 2022

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“There are two valuable reasons why all physicians, especially medical students, should obtain or demand from their medical school academic business education.

About 98 percent of physicians and medical students have never had an academic business education. About …

Endometriosis is often misdiagnosed. How to get the right diagnosis.

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

September 14, 2022

The six to ten percent of women in the U.S. who are living with endometriosis have to deal with not only the pain and complications the disease causes, but often also with exceptionally long delays before receiving a diagnosis—an average of 8.5 years from first seeking care to diagnosis. One study revealed that more than 75 percent of the women who participated in the study were first …

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