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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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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 …

Care coordination for obstetrics teams is crucial

Vince Baiera, BSN

Conditions

September 14, 2022

Maternal health has been a trending topic in the news due to increased maternal mortality rates due to challenges in accessing care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling overturning Roe v. Wade is deepening concerns surrounding this issue. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of undeveloped countries, with an alarming 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. My wife, Parissa, could have been part …

A friendly battle with a patient’s potassium

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Conditions

September 14, 2022

“By God’s grace, Dr. Sal!”

“Yes, T.J.! What’s the good news?”

“Guess what Mr. Thompson’s potassium is now?”

“3.1 …”

“Wrong! 4.1!”

We high-fived each other immediately and breathed a huge sigh of relief. For six days straight, we’ve been giving Mr. T potassium through an IV and by mouth with little to no change in his potassium level.

He came to the hospital after being found passed out in his home. Very low initial blood …

A nut allergy nightmare at 35,000 feet [PODCAST]

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Podcast

September 13, 2022

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“People developing anaphylaxis will not always have five extra minutes to spare. I do appreciate that auto-injectors are expensive, but it is not at all expensive to have an ampule or vial of epinephrine on board, which …

A patient gave this physician her humanity back

Tarang Sharma, MD

Physician

September 13, 2022

I am a physician.

We are always taught to see our patients as more than their state of illness or diagnosis. “Speak to the patient,” “listen,” “look them in the eye,” “do not put one foot out the door,” the list of do’s and don’ts, while self-explanatory, is long. A good doctor is considered one who is able to view the person behind the symptoms and offer a shoulder, not just …

The true story of a Hungarian Jewish man’s fight for freedom

Robert J. Wolf, MD

Physician

September 13, 2022

An excerpt from Not A Real Enemy: The True Story of a Hungarian Jewish Man’s Fight for Freedom.

The first signs that something terrible had happened were the lights. The hospital was brightly lit through every corridor. In communist Hungary, electricity was yet another resource one learned to do without. Lights …

The recent closing of Amazon Care shows the magnitude of the challenge in changing health care

Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD

Tech

September 13, 2022

Amazon recently announced plans to shut down Amazon Care, an in-home and virtual health care service.

The reasons cited were attributed to a significant overlap of services with the One Medical chain of clinics, which Amazon purchased in July of this year for 3.9 billion, as well as Amazon Care not being a complete enough offering for large enterprise customers for which it was targeting.

This is the third health …

Severe hypoglycemia: Are your at-risk patients prepared?

Lisa Keckich and Natasha Mitchner, PhD

Negotiating employment contracts from a place of strength [PODCAST]

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September 12, 2022

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“The most important lesson when negotiating contracts is picking your battles and coming at them with optimism and positivity. Yes, you can and should be excited about this new opportunity, but you need to receive what’s fair …

Use connectivity to rise above our individual and collective challenges

Susan J. Baumgaertel, MD

Physician

September 12, 2022

With so much disconnect in our world right now, it can be a challenge for some to find ways to stay connected to meaningful things, people, places, and events. I won’t belabor my own list of disconnectedness, but I imagine many of your lists are much longer than you are accustomed to.

A recent medical experience motivated me to write about this …