“Me too” instead of “me last”: Have you filled your self-care bucket today?

Physician
February 2, 2022

I began pondering this topic after I witnessed a health care professional post on Facebook her hospital system’s expectation that she return to work five days into COVID, still ill and actively symptomatic.   She needed more recuperative time but struggled to give herself permission to take it. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in the health care community. How did we get here?

Demoting the importance of my own health …

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Why lifestyle medicine is an urgent priority [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 1, 2022
YouTube video

“Lifestyle medicine’s foundational pillars include a specialized look into diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, mood, substance use, and relationships. Creating a patient-centered plan of care based on these areas are proven successful in preventing, treating, and reversing chronic diseases.

Some may say that health care providers do not have time to …

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When doctors can’t hug

Physician
February 1, 2022

I stood outside the busy ICU room with Gregory’s mom, holding her hand and talking softly, while the team inside removed his breathing tube and prepared him for his final trip home. Gregory was dying from a devastating brain tumor with no known cure, and his mother had made the difficult decision to take him off his ventilator and bring him home to pass away among his family. When the …

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How do we help physicians in the time of COVID?

Physician
February 1, 2022

There’s a phrase we use in golf when you hit one good shot after many bad ones: “That was whipped cream on sh*t.”

I used this phrase the other day in a collaborative of coaches whom I had just met (maybe not the best idea). I spoke specifically about my hospital’s wellness committee activities during the past two years during COVID. As chair of that committee, I felt like I was …

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What can we learn from Cheslie Kryst?

Conditions
February 1, 2022

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.”
– Fred Rogers

Cheslie Kryst, a former Miss USA, lawyer, and entertainment correspondent, died by suicide. She was smart, beautiful, accomplished, and young.

A police officer was quoted saying, “Not only beautiful but she was smart — she was a lawyer … she has a life that anyone would be jealous of. It’s so sad.”

The message about suicide continues …

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Changing the game plan: COVID’s second half

Conditions
February 1, 2022

Recently, I was on several calls concerning the precipitous rise of COVID-19 cases and the burden to the health care system. There’s no doubt that we are at a point where challenges become crisis, and crisis becomes collapse. The constant influx of “breaking news” into our psyche has blunted any ability to decipher the nuances of this escalation.

But as this is not our first go-round, most stakeholders have already exhausted …

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Prioritizing physician wellness: Reducing burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 31, 2022
YouTube video

“Ultimately, patients need doctors to help them be healthy, and need their doctors to be healthy to help them! Unless interventions are done now, our health care system risks a downward spiral. While the pandemic has brought increased levels of stress and burnout, it has prompted us to take action …

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Why the health care industry must prioritize health equity

Policy
January 31, 2022

There are few silver linings related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but one that stands out is the growing recognition that health equity must be an essential guiding principle for health care organizations going forward.

The broader health care system suffered greatly due to the coronavirus outbreak that has infected tens of millions and killed hundreds of thousands nationwide, but vulnerable patient populations and marginalized communities were far more susceptible to long-term …

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Orthopedic eponyms: Where are the women?

Physician
January 31, 2022

Bunnell. Colles. Dupuytren. Erb. These and countless other names litter the lexicon of orthopedic surgery. Eponyms abound from the moment one enters residency, providing prime “pimp” fodder for senior surgeons to accost trainees.

Besides striking fear into the hearts of residents in morning conferences, eponyms do serve another purpose. They preserve our history.

Contributions of giants in the field are immortalized, perpetuated every time one glimpses a characteristic X-ray or particular pathognomonic …

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What shared journeys to the afterlife teach about dying well and living better

Conditions
January 31, 2022

An excerpt from At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better.

What brings you here?

I ask this question of every person who steps through the door because they have come to talk about death—the most universal of all human experiences yet the most difficult to discuss.

In modern culture, we have an uneasy relationship …

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How physicians can play the hand they’re dealt [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 30, 2022
YouTube video

“Anyone can win at poker when dealt a royal flush. But what can you do when the cards you are dealt don’t appear winning at all? My answer: Make the best of what you have.

Recently I learned of a colleague who sustained a broken back in an accident. He …

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Recovering from burnout: a permission to pivot

Physician
January 30, 2022

From 2013 to 2017, I was in the Air Force, selected to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and would soon embark on my residency journey to get there.

Up until this point, my educational path was linear. I completed undergrad and committed to dental school during my first year as I was accepted into a fast track 3:4 program which meant that I would complete three years of undergrad followed …

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“I’d rather drive a Cadillac!”: The privilege problem in hospitals

Physician
January 30, 2022

As a surgical intern, my days started early, and I was tired as I entered Mr. M’s room that evening armed with a nasal feeding tube and lubricant.

Mr. M was an African-American gentleman in his early 50s. He looked worn and much older than his years. Mr. M had end-stage liver disease and was on the liver transplant list. With a distended abdomen full of fluid, improving his nutrition and …

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A physician’s running list of microaffirmations

Physician
January 30, 2022

Microaffirmations are the antidote to microaggressions. Microaggressions are the little insidious comments or acts of barely perceptible injustice and bias that bite and nip and slowly erode our confidence in our belonging, worth, and power. As I continued the medical training journey, I continually searched for the antidote. Mere protection against the daily barbs and arrows was not enough. I needed more than protection- I needed an offensive strategy as …

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The gift of honoring life

Physician
January 30, 2022

The doorbell at my father’s house rang, and the dogs went crazy. A physician was at the front door who had requested to come to pay his respects and to check on my father, as he had lost his wife (my mother) of more than six decades just days before.

He sat with us at the kitchen table, and we spoke briefly of other things: dogs he never thought he’d own …

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Prioritizing physician wellness: Reducing burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Physician
January 30, 2022
YouTube video

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

The World Health Organization defines burnout in its International Classification of Diseases as chronic workplace stress that has not been adequately managed, resulting in depletion, mental distancing from one’s job, and reduced efficacy. Physician burnout rates were already …

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Pay heed to the little life traumas that hit us daily [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 29, 2022
YouTube video

“Taking stock of all these experiences, I feel like I have no answers. They lead me to a space of unrest and dissatisfaction for not having a pill that would instantly drop 10 kilos, cure hep E, curb food craving or resolve a heartache.

But I feel grateful for bypassing most …

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Why do we obsess and repeat?

Conditions
January 29, 2022

An excerpt from Heart Medicine: How to Stop Painful Patterns and Find Peace and Freedom–at Last. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.

For many months, Leila could not stop ruminating about the fateful event of spilling coffee on her ex–mother-in-law’s tunic. Images from the traumatic event on her son’s wedding day returned repeatedly, intermingling with related …

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