This year, I lost too many close and extended family members to COVID-19. As a medical student, I was stunned to see a virus take a grasping toll on my life and surroundings. It was frightening, to say the least. Throughout the period of grief, which I’m still experiencing, I’ve learned a lot and have become more knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I learned that there was a common denominator among those …
While you must be understandably excited about this new chapter in your life, don’t let this excitement get in the way of optimizing your job search. Over half of physicians leave their first job within five years and, of those, a majority leave after 1 or 2 years. Your first job search is an important step in your career; make sure the search gets the time and energy it deserves.
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Physician job search: 4 things I wish I had done differently
Massachusetts is again experiencing a COVID-19 surge and our hospitals are overwhelmed, mostly with unvaccinated patients.
As a practicing physician who takes care of many high-risk diabetic patients, I ask all my patients about their COVID-19 vaccination status. I explain to my unvaccinated patients that the benefits of vaccination far exceed the risk, both at the individual and societal levels.
Unfortunately, this conversation only convinces a minority of the unvaccinated to get …
It is time to make the unvaccinated pay their fair share
“The medical profession hasn’t changed.
Our credibility hasn’t changed.
Our commitment to care for you – to adore you, to grieve your diagnosis and what it means for you and your family – hasn’t changed.
Our advice hasn’t changed.
I’m grateful for your trust in me.
I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to …
I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to trust me [PODCAST]
In September 2021, Hasan Minhaj appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and touted a purported “a war … between MDs and DOs.” In it, he compared osteopathic physicians, DOs, to RC Cola as opposed to the Coca-Cola of MDs, claiming that DOs are “off-brand doctor[s]” (and notably placing MDs above DOs with a slight, almost imperceptible motion of his hand). The bit occurred while Minhaj …
Hasan Minhaj’s joke at the expense of DOs
When our pediatric clinic added the PEARLS (Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener) questionnaire to well-child visits, we were worried that we would uncover trauma that we didn’t know how to address. Our physicians feared that the volume of patients with high scores would be overwhelming. We contended that this additional work was impossible because we don’t have support services like counseling. Beyond that, we expected our patients would be …
Screening for adverse childhood experiences in pediatric primary care made my job easier
I was recently, on two occasions, the recipient of poor care. Care provided by my colleagues. Care that was not good. Care that made me feel sad. Care that did not help me or my patients.
First, I was yelled at by an angry son, who said I had not taken good care of his 89-year-old mother and had “almost killed her.” He told me that information came from the hospitalist, …
My colleagues didn’t take good care of me
I would like to say that this is a story much like the tortoise and the hare, only it isn’t. There is only one character in this story, the hare. The High Achiever and The Motivated Drinker are the same character and are driven by the same human instinct.
Have you ever wondered why a strong-willed, intellectually above average, high-achiever tries and fails to say “no” to one glass too many …
The high achiever and the motivated drinker
Have you ever been to a new city and realized you’d been pronouncing a street or a town name all wrong? Have you ever been from one of those cities and has it broken your heart to hear someone call Copley Square Cope-ly? Or pronounce the Schuylkill River or Worcester how it is spelled?
This is how neurologists feel when you call a stroke a cerebrovascular accident, or a CVA. It’s …
A PSA from a neurologist to the medical community
“When you enter medical school, you put your trust into an unspoken promise: Work hard, pass all your classes, and you’ll come out as a doctor after four years. While mostly true, this perception doesn’t take into account the residency application process and the possibility of graduating without a …
Unsolicited advice from unmatched residency applicants [PODCAST]
Medical-legal consulting is a great way to use your medical training in a non-clinical field that helps people. I started this field 14 years ago and have trained over 1,600 physicians to be medical-legal consultants. Most physicians do medical-legal consulting as a part-time side gig. All of the work is pre-litigation and pre-trial. I don’t act as a medical expert, and I don’t participate in medical malpractice cases.
There are over …
Medical-legal consulting as a side gig
I went ziplining with a group of fellow doctors this summer. It was an activity that was part of my Adventure Retreat for Women Physicians, which was a CME-awarding retreat that focused on having fun. This may sound extraneous, but making time for fun is one of the most impactful things you can do to bring more meaning and satisfaction into your life.
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroscientist who …
How physicians can transform through play
So, your guy or gal is struggling with a serious emotional issue. Is that a basis for bailing?
Let’s get personal here; if you’ve got one foot out the door, you’re probably asking the wrong guy. One of my key values is loyalty. But before I start lecturing, let’s take a closer look at this issue.
A well-thought-out answer is important to this emotional quandary. Did your partner come into the relationship …
Is it OK to leave your partner in light of a serious emotional issue?
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“I am sitting in hot springs deep in the dark and crisp air woods – naked. It has been a day of lectures and workshops at a retreat with my fellow physicians. We are all naked in the effervescent, warm bubbles of the springs. In the dark, I can …
Being naked with other doctors is a profound experience [PODCAST]
In almost all organizations, an employee has a supervisor responsible for guiding the employee in doing their job. This requires good communication between the two.
Currently, in medicine, especially during stays in the hospital, there is a similar relationship between physicians: The attending physician recruits the necessary specialist physicians to provide care for the patient and supervises their care. The difference is that this relationship is just for the patient, and …
Virtual organizations in health care
The New Year is a typical time for resolutions, and one of the most common ones is to get healthier. For many of us, a common stumbling block is dealing with low back pain. As a rehabilitation medicine physician, my focus is nonoperative spine care within one of the top orthopedic practices in the country. Let’s talk about the causes of low-back pain and what we can do about it.
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Recently, I had a patient die unexpectedly in the operating room. I consider myself mentally tough, but this was the first time I’d ever experienced a situation like this, and the impact on me was far greater than I would have anticipated.
On its own, the patient dying was a terrible event, but after our futile and desperate attempts to save him failed, I still had to face the horror of …
The healing power of thank you
“I recognize that finding time for staff training and making sure the training is effectively practiced are challenges in a busy clinical setting. But taking care of patients means that both goals must be met to ensure safety, quality, and best possible clinical outcomes. As one who speaks and writes …
I will keep my advocacy sword polished and ready [PODCAST]
Anyone can make a mistake — even your health care provider. And sometimes, those mistakes end up in your medical records. That can cause a variety of issues, including misdiagnosis, medication interactions, missed follow-up testing and care, duplicate testing and billing errors. Fortunately, HIPAA gives you the right to request a copy of your medical records from any health care provider who has treated you so that you can review …
Beware of errors in your medical record
It began with a seemingly innocuous text from a friend of the family.
“Hi, Richard. I hope you’re well. I need to speak with you. Can I call you?”
The last time we spoke was at my brother’s long-postponed “celebration of life,” which we were able to hold a year after his passing finally. Our friend attended the wake, so feeling a sense of appreciation for his support during that time, I …
The COVID vaccine is a life raft. I’m not your life raft to get out of it.
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