When a hit medical drama glorifies physician burnout

Conditions and Diseases
July 14, 2026

I have spent the last few weeks watching a popular television drama set in a chaotic urban emergency department. After more than three decades of practicing psychiatry, I did not expect a network drama to affect me this way. It has felt like a strange form of therapy, vividly resurrecting the ghosts of my formative years and bringing back the exhausting, exhilarating days of medical school and my time as …

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When a hit medical drama glorifies physician burnout

Why AI clinical notes will never hold a trembling hand

Health Technology
July 14, 2026

It was one of the slower nights in December. The ICU PA and I were making small talk, and he handed me an AI-generated Christmas carol composed for ventilated ICU patients. Skimming through, I found the lines mischievously fascinating, if a little macabre. My musings were quickly interrupted by an inner prompt to complete my notes.

The prompt did not indicate a preference for note writing over Christmas cheer, but rather …

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Why AI clinical notes will never hold a trembling hand

What rural community medicine really looks like

Physician
July 14, 2026

I spent four years driving into rural Ohio for the developmental-behavioral clinics we built from scratch. The drives ran sixty to eighty miles each way, long enough to settle the mind and short enough to memorize every turn. I drove a white 15-passenger van, the kind no state trooper ever bothers to clock. I usually ran five miles over the limit, steady and unremarkable, blending into the landscape like another …

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What rural community medicine really looks like

Who is your witness? A question for every patient

Physician
July 14, 2026

With three months left of intern year of internal medicine residency, I took the leap and adopted a dog from the Dallas Animal Services shelter. She is my SuperNova.

Nova is a two-year-old Lab-Pitbull mix with big brown eyes that hold your heart and a wagging tail that could power a small town. Her world is simple: following me from room to room, shaking with excitement when I pull out her …

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Who is your witness? A question for every patient

Why the cure for physician burnout is seeing fewer patients [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 13, 2026
YouTube video

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

For 15 years, a primary care physician saw more than 22 patients a day and slowly lost herself to exhaustion. It followed her home every night and onto every vacation. In this episode, …

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Why the cure for physician burnout is seeing fewer patients [PODCAST]

Family medicine match rates signal a workforce problem

Medical Education
July 13, 2026

Each March, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Match offers a snapshot of how the next generation of physicians views the landscape of American medicine. The 2026 Match set records in nearly every category: more applicants, more positions filled, and high overall match rates. But beneath the headline strength, two datapoints tell a more complicated story about the future of primary care.

Family medicine once again posted one of the lowest …

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Family medicine match rates signal a workforce problem

How doctors die differently than the rest of us

Conditions and Diseases
July 13, 2026

When my father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, I made him a promise. I told him I would not let him die in a hospital.

I had been an ICU nurse for years by then. I knew what dying in a hospital looked like. The fluorescent lights. The strangers in scrubs. The machines making noise at 3 a.m. The family members standing in hallways being asked to make decisions they …

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How doctors die differently than the rest of us

Why medicine is late to asynchronous telehealth

Health Technology
July 13, 2026

A patient called my office at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday. She had a UTI. She knew she had a UTI. She’d treated the same thing twice before that year and could probably have diagnosed it faster than a med student. What she needed was a one-minute conversation and a prescription. What she got was my voicemail, a suggestion to call back in the morning, and an appointment slot 17 …

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Why medicine is late to asynchronous telehealth

How to stop fighting with the people you love

Conditions and Diseases
July 13, 2026

We all bump into conflicts, whether at home with our partner or kids, or at work with colleagues. Many of these fights feel necessary in the moment but turn out to be exhausting and pointless. The good news? A few ideas from Immanuel Kant, mixed with a dash of Stoic wisdom and a clear-eyed look at how humans actually work, can help dial them down.

Kant pointed out something fundamental in …

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How to stop fighting with the people you love

How to evaluate a practice management consultant

Physician Finance
July 13, 2026

Most operational decisions in an independent medical or dental practice are made under time pressure with incomplete information. Hiring a practice management consultant is the decision practice owners turn to when they recognize that the operational gap exceeds their capacity to close. The mistake is not the decision to bring in outside help. The mistake is signing an engagement contract before disclosing what success looks like and verifying that the …

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How to evaluate a practice management consultant

Why physician burnout is an exposure problem, not a failing

Physician
July 13, 2026

Burnout is often described in terms of workload: long hours, full waiting rooms, administrative burden. Those factors matter. But they do not fully explain a pattern many of us recognize.

Some days are manageable on paper, with reasonable patient numbers and no major crises, yet feel exhausting by mid-afternoon. Other days are objectively busier but somehow easier to get through. By mid-afternoon, between routine follow-ups and repeat prescriptions, the day can …

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Why physician burnout is an exposure problem, not a failing

Moral injury in health care: You can choose to stay

Conditions and Diseases
July 13, 2026

When I read CRNA Christine King’s recent article, “Why I left health care after almost 20 years,” I saw many parts of my own story overlap with hers. Her story of moral injury and the heartbreak of working within systems that prioritize profit over human well-being is common among health care professionals.

Her decision to walk away to protect her health and peace is entirely valid. I almost did the …

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Moral injury in health care: You can choose to stay

Why AI may make hospitalists more essential, not less

Physician
July 13, 2026

For years, health care commentators have predicted that technology would reduce the need for hospitalists. The logic seemed straightforward: If artificial intelligence can analyze labs, interpret imaging, suggest diagnoses, and generate treatment plans, why would hospitals need thousands of physicians whose primary role is coordinating inpatient care?

The prediction may have gotten it exactly backward.

Rather than making hospitalists obsolete, AI may accelerate a future in which hospitalists become the dominant physician …

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Why AI may make hospitalists more essential, not less

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The person behind the diagnosis every chart hides

Physician
July 13, 2026

I never considered myself dismissive or noncaring. I entered medicine with a genuine desire to help, to make a difference, to care and to change outcomes. Like so many of my colleagues, my “why” had the same core message, rooted in the same simple truth: I love science and I care about people.

But somewhere between the first day of medical school and the years that followed, something changed. Not the …

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The person behind the diagnosis every chart hides

The power of praise in medical education

Physician
July 13, 2026

His words took my breath away. I was performing a routine task, but my seven-year-old son, Jack, could see I was struggling. “You can do it, Dad!” he cheered.

Jack could have watched and said nothing. He could have walked away. He could have made a disparaging comment. Instead, he offered enthusiastic encouragement. His words warmed my heart and fueled my efforts, and I succeeded.

My son Jack has always seemed exceptional, …

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The power of praise in medical education

Why women must fight for hormone replacement therapy

Conditions and Diseases
July 12, 2026

I want my doctors to know as much about treating postmenopausal women using HRT as I have learned on my own. Women should not have to become research experts to effectively advocate for an established treatment many could benefit from.

Thankfully, after months and months of back-and-forth, including paying out of pocket for expertise outside my medical plan, I am finally getting essential treatment that will not only improve the overall …

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Why women must fight for hormone replacement therapy

Clinical trial ethics fails the world’s poorest patients

Physician
July 12, 2026

The consent form says participation is voluntary. Yet in some global clinical trials sponsored by organizations based elsewhere and conducted in lower-resource countries, joining a study may be the only realistic way to see a physician, receive diagnostic testing, obtain medication, or remain in care. When ordinary care is unavailable, how voluntary is the choice to participate?

This is not always coercion in the narrow legal sense. Rather, it reflects constrained …

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Clinical trial ethics fails the world’s poorest patients

What LEGO taught me about attention to detail

Physician
July 12, 2026

I enjoy building LEGO projects with my grandchildren, because it is possible to sit with a grandchild for several uninterrupted hours, unlike video games or watching them scroll on cell phones. Our last project was a LEGO Technic set, which lets the child learn about engineering principles like cams, levers, and fulcrums. This project was estimated to take 7 to 8 hours to complete. We made the mistake of misplacing …

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What LEGO taught me about attention to detail

Why doctors leave medicine after a malpractice suit

Physician
July 12, 2026

An excerpt from The Healthcare Heist: How Physicians and Patients Can Unite to Transform Healthcare.

Every day, Francine said a little prayer for her doctor, sometimes upon awakening, often before drifting off to sleep at night. Her world had narrowed significantly since Simon, her husband, passed away the year before. With no children or close friends, Francine relied heavily on Doctor G to make sure that her needs were met.

Initially, …

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Why doctors leave medicine after a malpractice suit

Canada’s primary care investment is missing a North Star

Health Policy
July 12, 2026

Something remarkable is happening in Canadian health policy right now. After decades of incremental change, provinces and territories are making serious, sustained investments in primary care. These bilateral health agreements represent a genuine federal-provincial commitment, billions of dollars directed toward the kind of team-based, patient-centered care that Canadians have been asking for.

The people designing these investments care deeply. The intent is right. But when the accountability reviews come, how will …

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Canada’s primary care investment is missing a North Star

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