This is not an ordinary 1000 Rupee note. It’s a happy memory for me.
For those who say I always share depressing stories, this one is for you, for a change.
We performed concurrent chemotherapy and radiation on a 70-year-old lady with nasopharyngeal carcinoma a few months back. She was elderly and frail, and she experienced a lot of mucositis and skin radiation …
The beauty of a patient’s gratitude
As we pause on Doctors’ Day to salute America’s physicians and all the ways they’re contributing to healthier families and communities, it’s important we also recognize the extraordinary pressures physicians are facing in a time of rising burnout, proliferating obstacles to delivering care and increasing governmental interference into the once-sacred patient-physician relationship.
Three years after we were first introduced to COVID-19, there …
Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect
I now understand. As soon as I clocked out for the last time, I started to breathe again. The race, the rat race, everything is fast-paced and there’s no time to breathe when you’re in it.
But now I have time, and I don’t know what to do with it. I sleep, I wake up, I make some coffee, walk the dogs, and the rest of the day is empty. I …
From clocking in to clocking out: the transition to retirement
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Today’s show discusses the telltale signs of a toxic relationship between physicians and their job, with guest Elizabeth Hughes, a dermatologist. In this episode, we delve into the similarity between an emotionally manipulative marriage and a career …
Breaking free from a toxic relationship with medicine [PODCAST]
With no true endgame or advance directive, Tom Brady’s legacy as an NFL superstar and family man remains nebulous.
Is his recent retirement from football officially the end? Will he entertain offers to stay alive and play one more year? With being at the 45-year-old “yard line” and facing the goalpost at the end of the football field, what’s his endgame for the next year?
When do the false promises end …
Tom Brady’s legacy and the importance of personal integrity in end-of-life choices
I work as a physician in a hospital. As much as we wish it were New Amsterdam with a little”Grey’s Anatomy and Dr. House in the background diagnosing — I can tell you the reality is much different.
Every health care article comments on how overworked and tired our health care workers are. I can tell you this is true. It’s not a TV show where the staff performs neurosurgery while …
The hidden truths of hospital life: What doctors wish you knew
Affiliate marketing has grown in popularity, especially with physicians. Affiliate programs allow individuals to earn a commission by promoting products and services. It can be highly lucrative for those that have a large following. Physicians tend to follow a pack like a school of fish or a flock of birds. Thus, making it easy for some to prey on others by promoting their affiliate links for their own financial gains.
Individuals …
10 commandments of ethical affiliate marketing for physicians
I am a Desi doctor, where Desi refers to someone from India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh.
I am currently a final-year resident in radiation oncology at a private-sector hospital in Pakistan.
During my medical school and house job, I worked in a public sector hospital where I experienced a high patient influx, a heavy workload, and limited resources. This environment made me a true “Desi doctor.”
Now, in this private sector hospital, I have …
The heart of a Desi doctor: Balancing emotions and resources in oncology
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We welcome Shannon Dowler, a family physician and author of the book Never Too Late: Your Guide to Safer Sex after 60. In this episode, we delve into the sexual revolution that began in the 1960s and …
Safe sex for seniors: Dispelling myths and embracing safe practices [PODCAST]
In 2017 at the age of 62, I retired from my position as a family nurse practitioner when the small, independently owned private practice where I had been employed for 20 years was sold to the local hospital. I had been having some odd motor symptoms that were diagnosed as akinetic-rigid Parkinson’s disease in 2015.
The stiffness and reduced fine motor coordination on my dominant left side made many common tasks, …
Overcoming Parkinson’s: a journey of laughter and resilience
They’re very easy to spot. Sometimes it’s the crisp, brand-new lab coat or the shadows under their eyes. Often it’s announced in large letters on their ID badge. Or the badge is hidden, which is also a tell. If they’re trying to avoid being spotted, they’ll usually say they’re “working with” my doctor, as though I can’t figure out what that means.
Well, hello, resident doctor.
I see a lot of you …
The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors
An excerpt from Sleep Reimagined: The Fast Track to a Revitalized Life.
Stimulus control is highly useful in treating insomnia and can be considered a partner to sleep restriction because it helps maximize sleep efficiency by limiting disturbances. Stimulus control is based on the concept of conditioning and association. Its goal …
Maximize sleep efficiency with stimulus control
For 44 years, Iranians have been living in captivity. Since the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, Iranians are no longer willing to tolerate life under the Islamic Republic and have spearheaded the largest women’s rights movement of our century.
With the focus on the people in Iran, few have discussed the challenges faced by the Iranian diaspora in this fight for the liberty of the Iranian people. For months, major news …
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Today’s guest is Maha Al-Ghafry, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist who shares her experience with clinical rounds.
As health care professionals, we know the struggle of clinical rounds, where you receive patient handoffs, pre-round on EHR, physically pre-round on patients, …
Surviving clinical rounds: tips and tales from a pediatric hematologist-oncologist [PODCAST]
“Don’t confuse your Google search with my medical degree.”
We’ve all seen the mug and likely had a little chuckle. Maybe it has even recalled to mind a particular patient or encounter. Other than thinking of it as a snarky joke (no shade on those of you who have one, truly), I have not given it much thought until a recent patient encounter.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to …
The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education
As Physicians Week and Doctors’ Day approach, I’m getting ready for the flurry of posts and memes that get shared on social media about the appreciation being extended to us. Whether it is from our patients, colleagues, or administration, the common theme seems to be: the pizza delivery to the breakroom (getting cold while I run around hair-on-fire seeing all the patients) and the CEO emailing, “Thank You, Providers” is …
The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions
Life keeps buffeting the patient diagnosed with several chronic conditions, like continuous incoming and outgoing mammoth ocean waves flooding over one’s body, raising you high up into the air and then sucking you downward, a struggle to keep your head above the water for survival. There is no rest, true calmness, or time to catch your breath.
My time is dictated by scheduling appointments with my doctor, who then lends me …
The endless waves of chronic illness
An excerpt from The Heart of Fear: A Surgeon’s Collection of Stories on Adversity, Passion and Perseverance.
Each step is calculated.
Each step is deliberate.
Each step is taken with the goal of saving a life.
Everyone needs a hobby, but skydiving can predispose you to precarious scenarios. When you’re in a high-stress situation, your training kicks in. You do what you need to do to regain control, deploy your reserve, and fly your …
Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives
In March 2020, I was directing a federally qualified health center in rural New Mexico when the first flashover of COVID ripped through the state. In two days, the clinics transitioned from an entirely in-person model to a near-total remote model. The transformation was raw and unplanned, trialing mediocre communications platforms in real-time and stumbling through the vagaries of electronic prescribing. As we got our feet under us, unexpected upsides …
Telemedicine in the opioid crisis: a game-changer threatened by DEA regulations
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Meet Corinne Sundar Rao, an internal medicine physician who found her passion in ballroom dancing. After 14 years of practicing medicine, she transitioned into being a full-time hospitalist but still felt like something was missing. One day, …
How this doctor found her passion in ballroom dancing [PODCAST]
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