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Roe v. Wade: questions that need to be addressed in the near future

Tejas Sekhar

Policy

May 4, 2022

On May 2, 2022, news broke that Roe v. Wade would be overturned according to an initial draft majority opinion released by Politico. In the political economy that we find ourselves in, this news has had the immediate consequence of furthering divisions between Americans — those in favor of the ruling and those against. While much rhetoric about the morality of the underlying subject matter already …

Protecting Black women’s maternal health is urgent

Cessilye R. Smith

Policy

May 4, 2022

In a world of extremes where we are operating in black and white, living in the gray is where the real work happens of confronting truths of left and right, conservative and liberal, and opening up to varying perspectives that reflect diversity.

This is the space where I’ve witnessed the possibilities of navigating the divided worlds of pro-life activism and reproductive justice.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently acknowledged the …

Mental illness and suicide: a physician’s story [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 3, 2022

“Sufferers of mental illness often believe that others feel they have control of their symptoms, only having to decide to not be, for example, depressed. While they themselves suffer the symptoms of mental illness, they often have the feeling that they should be able to control them. Depending upon their experience, the …

What to do when your child suffers a concussion

Laura Purcell, MD and Erika Persson, MD

Conditions

May 3, 2022

This spring, kids will be returning to extra-curricular activities and organized sports in the community, much of which was canceled over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As these activities resume, now is a good time to learn what to do in the event of a concussion.

Concussions are one of the most common sports injuries in children and youth. Canadian data show there are nearly …

Why can’t we say the word, “suicide?”

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

May 3, 2022

Iconic singer Naomi Judd died at age 76, one day before she was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley Judd, shared a statement confirming her death: “Today [April 30, 2022] we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” An exact cause of death was not disclosed, and no additional information was forthcoming. …

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Why can’t we say the word, “suicide?”

Robotics, automation, and the future of remote health care

Rhian E. Davies, DO

Tech

May 3, 2022

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care innovation has been occurring at an unprecedented rate. A growing focus on technology – and the ways that it can help improve patient care and the provider experience – is now at the forefront, and many organizations are reexamining how they can implement new tools and processes in their practices.

In my field of interventional cardiology, one of the …

Permission to burn the manual [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 2, 2022

“I started planning my escape in late 2020. I would find a way to quit health care, to cease being a practicing physician altogether. Living the life of a doctor-mom, I felt consumed with daily obligations and duties.

Guilt plagued me for feeling burdened by this life, for feeling it was a …

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Permission to burn the manual [PODCAST]

Never let a bad job or bad people convince you to quit medicine

Barbara Lazio, MD

Physician

May 2, 2022

If you asked the third-grade version of most doctors what they wanted to be when they grew up, I bet most would have said, “I want to be a doctor!” I doubt many would have said “hospital administrator” or “life coach.” Yet, according to a recent Medscape survey, nearly one-quarter of physicians are considering a shift to non-clinical careers. They are burned out and want to work …

Want to improve your patient reviews or relationships? Learn to be present.

Diana Londoño, MD

Physician

May 2, 2022

I recently came across an article in the Journal of Urology that was trying to understand the determinants of patient satisfaction in the outpatient setting. They surveyed 500 patients over two months and asked questions about demographics, expectations regarding the time frame to obtain an appointment, appointment wait times, and the amount of time they expected to be spent with them, as well as expectations of being …

A state of service — and how flow can get you there

Benjamin Borokhovsky

Education

May 2, 2022

In 6th grade, my humanities teacher wrote a prompt for our class final: What is the purpose of life?

I immediately grabbed my pencil and thundered away without a second thought. Five minutes in, I was still the only one writing. Rachmaninoff, the famous Russian composer who was known for intricate melodies, once said that after one has played a great many number of notes does he realize that true genius …

A physician’s personal great resignation [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 1, 2022

“Before retirement, I switched everything I cared about to my personal one and unsubscribed to everything I didn’t care about. For the first few months, I religiously checked my work email. Sure, I was missing important information. I finally weaned myself like a reluctant nursing baby.

On the rare occasions I check …

A mother’s advice to her physician son

June Zanes Garen, RN

Education

May 1, 2022

I hope this finds you well. Today, I took some time shopping for a new outfit to wear to the upcoming festivities marking the end of your emergency medicine residency. We have celebrated many educational milestones over the years, haven’t we?

It seems like only yesterday that you started the third year of medical school. I remember the anticipation and pressure associated with moving out of the sim[ulation] lab and beginning …

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A mother’s advice to her physician son

What it is like to watch someone die

Casey Krickus

Education

May 1, 2022

At the start of my medical school’s clinical rotations, I was prepared with new scrubs, minute facts about diabetes and kidney disease, and a stethoscope that I struggled to hear murmurs with. What I was less prepared for was the emotional toll that seeing patients would exact.

I began on my obstetrics and gynecology rotation, one known mostly for happy events with the delivery of newborn babies. Yet this was the …

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What it is like to watch someone die

A voice from the lower decks of health care

Carolyn Joy Sachs, MD, MPH

Policy

May 1, 2022

“It feels different down here,” she said. I had just approached a young woman in our ED waiting room to apologize for the seven-hour wait to be seen. She looked at me with bloodshot, dark brown eyes and continued, “It feels like … the lower decks … Do you know what I mean?” I placed my hand on her shoulder, acknowledging her analogy with a shudder of complete understanding.

She was …

Why selling will make you a happier doctor [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 30, 2022

“Patients look to providers for guidance, wisdom, and hope. When patients receive a new chronic disease diagnosis, it can feel terminal to the layperson. Even pre-diabetes is traumatizing to an otherwise healthy adult.

We must not underestimate the power of our words.

Learn to see selling as a key skill to develop. As with other …

Your doctor may already be gone

Anonymous

Physician

April 30, 2022

The doctor you are seeing may have already left medicine.

Yes, you still have an appointment.

Yes, they are still in the room, taking your history and performing a physical exam.

But inside their mind, they have already decided.

They haven’t said it out loud.

There’s been no official resignation letter.

But it’s a done deal.

It may be six months from now or ten or twenty-four.

It doesn’t matter because the decision has …

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Your doctor may already be gone

The dichotomy of patient needs and patient wants

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

April 30, 2022

As a practicing ophthalmologist, I saw many patients who had developed blurred vision, glare, or trouble reading. These patients needed to understand that cataracts were the cause of their vision problems and how the cataracts developed and how they should be treated. I would begin the explanation by using a large, plastic eye model to show the lens’s position and how a clouded lens would affect vision. I would then …

When quality measures interfere with good care

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

Policy

April 30, 2022

All medical professionals are familiar with the jargon: quality metrics, P4P, low-cost/high-value care, PQRS, and meaningful use. We see these terms in multiple emails, staff and clinical meetings, and organization-wide initiatives. These measures and guidelines will significantly impact the type and quality of care we provide to our patients and how we are paid for it. This movement is not necessarily detrimental and could lead to improved health among …

Don’t be in a hurry to fast [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 29, 2022

“There is a lot of confusion and outright falsehoods about fasting. You can search the internet for clarity and end up more confused than when you started.

The fact is, fasting can be a very effective tool to improve your metabolic health, increase insulin sensitivity and help you lose weight. But, who should …

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Don’t be in a hurry to fast [PODCAST]

Why is it hard to find grace in medicine?

Marsha Hamner, MD

Physician

April 29, 2022

“If I make a mistake, my patient could go home in a body bag.”

I don’t recall whom I first heard this from, but it stuck in my mind as terrifying thoughts do. And we wonder why burnout in medicine is a thing.

Mistakes in medicine can cause mortal consequences. They can harm another human being. We can’t escape this reality. We can’t undo it. We don’t get “three lives,” as in …

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