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A physician and sister, but also an accomplice?

Kasi Chu, MD

Physician

December 1, 2021

My older sister, Joy, will soon die from metastatic breast cancer. She will pass away at age 50. She will leave behind a husband of 21 years and the three children they nurtured to young adulthood. Our elderly parents will lament the unnatural timing of their firstborn’s death. And, I will mourn this loss, wondering whether my support of my sister’s spiritual beliefs makes me, as a physician-scientist, an accomplice in her death.

For the …

What you don’t know about pain will hurt you [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 30, 2021

“If you treat chronic pain, or are someone living with it, remember this: Changing the brain can change pain. Addressing emotional health directly impacts physical health, because brain and body are always connected. Pain psychologists can serve as pain coaches – it doesn’t mean you’re crazy, and it’s not …

Reflections after the last ER shift

Jeff Baker, MD

Physician

November 30, 2021

Working in an ER is unlike any other branch of medicine. Your specialty is unpredictable. You have no scheduled patients and no set pace. You could be fighting boredom one hour and running around with your hair on fire the next, or the next 11, for that matter. Your patients are not stratified by age, gender, body part, or severity of injury. Your next patient could have an infected cuticle, …

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Reflections after the last ER shift

If you’re a nurse or an abuse survivor, you don’t have to be brave

Traci Powell, APRN

Conditions

November 30, 2021

For decades, I was constantly told how brave I was and wore “brave” like a scarlet letter on my chest. Brave for choosing to raise my children alone. Brave for becoming a nurse practitioner. Brave for going public with my story of child sexual abuse and complex PTSD. Brave for being willing to stand on a stage and talk about my journey.

I was so convinced of my brave-ness that I …

Physician communication using the tools of a trial attorney [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 29, 2021

“For twenty years, I defended doctors when they were sued, and now I coach female leaders from all industries on how to advocate for themselves and their potential with the tools of a trial lawyer. I know that when doctors are exhausted, distracted and powerless they’re more likely to be …

When you die: a poem

Drea Burbank, MD

Physician

November 29, 2021

I will tell you exactly
And only the facts.

You are trapped a little for a time
And unhappy

Then your face hollows and it has a death mask
As the soul withdraws from the body

And you look at me and tell me who you see
It is always someone,
Sitting there like me,
But on the other side of things
Waiting for you.

And suddenly you become a column of white light
And leave the body all at once
Going upward,
I …

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When you die: a poem

A letter to my pre-med self

Anonymous

Physician

November 28, 2021

I imagine you’re excited to receive this letter, but please listen to me for a moment. I’ll need you to suspend your disbelief here. I am writing to you from the future, and you are me from the past. I needed to reach out to you about the choice you’ve made.

I realize — again, because I am you — that you are super excited about the hare-brained idea to go …

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A letter to my pre-med self

Why the Build Back Better Act is an investment, not a cost

Shirin Shafazand, MD

Policy

November 28, 2021

The original Build Back Better Act proposed various provisions to improve Americans’ lives, including two years of free community college, child care assistance, and investments in clean energy. The steep price tag has led many to question whether or not we can afford to spend so much.

But as a pulmonary and critical care physician at a major metropolitan hospital, I have a different question: can we afford not to?

Every day in …

Omicron: 2 infectious disease physicians on the new COVID variant [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 28, 2021

Welcome to this special episode of The Podcast by KevinMD, where I interview two infectious disease physicians on the COVID Omicron variant. They share their unique perspective on this threat answer the following questions: How do these early days of the Omicron variant contrast with past variants? What do …

Fear of vaccines grows with the need for medical ethics [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 27, 2021

“While individual doctors have obligations to both the individual and public health, their first concern is their patients. And these decisions have to acknowledge fears and respect the stance. Providers must balance reassurance with acknowledgment, care, data, and the intent to ‘do no harm.’

It is undeniable that the COVID vaccination …

Think TikTok is smarter than me? Then I’m not the right doctor for you.

Bari B. Cunningham, MD

Physician

November 27, 2021

“I don’t think I am the right doctor for you.”

In over 20 years of practice, I had never uttered those words before this year. Now, as my medical assistant of 20 years remarks, almost two years into the pandemic, I say it almost daily.

I like to think I am a good physician and listener, spending most of the outpatient visit time trying to understand what it is that the patient …

Loneliness and hopelessness are all around us, yet we are missing it

Andy Lamb, MD

Physician

November 27, 2021

It was dark as we entered a crumbling stone building, a one-room 15’ x 15’ structure. No electricity, no running water, no amenities, we assume “we all have.” I was leading a medical team to the poorest country in Europe, Moldova, a country I had come to know and love well. The team had finished a busy day in the clinic. Before going to dinner, I wanted to make a …

Will the COVID Omicron variant change the world again? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 27, 2021

“The variant keeps me up at night a little bit because it has 32 mutations in the spike protein, in contrast to the Delta mutation.

But it’s not just the mutations. In terms of biological plausibility, it’s plausible that it could be more evasive against immunity. Not just vaccines, but …

Grieving our collective loss with compassion [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 26, 2021

“Cultivating compassion for ourselves and others is a practice in which we release judgment, anger and heal our emotional wounds. We can then move forward to a version of a better world where we have evolved to a new beginning. Change is always happening, and that is our constant. What …

What medicine can learn from the antiwork movement

Brendan James Flanagan, MD

Physician

November 26, 2021

A record number of Americans are choosing to quit their jobs. This phenomenon has been termed The Great Resignation by economists. The reasons for the Great Resignation are multifactorial and a subject of great debate, but some insight can be gleaned from the rise of a movement that has been called ‘antiwork’. This movement is probably best embodied by the immensely popular /antiwork Reddit forum, where aggrieved employees share stories …

To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 25, 2021

“Mr. Rodgers, I’m glad you’re feeling well. This isn’t altogether unsurprising given your younger age and elite physical fitness (though cases in young unvaccinated people can and have become severe) and I hope you continue to feel well as you quarantine. The medical and scientific community works on data, lots and lots of …

To my patient who is going to lose her hair from chemotherapy

Farhan S. Imran, MD

Conditions

November 25, 2021

I understand that the biggest fear you have about going through chemotherapy is losing your hair. I just want to tell you. You will be fine. Trust me.

I know it’s barbaric. Why don’t we have medicines to treat cancer that will not make you lose your hair in this day and age? Strange, right? But science has its limits. Work is being done on finding such …

Cancer provided an unexpected silver lining

Erin O'Laughlin, DO

Conditions

November 25, 2021

When I first met her, I perceived she was nervous. I could sense the doctor skepticism. She simply had a negative aura about her. An Eeyore, if you will. A “no” person. A drag.

To my absolute non-surprise, she declined all screenings that a woman of her age is recommended to get. No labs. No pap. No mammogram. No flu shot.

I wondered why she had even come to the doctor.

I think …

Ignoring jaw pain comes at too high a price [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 24, 2021

“The COVID-19 pandemic challenged health care systems and patients’ personal economic capacity, leading to approximately six million adults losing their dental insurance. Additionally, the World Health Organization and the American Dental Association recommended dentists to limit their practices to emergency and urgent dental care.

In the list of these diagnoses requiring …

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