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Why travel bans in response to Omicron are harmful

Policy

January 23, 2022

In late November, the state of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted once more when South African scientists reported the discovery of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant named Omicron. When panic surrounding Omicron’s emergence set in, numerous countries instituted travel bans on South Africa and neighboring nations.

As a medical student, I have begun to examine COVID-19 epidemiology and policy decisions more closely. Given that Omicron is already circulating globally and …

Coming back from the brink of burnout

Anthony Avellino, MD, MBA

Physician

January 23, 2022

I understand what it feels like to be in the depths of depression and hopelessness. I have had a lifelong battle with stuttering, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, and suicide.

I continually fight these battles and have learned to heal and recover through family, friends, and ultra-running. Since attempting to take my life on September 12, 2009, I have developed wellness tactics to help me journey through life to achieve optimum performance and …

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Coming back from the brink of burnout

Eating disorders thrive in secrecy, so let’s talk about it. Starting with BMI.

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Conditions

January 23, 2022

Thank you, Dr. Kara Pepper, for your recent article “Why you should not use BMI for your New Year’s resolution.”

Our weight-obsessed, BMI-focused culture has been a thorn in my side for much of my life. And since eating disorders thrive in secrecy, let’s get talking. In sharing my story, I hope to encourage revision of the way we speak to patients and utilize (or do not utilize) …

Information overload and physician burnout: a KevinMD panel discussion [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 22, 2022

Welcome to a special episode of The Podcast by KevinMD.

In this 60-minute episode, I partner with DrFirst, a pioneer in health IT for over 20 years. We bring together physicians with different backgrounds to explore information overload and physician burnout.

Dr. Sameer Badlani is chief digital officer, …

Please don’t stop fighting for what brought you to medicine: a tale of 2 physicians

Sarah G. Bodin, MD

Physician

January 22, 2022

Remember in Jurassic Park when Ian Malcolm describes Chaos Theory to Ellie Satler, watching a drop of water roll down her hand? It might roll to one side or the other based on any number of differences in the hair on her hand, subcutaneous blood flow, imperfections in her skin, all tiny variations in a complex system, affecting the outcome. The scene came to mind last week when in 24 …

Telemedicine exhaustion is real

Ni-Cheng Liang, MD

Physician

January 22, 2022

I’m angry. The sound cut out again, for the fifth time in the last hour. “Why can’t I get through one telemedicine visit without some technical problem?” I ask myself. I can feel the chest discomfort, my shoulders tense, I start to flush, tell-tale signs of frustration and anger bubbling up. I did not go to medical school to become tech support. After 12 patients, it’s finally time for lunch. …

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Telemedicine exhaustion is real

Is home hospital care the way forward?

Satya Moolani

Conditions

January 22, 2022

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort,” says James Austen. So, instead of traveling and waiting for hours by standing in a queue, what if health care is provided to you at home? That’s why home hospital care (HHC) is a viable solution for physicians and patients. HHC is an innovative, technologically advanced, and effective care model in which certain patients receive hospital-level care at their homes …

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Is home hospital care the way forward?

The new rules of time management

Laura Berenstain, MD

Physician

January 22, 2022

Pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, woman, mother, wife, friend, mentor. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t trying to “work smarter, not harder” to get it all done and feel good about myself, only to begin climbing the mountain with a fresh list the next day. My goals were simple: peace of mind and a sense that I was in control of my life and doing a good job for all …

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The new rules of time management

Coal mining culture and the opioid crisis [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 21, 2022

“For me, my own personal stories of opioid patients come to mind, including one who keyed my car when I stopped prescribing his opioid after an acute injury. I think of some local opioid overdose deaths in my community. I would love to hear what other doctors and clinicians have …

I’m sorry, but I can’t “clear” your patient

Michael McCutchen, MD, MBA

Physician

January 21, 2022

Every primary care provider has been there. A patient comes in requesting a pre-operative evaluation or places a phone call or EMR message expressing the need for “clearance” before having a surgical procedure. Sometimes, we even get a request from the surgeon’s office with paperwork for “clearance.” Time is always, seemingly, of the essence regarding these evaluations, and either the patient or the operating surgeon requests this be done expediently …

6 tips for success in medical school

Edward W. Corty, MD, MPH

Education

January 21, 2022

Medical school is like a tennis match—a series of short sprints and challenges that, when put together, tell a larger story. Unlike tennis, however, everyone can win. Being “successful” in med school has multiple meanings—from caring for your rural hometown, working with your institution to implement a racism in medicine curriculum, and matching into orthopedic surgery. No matter how you define “success,” there will be bumps and potholes along the …

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6 tips for success in medical school

The pandemic has me angry, infuriated, demoralized, and scared

Anonymous

Conditions

January 21, 2022

I would love to say 2021 outshone 2020. But I think sometime around mid-fall of last year, we realized the joke was, sadly, on humanity, and that was not going to happen.

Yes, we finally had vaccines (thank God and bless those involved forever), but the life purpose of a virus is to replicate, somehow, someway — and Delta was born.

The tragedy of the preceding winter still haunted all of us …

Doctors have had it with tall tales (and those who tell them)

Steve Adelman, MD

Physician

January 21, 2022

The majority of my coaching clients are physicians. It isn’t easy for them these days. For the most part, doctors are rational types who believe in science, data, and facts. They have trouble understanding why so many of their patients seem to have signed on as extras in the unreality show of a skilled Pied Piper with a large and devoted following. How sad that so many people have followed …

Unrequited: love in the time of COVID-19

Rosemary Eseh-Logue, MD

Physician

January 21, 2022

If you knew we are like the “Two Fridas,”
that our hearts are connected,
would you change your mind?
Would you stop
as you are about to cut
the artery feeding your heart and mine?
If you knew that when you cry because of your loneliness,
because of your longing for your family,
that I cry, too, (though behind your back,
after I have comforted you)
would you change your mind?
If you knew that your isolation,
with the tubes and gadgets
coming …

How advanced analytics can help social determinants of health [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 20, 2022

“Advanced analytics can provide the insights needed to understand social determinants and help develop interventions that assist patients in overcoming some of the challenges and adverse environmental and social factors that are barriers to healthier behavior. Moreover, analytics are needed to support the team-based approach to care delivery. With advanced …

A shout out to small hospitals

Mike Sevilla, MD

Physician

January 20, 2022

I’m a small-time doc in a small town, and I work at a small hospital in the Midwest, and I’m proud of it. The huge university hospitals (like Cleveland Clinic) get all the glory (especially in society and in the press), but small hospitals like mine drive this country.

It has been really weird working at a small hospital, where it seems like …

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A shout out to small hospitals

I go on because I must: for my patients and for my children

Huma Farid, MD

Physician

January 20, 2022

I stare at the sharply rising line in front of me, its stark outline harshly highlighting the data–data that shows that we are in the midst of yet another surge. That graph haunts me, intruding upon my thoughts, hovering at the edges of my life. I hold my breath, not knowing when this sly encroacher will become an intruder that will disrupt the normalcy of these last few months, …

Breaking down the real cost of the opioid epidemic

Rebecca Thaxton, MD

Physician

January 20, 2022

I have been writing of late about recent developments in the opioid saga. My first piece talked about a fresh decision in California’s seven-year-old The People vs. opioid pharma case. The next one focused on how the middle-man, distributors, contributed to the epidemic’s picture.

Now, I wanted to write an overarching piece hitting some astounding highlights that summarize the opioid crisis through its decades-long lifespan. …

What I learned about medicine in the House of Pain [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 19, 2022

“Guiding kindly illustrates mentorship, whether it be in the dojo or in an academic medical setting. Regardless of one’s stage in medical training, certain errors in patient management will be made … this is part of the learning process. It is the role of the mentor (i.e., attending physician to …

COVID vaccination: If not for yourself, then for the rest of us

Randall S. Fong, MD

Conditions

January 19, 2022

“It’s my right not to be vaccinated. It’s my body.”

So goes the argument for the COVID anti-vaxxers, emphasizing personal freedom taking precedence over everything else. Unfortunately, and perhaps unfairly, we health care providers do not have that same freedom; our profession requires us to perform our duties despite the risks to us. We place ourselves in jeopardy each day we come to work, and we cannot simply refuse care for …

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