I was two months into my first year of medical school when I experienced it for the first time.
“Room 214 … oh yeah, she’s a real pain. She will probably talk your ear off and come up with a new self-diagnosis that she will want to get a full workup for. She always does.”
Nervously, I laughed it off. I grew up in a household where doctors are held in high …
The patient who just wanted to be heard
My energy level was plummeting as Mrs. Jones explained how much her shoulder, her knees, her back, her belly, her head, hurt. She was worn out.
“And I don’t ever think I’ll feel better. I’ve felt like this for so long and I think I’ll always feel like this. I’m so sore. And so tired. And my family doesn’t do anything to help. In the evening after I’ve finished making dinner, …
Depression is a notification that the old patterns are not working
Life can feel full of uncertainty when battling cancer, with few guarantees. “Is there still cancer in my body?” and “Will it come back?” are common questions that have long been difficult to answer confidently until recently. Advances in next-generation sequencing — and a growing understanding of how our bodies respond to illness and treatment — have brought us closer than ever to predicting our individual futures, at least when …
Tumor-informed residual disease testing can help inform cancer treatment
Frankly, I am tired of this pandemic. I am tired of the death. I am tired of the destruction of families and the obliteration of vulnerable individuals’ social supports. I am tired of human issues being politicized and used as weapons to divide us further. I am tired of people being politically correct at the expense of what is better for society.
So, let me be bold, and say something almost …
Unless we get back to the basics, there will be no end to the pandemic
“I imagine I would have, as I’m sure so many others do, headed to the Internet, reading both accurate and inaccurate information. While much of my visit with my genetic counselor feels like a blur, I left that meeting with a list of answered questions, referrals to specialists, contact …
With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power [PODCAST]
Over 12 months, I rebuilt my practice workflow to solve the problem of inefficient knowledge transfer between me and my patients. Now with a new system incorporating a library of leveraged digital assets I’m saving time and improving patient experience. Here’s how it happened:
“Hey, Picasso! That patient wants to keep your drawing to show her family!”
My secretary shouted down the hall to my office. An elderly patient asked to keep …
How to convert medical knowledge into digital assets that work for you
Funny (not necessarily “haha,” but sometimes that, too) how things sometimes start.
Somehow something got in my shoe.
It’s sort of like the sock that disappears in the dryer.
We don’t know how it happens, but it seems to.
In case you didn’t know, there’s actually a missing sock day — May 9.
I’m not sure how that was decided upon, but it’s been designated Lost Sock Awareness Day.
If you’re a believer in the Great …
The value of our time is equal
This year, I lost too many close and extended family members to COVID-19. As a medical student, I was stunned to see a virus take a grasping toll on my life and surroundings. It was frightening, to say the least. Throughout the period of grief, which I’m still experiencing, I’ve learned a lot and have become more knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I learned that there was a common denominator among those …
While you must be understandably excited about this new chapter in your life, don’t let this excitement get in the way of optimizing your job search. Over half of physicians leave their first job within five years and, of those, a majority leave after 1 or 2 years. Your first job search is an important step in your career; make sure the search gets the time and energy it deserves.
1. …
Physician job search: 4 things I wish I had done differently
Massachusetts is again experiencing a COVID-19 surge and our hospitals are overwhelmed, mostly with unvaccinated patients.
As a practicing physician who takes care of many high-risk diabetic patients, I ask all my patients about their COVID-19 vaccination status. I explain to my unvaccinated patients that the benefits of vaccination far exceed the risk, both at the individual and societal levels.
Unfortunately, this conversation only convinces a minority of the unvaccinated to get …
It is time to make the unvaccinated pay their fair share
“The medical profession hasn’t changed.
Our credibility hasn’t changed.
Our commitment to care for you – to adore you, to grieve your diagnosis and what it means for you and your family – hasn’t changed.
Our advice hasn’t changed.
I’m grateful for your trust in me.
I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to …
I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to trust me [PODCAST]
In September 2021, Hasan Minhaj appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and touted a purported “a war … between MDs and DOs.” In it, he compared osteopathic physicians, DOs, to RC Cola as opposed to the Coca-Cola of MDs, claiming that DOs are “off-brand doctor[s]” (and notably placing MDs above DOs with a slight, almost imperceptible motion of his hand). The bit occurred while Minhaj …
Hasan Minhaj’s joke at the expense of DOs
When our pediatric clinic added the PEARLS (Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener) questionnaire to well-child visits, we were worried that we would uncover trauma that we didn’t know how to address. Our physicians feared that the volume of patients with high scores would be overwhelming. We contended that this additional work was impossible because we don’t have support services like counseling. Beyond that, we expected our patients would be …
Screening for adverse childhood experiences in pediatric primary care made my job easier
I was recently, on two occasions, the recipient of poor care. Care provided by my colleagues. Care that was not good. Care that made me feel sad. Care that did not help me or my patients.
First, I was yelled at by an angry son, who said I had not taken good care of his 89-year-old mother and had “almost killed her.” He told me that information came from the hospitalist, …
My colleagues didn’t take good care of me
I would like to say that this is a story much like the tortoise and the hare, only it isn’t. There is only one character in this story, the hare. The High Achiever and The Motivated Drinker are the same character and are driven by the same human instinct.
Have you ever wondered why a strong-willed, intellectually above average, high-achiever tries and fails to say “no” to one glass too many …
The high achiever and the motivated drinker
Have you ever been to a new city and realized you’d been pronouncing a street or a town name all wrong? Have you ever been from one of those cities and has it broken your heart to hear someone call Copley Square Cope-ly? Or pronounce the Schuylkill River or Worcester how it is spelled?
This is how neurologists feel when you call a stroke a cerebrovascular accident, or a CVA. It’s …
A PSA from a neurologist to the medical community
“When you enter medical school, you put your trust into an unspoken promise: Work hard, pass all your classes, and you’ll come out as a doctor after four years. While mostly true, this perception doesn’t take into account the residency application process and the possibility of graduating without a …
Unsolicited advice from unmatched residency applicants [PODCAST]
Medical-legal consulting is a great way to use your medical training in a non-clinical field that helps people. I started this field 14 years ago and have trained over 1,600 physicians to be medical-legal consultants. Most physicians do medical-legal consulting as a part-time side gig. All of the work is pre-litigation and pre-trial. I don’t act as a medical expert, and I don’t participate in medical malpractice cases.
There are over …
Medical-legal consulting as a side gig
I went ziplining with a group of fellow doctors this summer. It was an activity that was part of my Adventure Retreat for Women Physicians, which was a CME-awarding retreat that focused on having fun. This may sound extraneous, but making time for fun is one of the most impactful things you can do to bring more meaning and satisfaction into your life.
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroscientist who …
How physicians can transform through play
So, your guy or gal is struggling with a serious emotional issue. Is that a basis for bailing?
Let’s get personal here; if you’ve got one foot out the door, you’re probably asking the wrong guy. One of my key values is loyalty. But before I start lecturing, let’s take a closer look at this issue.
A well-thought-out answer is important to this emotional quandary. Did your partner come into the relationship …
Is it OK to leave your partner in light of a serious emotional issue?
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