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Do prescription drug monitoring programs hurt more than they help?

Afua Aning, MD

Physician

February 3, 2022

It was a warm summer in Maine but felt like a cold winter in the confines of the hospital building. I was seated next to a physician who was quietly working on a big screen monitor. It was a slow workday as I pondered tips and tricks to make the physician workflow efficient while training providers on implementing electronic health records. I stared at the computer screen and the physician …

Why boundaries should be part of your 2022 physician goals

Maryna Mammoliti, MD

Physician

February 3, 2022

As we enter another predictably unpredictable year in medicine, we all have some sort of goals for this year, or at least we should. Goals help us experience mastery, even if our goals include brushing our teeth daily, leaving medicine or traveling.

Hopefully, more boundaries are on every physician’s goal list for 2022.

The word “boundaries” brings up our medical school psychiatry rotation or physician-patient relationship for most physicians. But what if …

The importance of treating early treatment diseases

Michael R. McGuire

Conditions

February 3, 2022

Today, the practice of medicine mainly involves treating medical conditions after symptoms of the medical condition become obvious (e.g., setting a fracture or treating pneumonia), or preventing disease for a population of patients using a preventative that has few side effects (e.g., vaccinations, mammograms).

In the future, medicine will be more predictive and proactive. Medicine will be better able to predict that a disease will occur for an individual before there …

Bringing the Hippocratic Oath into the venture capital world [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 2, 2022

“When I came into the business world, I saw a huge spectrum of ethics and am still shocked at how there aren’t any standards. Why must one be in a professional career only to have some guidelines and/or rules to follow? I don’t currently have patients in the entrepreneurial …

The first page in a story that’s been years in the making

Mihan De Silva

Education

February 2, 2022

The year is 2022.

Like the thousands of freshly minted new medical students around the country, we sit in this liminal space between a life past and the journey to come. In a time when the word uncertainty does not begin to describe the climate of our health care systems around the world, we are truly stepping into a global institution marred by systemic fatigue, constant entropy, and profound grief.

For as …

Who will heal the wounded healers?

Diana Londoño, MD

Physician

February 2, 2022

One of the most extensive studies to look at trauma in the U.S., the ACE study (Adverse Childhood Events), showed that more than 60 percent of adults surveyed had experienced one traumatic event during childhood, including enduring physical, emotional, or sexual abuse — 25 percent of women had experienced sexual abuse. This shows how prevalent abuse is in childhood and how most of us carry trauma. It does not escape …

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Who will heal the wounded healers?

“Me too” instead of “me last”: Have you filled your self-care bucket today?

Cathi Whaley, MD

Physician

February 2, 2022

I began pondering this topic after I witnessed a health care professional post on Facebook her hospital system’s expectation that she return to work five days into COVID, still ill and actively symptomatic. She needed more recuperative time but struggled to give herself permission to take it. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in the health care community. How did we get here?

Demoting the importance of my own health …

Why lifestyle medicine is an urgent priority [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 1, 2022

“Lifestyle medicine’s foundational pillars include a specialized look into diet, physical activity, sleep, stress, mood, substance use, and relationships. Creating a patient-centered plan of care based on these areas are proven successful in preventing, treating, and reversing chronic diseases.

Some may say that health care providers do not have time to …

When doctors can’t hug

Julie I. Krystal, MD, MPH

Physician

February 1, 2022

I stood outside the busy ICU room with Gregory’s mom, holding her hand and talking softly, while the team inside removed his breathing tube and prepared him for his final trip home. Gregory was dying from a devastating brain tumor with no known cure, and his mother had made the difficult decision to take him off his ventilator and bring him home to pass away among his family. When the …

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When doctors can’t hug

How do we help physicians in the time of COVID?

Beverly Joyce, MD

Physician

February 1, 2022

There’s a phrase we use in golf when you hit one good shot after many bad ones: “That was whipped cream on sh*t.”

I used this phrase the other day in a collaborative of coaches whom I had just met (maybe not the best idea). I spoke specifically about my hospital’s wellness committee activities during the past two years during COVID. As chair of that committee, I felt like I was …

What can we learn from Cheslie Kryst?

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

Conditions

February 1, 2022

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.”
– Fred Rogers

Cheslie Kryst, a former Miss USA, lawyer, and entertainment correspondent, died by suicide. She was smart, beautiful, accomplished, and young.

A police officer was quoted saying, “Not only beautiful but she was smart — she was a lawyer … she has a life that anyone would be jealous of. It’s so sad.”

The message about suicide continues …

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What can we learn from Cheslie Kryst?

Changing the game plan: COVID’s second half

Richard Watson, MD

Conditions

February 1, 2022

Recently, I was on several calls concerning the precipitous rise of COVID-19 cases and the burden to the health care system. There’s no doubt that we are at a point where challenges become crisis, and crisis becomes collapse. The constant influx of “breaking news” into our psyche has blunted any ability to decipher the nuances of this escalation.

But as this is not our first go-round, most stakeholders have already exhausted …

Prioritizing physician wellness: Reducing burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 31, 2022

“Ultimately, patients need doctors to help them be healthy, and need their doctors to be healthy to help them! Unless interventions are done now, our health care system risks a downward spiral. While the pandemic has brought increased levels of stress and burnout, it has prompted us to take action …

Why the health care industry must prioritize health equity

George T. Mathew, MD, MBA

Policy

January 31, 2022

There are few silver linings related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but one that stands out is the growing recognition that health equity must be an essential guiding principle for health care organizations going forward.

The broader health care system suffered greatly due to the coronavirus outbreak that has infected tens of millions and killed hundreds of thousands nationwide, but vulnerable patient populations and marginalized communities were far more susceptible to long-term …

The dream of every young surgeon

John Lawrence, MD

Physician

January 31, 2022

An excerpt from PLAYING DOCTOR – Part One: Medical School: Stumbling through with amnesia.

As was her habit, she [the surgical chief resident] had called to check in with a surgical nurse to see how each of her patients was doing. They were discussing each patient when the nurse stopped to mention that there was a code team outside a room …

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The dream of every young surgeon

Orthopedic eponyms: Where are the women?

Adil Shahzad Ahmed, MD

Physician

January 31, 2022

Bunnell. Colles. Dupuytren. Erb. These and countless other names litter the lexicon of orthopedic surgery. Eponyms abound from the moment one enters residency, providing prime “pimp” fodder for senior surgeons to accost trainees.

Besides striking fear into the hearts of residents in morning conferences, eponyms do serve another purpose. They preserve our history.

Contributions of giants in the field are immortalized, perpetuated every time one glimpses a characteristic X-ray or particular pathognomonic …

What shared journeys to the afterlife teach about dying well and living better

William Peters

Conditions

January 31, 2022

An excerpt from At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better.

What brings you here?

I ask this question of every person who steps through the door because they have come to talk about death—the most universal of all human experiences yet the most difficult to discuss.

In modern culture, we have an uneasy relationship …

How physicians can play the hand they’re dealt [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 30, 2022

“Anyone can win at poker when dealt a royal flush. But what can you do when the cards you are dealt don’t appear winning at all? My answer: Make the best of what you have.

Recently I learned of a colleague who sustained a broken back in an accident. He …

Recovering from burnout: a permission to pivot

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Physician

January 30, 2022

From 2013 to 2017, I was in the Air Force, selected to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and would soon embark on my residency journey to get there.

Up until this point, my educational path was linear. I completed undergrad and committed to dental school during my first year as I was accepted into a fast track 3:4 program which meant that I would complete three years of undergrad followed …

“I’d rather drive a Cadillac!”: The privilege problem in hospitals

Meera Menon, MD

Physician

January 30, 2022

As a surgical intern, my days started early, and I was tired as I entered Mr. M’s room that evening armed with a nasal feeding tube and lubricant.

Mr. M was an African-American gentleman in his early 50s. He looked worn and much older than his years. Mr. M had end-stage liver disease and was on the liver transplant list. With a distended abdomen full of fluid, improving his nutrition and …

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