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America is failing primary care doctors

Physician

November 1, 2021

While the pandemic sparked a renewed (if only temporary) appreciation of the medical profession, this alone wasn’t enough to induce change in the system overwhelming them – a fact blatantly revealed to me this year at the annual conference of the American Academy of Family Physicians. I admit I was a little disappointed when the pandemic forced the location to be changed from sunny California to virtual. But, since I’d …

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America is failing primary care doctors

I will finish medical school and become a doctor — before I get scared

Sarah Heins

Education

November 1, 2021

The dusty gym is a blur in my peripheral vision as I grip the high bar tightly and swing downwards from a handstand. I slightly pike at my hips to avoid hitting the low bar behind me before recruiting my abdominal muscles to tap my legs through a transitional arch position and complete the circle around the bar. Just before I return to vertical, my hand slips. I feel the …

Family meals’ surprising power [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 31, 2021

“If you are encountering families with feeding concerns, I strongly encourage you to ask them if sitting down together for meals is part of their regular routine. The more prescriptive ‘eat this, not that’ or calorie counting model that has been traditionally used in medicine is clearly not working well. …

One unexpected way physicians invest like billionaires (and how you can too)

Masterworks

Finance

October 31, 2021

This article is sponsored by Masterworks, the art investment platform.

Updated March 15, 2022.

The Power Law dictates that 1% of the world’s population holds 45% of the wealth.

And they’re only getting richer thanks to the rise of consumer technology during the global health situation.

In fact, the total …

Tackling racial disparities in cancer care by creating new ways for institutions to operate

Joseph D. Stern, MD, PhD

Conditions

October 31, 2021

At 84, Emma Shuford found a lump in her breast. After a lumpectomy, she was diagnosed with locally aggressive breast cancer. Her doctors said it was treatable but she needed radiation to help stop it from growing.

At first, she refused. Because of her age and a chronic leg injury, she didn’t feel safe driving to the cancer center. The bus would take 90 minutes each way, and she couldn’t walk …

An un-apology: a physician’s breastfeeding isolation

Hannah Nordhues, MD

Physician

October 31, 2021

This article was written before COVID-19 social distancing recommendations.

I want to start off by saying that I fully know my breastfeeding journey is a success story. There are so many women who struggle with medical illness, latch issues, an unsupportive workplace, milk production, and more. I had initial struggles; but, largely, these were not my issues. In that way, I was fortunate. Mine is the story of learning to become …

Taking care of yourself during medical school [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 30, 2021

“Like some insidious conditions, feelings can fester. They can spread like cancer, and sap the spirit of nourishment until it starts to die, riddled with doubt and sensations of inadequacy. They can degrade the soul, as though it were suffering from a systemic inflammatory disease. But this progression, like many …

Formalized mentorship as a requirement for medical schools

Micaela Stevenson

Education

October 30, 2021

Mentorship is one of the cornerstones of growth as a clinician and student. Given that so much of medicine is learned outside of a classroom and through individual experiences, mentorship helps to clearly round out these experiences and help us grow as clinicians. I remember starting medical school and being told at every corner to look for mentors. I wanted to make sure that I was able to grow at …

Medicine is not a business: a poem

Drea Burbank, MD

Physician

October 30, 2021

Medicine is not a business
You fools.

Healing is your blueprint, activated
to complete itself.

A doctor does not broker it,
The best anyone can do is align you
With what you should be,
And stay out of the way.

(Like a teenager setting off an illegal firecracker.)

Mostly, you pay the doctor for the alignment,
And the nurse
To keep the doctor out of the way.

If you’re not ready,
to get on with the business of what you should be,
You come …

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Medicine is not a business: a poem

I bought into the stigmas about the mentally ill, until I became one of them [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 29, 2021

“Bipolar runs in my family, so I knew the harsh realities of this untreated illness. A family member faked his own death after a counterfeiting spending spree. My grandfather told people that I would die in a car accident, and he would take my body up to the mountain and …

Tomgirl and tomboy: Rethinking gender stereotypes [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 28, 2021

“How do we create a world where all of us can express our unique selves the way we choose without derisiveness and shame? I am not here to criticize the wonderful parents and caregivers who are reading this – they only love their children. Common sense must prevail. I only …

If the healers are sick, what happens to the rest of society?

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

October 28, 2021

People often say health care professionals are often the worst patients. As health care professionals, we are well versed with what is needed to be healthy, but we struggle, like many other people, to consistently apply these principles.

Some reports indicate that as many as 50 percent of doctors experience symptoms of burnout, including emotional exhaustion, feel less enthusiastic about work, and lack personal accomplishment at some point during their career. …

Physician struggle with feelings of betrayal

Maire Daugharty, MD

Physician

October 28, 2021

We went into medicine to help people, and now we struggle with feelings of betrayal. We sacrificed so much. While our cohort in college went on to graduate and earn an income and start families, we continued with medical school, an all-in venture financially and personally, demanding all of our time, efforts, and attention. Then we trained. And trained some more. And then, finally, we went to work. We took …

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver and its impact on physicians

Will Koster

Finance

October 28, 2021

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced some major changes to the rules and qualifications around the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. Now, for a limited period of time, borrowers may receive credit for past payments made on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.

The good news is that public service loan forgiveness is now available to more people. The bad news is that there will be more …

I do not want to be resilient [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 27, 2021

“We all know watching a module on resilience, sitting in a lecture about mindfulness, being told to practice more yoga and breathing techniques does not make you feel less burnout. It’s having the support and buy-in from your workplace, to actually have the time to do the things that feed …

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I do not want to be resilient [PODCAST]

How to navigate residency probation

Anonymous

Physician

October 27, 2021

The journey to becoming a physician is generally a linear path. Sure — there are exceptions, but for the most part, you can accurately predict what you will be doing in the future. For example, when you are in high school, the next step is college, then medical school, residency, possibly a fellowship, and finally your first job. (That’s approximately 16-18 years of your life!)

But what happens when things don’t …

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How to navigate residency probation

To booster or not booster? That is the question.

Denise Dawkins, RN, DNP

Conditions

October 27, 2021

Gen. Colin Powell , the first Black U.S. secretary of state, passed away this week due to COVID complications. Yes, Powell was fully vaccinated but immunocompromised. However, he had scheduled the booster but was too ill to receive it.

After President Joe Biden received his COVID-19 booster, many wondered if they needed a booster too.

I have been a registered nurse for over 38 years, and …

Why now is the time to get patients back to in-person routine care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 26, 2021

“As the next wave of the pandemic unfolds, the rise in cases is once again straining health care systems. But that’s not the only reason hospitals and health systems could experience an influx of emergency or critical care visits. Findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging based at the …

The dream patient that makes a doctor very happy

Suneel Dhand, MD

Conditions

October 26, 2021

Mr. Williams is a 52-year old male who has been following me for some time. He has just been started on metformin for newly diagnosed diabetes. Lisinopril is his only other medication for high blood pressure. When he had his yearly physical, he was also found to have a high LDL “bad” cholesterol of 150. His BMI is 29, significantly overweight and touching obesity levels.

I sat down with him for …

Protein calorie malnutrition is devastating for patients

Steve Snodgrass, MD

Conditions

October 26, 2021

I am a former chief of surgery and a scientific entrepreneur.

My practice consisted of patients who suffered from serious injuries and illnesses. Concerning the latter, a significant number had cancer, especially breast cancer. The issue all patient groups have in common to a certain degree is protein calorie malnutrition (PCM). The most dramatically affected are those stricken with a malignancy. PCM leads to increased morbidity, mortality, …

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