KevinMD.com

Jealousy and missed opportunities in medicine

Anonymous

Education

February 20, 2021

“Julie” began the telehealth encounter in her car, greeting me with a cheerful smile. The sun glimmered through the driver-side window, illuminating the water spots to sparkle like diamonds.

“How are you doing with your suboxone dose? Do you feel that you need to go up, or are you happy with your current dose?” I asked.

“Everything is going great,” she said. “I feel no cravings – only some constipation. Otherwise, everything …

What’s in your grief toolkit?

Debra A. Shute

Conditions

February 20, 2021

Loss is incurable, but grief is metamorphic. The end of another human life is a fluid experience for those left behind. For most of us, grief legitimizes the range of human emotion and, at least temporarily, erases the idea of being too sensitive.

There are many ways in which this paradigm is unequal, particularly for individuals who frequently confront death. It seems that when a challenge moves into the …

Read more…

What’s in your grief toolkit?

The pandemic exposes critical gaps in Canada’s health workforce planning

Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, PhD

Policy

February 20, 2021

Health workers in Canada experience endemic levels of burnout directly related to understaffing and work overload. Leaves of absence from work for mental health and stress-related issues are 1.5 times higher among health workers than the rest of the population. Increasingly, health workers are significantly reducing their hours worked to cope or leaving their jobs altogether.

That was before the pandemic. With COVID-19, we are witnessing levels of stress, overload, and burnout …

Expanding the osteopathic concept for the health of all things [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 19, 2021

“We are all interrelated.

This is the foundational basis of osteopathic medicine. Whether considering internal relationships of the systems of the body or the external relationships of a person with the world around them, connection is a key principle at the core of osteopathy.

Developed at a time when the baseline medical practice …

It’s never too late for physicians to change directions and land new jobs

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

February 19, 2021

Changing direction once established is not easy, but it can be rewarding. I recently read the essay on KevinMD (“How this physician escaped the system“) from a physician who shifted gears to her own business after some discouraging experiences in “the system.” During her residency, her attending physician asked her what her purpose was in becoming a physician. To her credit, she said that her goals …

How chess can make you a better physician

Leonard Wang

Education

February 19, 2021

“Checkmate,” she whispered. A silent wave swept across the tournament area. Players turned their heads in our direction, eager to see who had lost 30 seconds into the round. It was me—I had fallen victim to the infamous four-move checkmate.

My opponent, a five-year-old girl who could barely reach the other side of the chessboard, extended her hand to shake. My seven-year-old self was mortified. In the chess world, nothing is …

Telehealth in underserved populations needs telecommunication expansion [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 18, 2021

“COVID-19 has propelled the nation into widespread telehealth services to provide consumer-based care, especially for those who access this technology. Equity issues arise when using digital communication because many underserved populations lack access to digital and/or mobile services. Inevitably, this brings up the greater concern of an unintentional exacerbation of disparities because low-income …

A story of a gruesome farm accident

Ron Whitchurch, CRNA

Conditions

February 18, 2021

An excerpt from 50 Years in the OR: True Stories of Life, Loss, and Laughter While Giving Anesthesia.

We were notified one cold winter’s afternoon in February that a farm accident victim with a bad leg injury was coming in from a small town twenty-five miles west …

Read more…

A story of a gruesome farm accident

The opportunity to connect with another person on the most human of levels

Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH

Education

February 18, 2021

One of my most impactful experiences during my third year of medical school was spending time with my patients and getting to know them. I went into medicine because I believed in the special relationship between doctor and patient. As I was shadowing in college, I was amazed by how within minutes, a stranger would reveal physical and psychological details about their life they might not even share with their …

A dermatologist reflects on his career [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 17, 2021

“At that point, I realized Thanksgiving came early this year, and I missed it. It was a reminder of why many of us go into medicine. I didn’t go into medicine for glory or fame. Nor did I go into medicine for financial reward. Still, I often told the resident physicians I …

COVID tragically took a young orthopedic surgeon

Shira Shiloah, MD

Physician

February 17, 2021

Before getting dressed for work this morning, I stood in my kitchen, marveling at the ice crystals, or “tree diamonds,” as my mother calls them, from the window above the sink. As I waited for the coffee to brew, I scrolled through the text messages sent to my phone overnight until I saw my friend’s forwarded news link: “Doctors suspect COVID delayed immune response in young surgeon’s death.” I clicked …

Boundaries as a woman physician

Tammie Chang, MD

Physician

February 17, 2021

When I think about boundaries, I am struck by how individual, varied, and unique each of our own personal definitions of boundaries can be. For one person, it is the physical boundary between the external world and our property. For another, the emotional and relational boundary between physician and patient. For many, the physical, emotional, and energy boundary between work and home. And often the most difficult, the boundary between …

Read more…

Boundaries as a woman physician

To MBA or not to MBA as an MD [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 16, 2021

“The first thing my husband said when I told him about MBA school was, ‘the NBA has a school?’ It didn’t help that we first had our conversation about MBA school during the NBA playoffs but really – NBA school? I quickly overcame this moronic start to the conversation by saying ‘M’ …

Read more…

To MBA or not to MBA as an MD [PODCAST]

Suicide in veterinary medicine is a huge problem right now [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 15, 2021

“I am a veterinarian. More specifically, I am a veterinary specialist, board-certified in emergency and critical care. I don’t play with puppies and kittens. I treat the worst of the worst in a specialty hospital setting with a state-of-the-art ER and ICU. Despite years of education, including veterinary school, internship, fellowship, …

Managing stress with coping strategies for the perfectionist-driven physician

Jocelyn Chandler, MD

Physician

February 15, 2021

As doctors, we are taught the art of assessing our patients through the doctor-patient relationship. We learn a series of open-ended questions to gain insight into our patients’ values and thoughts regarding their personal health. We learn how to evaluate lab values and make diagnoses. Through all of this, we strive to make optimal decisions for our patients to avoid the legal ramifications of medical errors and because physicians thrive …

Infertility and the physician journey [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 14, 2021

“I am a medical doctor—a hospitalist working in an environment with many talented professionals. We share our knowledge and our approach to medicine with one another in ways that profoundly affect our patients and other personnel in the hospital.

At our best, we are a community whose foundation is a willingness and …

I’m the best anesthesiologist there is

Stephen Freiberg, MD

Physician

February 14, 2021

A moment in medical school that left a huge impression on me was when we had chairman’s rounds with the department of medicine’s chair. He was a renowned breast oncologist and researcher and described a bit of his process when interacting with a patient. The process he had developed over his years of experience was so fine-tuned that there was not a single movement, action, word, or breath that was …

Read more…

I’m the best anesthesiologist there is

Train in the United States. Practice medicine abroad. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 13, 2021

“Oh, Canada! Every presidential election cycle, my colleagues joke that if the election result is not to their liking, they will move to Canada. On election night 2016, ‘move to Canada’ trended on Google, and the Canadian immigration website crashed. This election cycle America is having an existential crisis. What does …

Women in medicine need to have each others’ backs. Too often, they don’t.

Michele Richard, MD

Physician

February 13, 2021

The recent controversy and backlash surrounding Kamala Harris’s Vogue cover shows that it is still fashionable to diminish powerful women. It also is the latest example of the sad fact that no matter how far we have come, women are still held to a different standard—by both men and women.

As a female vascular surgeon, I have spent my career pushing back on ideas about what …

Why teachers aren’t going back to school: a physician’s take

Bernard Leo Remakus, MD

Policy

February 13, 2021

All across the United States, elementary and secondary school teachers are refusing to go back to school. Before you join the growing lynch mob that’s going after these teachers, you may want to consider why they’re staying home.

For starters, many school boards make their decisions based not on what is best for students, teachers, or the community they’re supposed to serve, but on the vested interests of the …

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts