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As a busy primary care doctor, here is what I am facing

Conditions

January 15, 2021

“Doctor, how are you doing?”

I’m really so grateful when people take the time to ask this. But when I respond, candidly, that it’s been tough and I’m definitely not doing great, I often hear, “But you haven’t had any patients who have died from COVID, have you? And you got the vaccine, didn’t you?” Fortunately, no (not yet) and yes.

My heart goes out to our ICU, inpatient, and ER teams …

The adaptive unconscious, the physician, and AI

Saira Nasar, MD

Tech

January 15, 2021

Being an internist, the day is filled with problem-solving. The problems are often not straightforward and require thinking, rethinking, reevaluating, and reading up and researching before the problem can be solved. However, when a sixth sense, an intuition kicks in that warns us that something needs to be addressed urgently even when we cannot specify or articulate why.

Once I had a patient come in for shortness of breath that is …

Do doctors make great entrepreneurs? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 14, 2021

“We in medicine are experts in delayed gratification. We’ve been in school for what, about 21 years before residency? Then we finally become an attending. Then we can splurge a little. But still, we were told to hold back. Live like a resident.

This is a great skill to have as an entrepreneur. …

The consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are eternal

Earl Stewart, Jr., MD

Conditions

January 14, 2021

She was rather calm during her visit. It was the first time we’d met, and she was establishing primary care with our office and me. We were both delighted to learn she was from a small Georgia town not too far from where I previously practiced, and we quickly reminisced about the slow pace, lack of certain resources, and genuinely good, devout people that often stem from and still reside …

It is not enough to say we are anti-racist. We must address glaring disparities in treatment.

Jane Gagliardi, MD

Policy

January 14, 2021

Sometimes structural racism surfaces in a way that even those of us who would like to be “color-blind” cannot help but see.

In the spring of 2020, the video-recorded death of George Floyd (who was Black) at the hands of a law enforcement officer (who was white) brought millions of witnesses to the kind of hostility that is all-too-familiar to individuals of color. Individuals, many non-white, took to our nation’s capital …

Upholding the principles of informed consent in the fight against vaccine hesitancy

Iris Kulbatski, PhD

Conditions

January 14, 2021

Experts have taken to social media to quell misinformation and address common concerns about Pfizer’s messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine, performing an important public service in support of robust vaccine uptake. However, some scientific information is being oversimplified to the point that it is misleading. The public’s decision to take a vaccine whose long-term risks are unclear should be a well-informed one. Clear communication is crucial to the process of …

A crisis of physician intra-professional respect [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 13, 2021

“What has become of medicine today? What has become of the sacred patient-physician relationship? What has become of medical offices- aren’t they supposed to be healing places? Who goes to a medical clinic (no matter how Big the Name) to be insulted and diminished and hurt? What has become of physicians as …

An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect

Andrew Wilner, MD

Conditions

January 13, 2021

Introduction

Today, I had my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine and suffered an unexpected and unreported side effect. That’s the problem with a new medical treatment; you never know what might happen.

Transformation

Just a few seconds after the needle penetrated my arm, I felt a mild soreness, kind of like a flu shot. But as I sat for the required 15 minutes of observation time, a wave of something engulfed my …

Dear medical community, it’s time to engage in the climate movement [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 12, 2021

“I plan to reach out to climate organizations and see what I can do to get involved. Whether that means writing more op-eds like this one or writing to legislators, I now recognize that as part of the medical field, especially in regard to mental health, I have a role to play. …

COVID malaise, and more COVID-19 coping tips from the trenches

Alissa Kraisosky, MD

Conditions

January 12, 2021

I write this now as both a time capsule and a vision of hope at the bitter end of 2020. At this point, a COVID-19 vaccine (the vision of hope) has been developed by several companies but has not yet received widespread distribution. Realistically, I know we are in for more quarantines, social distancing, and mask-wearing for at least another 9 to 12 months (sorry!).

My clinical work in psychiatry has …

Women physicians and pivoting from medicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 11, 2021

“We must continue to work to create gender equity as here is where we stand today: A significant gender pay gap still exists in medicine where women doctors earn up to 33% less than their male counterparts. Even though women make up 36% of practicing doctors in the country, only 15% of …

Reducing death from COVID-19 pneumonia before widespread vaccination

Richard Levitan, MD

Conditions

January 11, 2021

When the pandemic hit the U.S. – we were caught off guard. We were uncertain about how COVID-19 spread or how it killed. But amidst the chaos, health care providers have learned how to better care for infected patients today. Since March, we’ve learned that surprisingly simple actions can make a significant difference in both containing COVID-19 and improving patient outcomes.

For example, we now know mask-wearing, social distancing, and limiting …

How this surgeon beat a medical staff disciplinary action [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 10, 2021

“I recently represented a physician in a noteworthy peer review case at an academic medical center. The medical staff president initiated a complaint against a surgeon, who would later become my client. The complaint was that the surgeon inappropriately collected cash payment from an uninsured patient at the hospital’s point of …

How transparent were the COVID vaccine trials?

Daniel Hopkins, MD

Conditions

January 10, 2021

On March 2nd, 2020, as New York State announced its first proven case of COVID-19, a federal court there handed down a stunning decision. For 10 years, according to the court, the United States government illegally failed to hold drug companies accountable when they did not report, or inaccurately reported, crucial data about their drugs’ safety and efficacy.

Between 2007 and 2017, the court held, the Food …

When an epidemic of violence against health care workers meets a pandemic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 9, 2021

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated factors that cause violence in the workplace. At no time in recent history will you find clinical health care workers under this degree of stress. Physicians and nurses are operating under high alert in hospitals and clinics while facing COVID deniers and abusive treatment (name-calling such …

Why states need to develop rural health outreach programs

Ashok A. Jagasia, MD, PhD

Policy

January 9, 2021

Disparities in rural health care have been well established with respect to socioeconomic status, race, and geography. COVID-19 brought these disparities to the surface within most rural communities in the United States, highlighting the limited access to health care specialists and subspecialists.

As an otolaryngologist, I have had the privilege and unique opportunity of serving two different communities: Chicago’s city dwellers and …

The side effect of the COVID vaccine that no one is talking about

Tuere Hughes-Kapenzi, MD, MBA

Conditions

January 9, 2021

7:42 a.m.: I got my first COVID vaccine today. I don’t feel a thing and almost wonder if I really got the injection. Then, within the first few minutes after receiving it, I feel a little lightheaded. But I realize I haven’t eaten yet for the morning. Luckily, the employee health staff had given me a water bottle, which I quickly down (after sanitizing my hands) and waiting my 15 …

Thriving in residency: tips for your personal, financial, and professional lives

Devesh Vashishtha, MD

Physician

January 9, 2021

The reality is just setting in: I’m months away from finishing my family medicine residency! I want to yell it from the mountaintops, but let me also channel my elation into some advice. This is for the next generation: all you phenomenal DO and MD students who are on the cusp of becoming physicians.

In deciding where to rank highly, I cannot overstate the value of being …

When your institution has a less than 1% hiring rate for Black residents [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 8, 2021

“As soon as I realized we had so few Black residents, I began to ask around to find out if there were reasons why. One person brought up the fact that we happen to be the smaller institution between 3 other larger universities within an hour away and even bigger world-class …

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