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Lessons learned from a general surgery chief resident

Physician

May 24, 2021

I began this journey in 2010. It began as a fresh-smelling breeze after a year and a half of anxiety, depression, and uncertainty. I did not think I would be a surgeon. I thought maybe family medicine, psychiatry — at worst, I would like gynecology. I outgrew the fear of the stereotypes and chose surgery for myself, despite what my now-husband warned me. He thought it would change me, depress …

When words mislead in the exam room

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Physician

May 24, 2021

Words can be misleading. Medical terms work really well when shared between clinicians. But we can’t assume our patients speak the same language we do. If we “run with” whatever keywords we pick up from our patient’s chief complaint, we can easily get lost chasing the wrong target.

Where I work, along the Canadian border, “Valley French” expressions tripped me up when I first arrived. The flu, or in French, le …

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When words mislead in the exam room

Go behind the scenes with a pathologist [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 23, 2021

“Clinicians want specific things from a pathology consultation. They want a short turnaround time and a clear and coherent report, which can be discussed with the patient and correlates with the clinical findings. Unfortunately, this does not always come to pass, particularly with some smaller or disrupted specimens, resulting from minimally invasive …

Feel the musicality: A surgeon explores how he learns

Vivek Sant, MD

Physician

May 23, 2021

My friends and I spent Thanksgiving 2018 attending surf school in Jacó, Costa Rica. We spent that week fully immersed in twice-daily surf sessions interspersed with conditioning, balance exercises, and of course, downtime to explore the town and rainforests of Jacó. Having been on a surfboard only a handful of times previously, this was a new experience for me. Our surf instructors quickly got us out on the water, and …

My most dangerous COVID intubation

Nabil Othman, MD

Conditions

May 23, 2021

As the pandemic grew in Southern California, intubating COVID patients became increasingly dangerous. Initially, any patient with signs of respiratory distress was intubated, then sent to the ICU immediately. My physician colleagues and I all thought we were doing the right thing — until we saw all the complications of mechanical ventilation.

Instead of immediate intubation, we tried placing patients on high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), a special nasal oxygen device that …

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My most dangerous COVID intubation

A police shooting in a hospital forces a family to rethink American justice

Sarah Varney

Policy

May 23, 2021

The beer bottle that cracked over Christian Pean’s head unleashed rivulets of blood that ran down his face and seeped into the soil in which Harold and Paloma Pean were growing their three boys. At the time, Christian was a confident high school student, a football player in the suburbs of McAllen, Texas, a border city at the state’s southern tip where teenage boys — Hispanic, Black, white — sung …

What to consider when recommending yoga to patients [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 22, 2021

“Yoga therapy differs from contemporary yoga in that the profession has a defined scope of practice based on educational standards and accreditation requirements for training schools and yoga therapists. In dealing with pain conditions, certified yoga therapists possess understanding and knowledge of pain theories and pain physiology and may collaborate with …

Doctors now must provide patients their health data, online and on demand

Sarah Kwon

Policy

May 22, 2021

Last summer, Anna Ramsey suffered a flare-up of juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune condition, posing a terrifying prospect for the Los Angeles resident: She might have to undergo chemotherapy, further compromising her immune system during a pandemic.

After an agonizing three-day wait, the results of a blood test came back in her online patient portal — but she didn’t understand them. As hours passed, Ramsey bit …

3 lessons I’m learning about practicing medicine

Klaus Kessel

Education

May 22, 2021

With about a year’s worth of experience practicing medicine, I can say with certainty that I’ve got a lot left to learn. I’m a medical student in my final year. In Estonia, we cover all subjects by the 5th year — and in the 6th year, we practice.

I applied for a medical license back home in Finland that allows me to practice medicine with a designated consultant. Having a consultant …

A physician hung himself. That could have been me. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 21, 2021

“We eventually got the news that Dr. Rathburn had hung himself from one of those beautiful trees that the wind made dance. How sad. It adds to my own grief. Who had found him? How did he look? Babies born with a nuchal cord have the cord wrapped around their neck. That’s …

When new technology is no match for old-school medical tests

Patrick Connolly, MD

Physician

May 21, 2021

In his 1862 novel, Fathers and Sons, Ivan Turgenev describes (spoiler alert) a death from sepsis in excruciating detail. There is nothing to do but comfort the man in the throes of mortality, his parents, and unrequited love at his bedside.

Today, thankfully, modern technology and processes can deliver a quick diagnosis and treatment, often saving the patient’s life and about two weeks of brutal suffering. Technology is essential, but attention …

Forensic pathology’s dirty secret

Judy Melinek, MD

Physician

May 21, 2021

A fellow forensic pathologist cornered me at a conference and told me her story in whispers, afraid to be overheard.

“You wouldn’t believe what happened to me.”

“What?” I said, leaning closer. “Are you OK?”

“I was asked to do a second autopsy by the family of a man who died in police custody. When I got to the neck, I …

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Forensic pathology’s dirty secret

A family physician shares her inspiration [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 20, 2021

“Why else should a person become a doctor?

Because there is always something to learn. Because holding someone’s hand when they’re scared is a profound gift that feels as good to give as it does to receive. Because your job will call on you to be brave, honest, and the best human you …

4 steps to convincing health care colleagues to get vaccinated

Dava Gerald, MD

Conditions

May 20, 2021

When a colleague in health care mentioned hesitation to get the COVID-19 vaccine in two separate instances, I was shocked and dismayed.

If we recommend vaccination to our patients, how can we not take the same precautions for ourselves?

With COVID-19 especially, anyone working in health care is exposed to many people and should be especially motivated to get vaccinated.

As cut-and-dry as this issue seems to me, I do remember similar issues …

10 replaceable thoughts (and 15 books) to help you survive burnout

Dawn Sears, MD

Physician

May 20, 2021

Physicians are leaving the broken medical system at unprecedented rates. We continue through a war with an uncertain liberation day, and we are exhausted. Meanwhile, the only battlefront in which we have control is that of our mind. We have not been taught how to tame this beast. If we hope to thrive in medicine, we need to “capture our thoughts” and redirect how these result in feelings, actions, and …

How this physician created a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery clinic from scratch [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 19, 2021

“I firmly believe that if physicians leveraged themselves and their knowledge of medicine, there would be no need to for them to undertake ventures in the fields that they know little about. The old adage goes like this: Physician, heal thyself. I call on my fellow physicians to heal themselves by …

The complications of drug regulation

Julie Craig, MD

Meds

May 19, 2021

When the “opioid crisis” is mentioned, most people think of heroin, prescription pills like oxycodone, or — more recently — the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. Fewer people would think of novel opioids like tianeptine, although an increasing number of Americans have taken this substance in the form of over-the-counter supplements like ZaZaRed or Tianna – often without knowing that the substance has opioid properties that can cause dependence and overdose. …

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The complications of drug regulation

Be nice to the nurses. Respect the nurses.

John Chase, MD

Physician

May 19, 2021

An excerpt from You What?!: Humorous Stories, Cautionary Tales, and Unexpected Insights About A Career in Medicine.

The relationship between physicians and nurses is a complicated one. We are both there to “Take care of the patient.” Each has their own role. Doctors are undeniably in charge of ‘their patient’s care.” Particularly in an operating room. Somebody has …

Being a private practice pediatrician in a pandemic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 18, 2021

“The hospital systems ignored us by putting us lowest on the totem pole for the COVID vaccine. The pharmaceutical companies overlooked the strains on us and increased our vaccine prices. The medical supply companies took advantage of us by limiting our supplies and increasing prices astronomically. Worst of all, the insurance companies …

How creative solutions to inequitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution can save lives now

Charles Sanky, MD, MPH and Usnish Majumdar, MD

Conditions

May 18, 2021

The current COVID-19 vaccines have been developed with unprecedented efficiency and speed. Years of research, development, production, and regulatory approvals have been compressed into months. But accelerating the science is only half the puzzle. If we want to save lives right now, we need to improve the messy, inequitable implementation process of COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

As newly minted (and gratefully vaccinated) physicians who have had the privilege of contributing …