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 …
3 lessons I’m learning about practicing medicine
“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 …
A physician hung himself. That could have been me. [PODCAST]
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 …
When new technology is no match for old-school medical tests
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 …
Forensic pathology’s dirty secret
“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 …
A family physician shares her inspiration [PODCAST]
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 …
4 steps to convincing health care colleagues to get vaccinated
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 …
10 replaceable thoughts (and 15 books) to help you survive burnout
“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 …
How this physician created a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery clinic from scratch [PODCAST]
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. …
The complications of drug regulation
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 …
Be nice to the nurses. Respect the nurses.
“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 …
Being a private practice pediatrician in a pandemic [PODCAST]
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 …
How creative solutions to inequitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution can save lives now
As a family physician, guest lecturer at a local medical school, and creator of a pre-med curriculum for young learners, I’m often asked by parents how to support their child who wants to be a doctor.
The most important point to remember is that you don’t need to have any science background or be a professional of any sort to support your child. We all want to help our children follow …
“We need to shampoo the patients’ hair,” said Kristen, a physician assistant with a two-foot flaxen rope of her own. She’s an authority. Operating room nurse Jess seconded the idea. Between the two of them advocating, it needed to happen.
Somehow for the last 23 years, as a man with short hair, I’d always considered a rinse with water or peroxide to be sufficient to clean a patient’s scalp and hair …
How washing hair taught me to be a better doctor
“As members of the health care workforce, we must recognize the crucial role we play in influencing vaccine uptake. With the death toll over rising in the U.S., the stakes could not be higher as the final death count will hinge on how quickly we can translate the vaccine’s efficacy into real-world …
How to leverage social media to combat misinformation [PODCAST]
“Dr. Good’s willing intervention and active interest in my development kept me in medical school and led me to become an academic anesthesiologist. When his career took a turn toward administration, his mentor, Dr. J. S. Gravenstein, took over. He convinced me to stay at the University of Florida, and a couple …
How mentors changed this physician’s life [PODCAST]
The pandemic has not been kind to mental health. We’re all feeling the impact of the last year and all that changed in how we live our lives. While rates of anxiety and depression in the U.S. jumped as people isolated themselves from friends and family to stay safe from COVID-19, there is at least one silver lining when it comes to mental health – the number …
Suicide is never the answer, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic
Since I was a child, I have been plagued by words and thoughts (spoken and unspoken) that said, “You are not good enough.” I remember this very vividly as I walked into my new school as a fourth-grader in rural Ohio. I was so excited to start a new school, as I had always enjoyed learning.
As I walked into this elementary school, something felt vastly different. I quickly realized that …
A Black physician’s perfectionism
“I realized that training in psychiatry would give me the opportunity to understand suicide far better, and hopefully allow me to make a difference at an earlier stage. My exposure to psychiatry in medical school was clearly not enough. I was ill-equipped to fully grasp when individuals begin to have thoughts …
How switching to psychiatry made me understand suicide far better [PODCAST]
“Medical professionals face uniquely challenging pressures. Our work itself is extremely demanding, and always has high stakes for those we care for. External circumstances that impact our work carry uncertainties that add more stress. Constantly feeling targeted as the financial solutions to greater health system issues compounds our burden.
While some choose …
Stress in medicine: lessons learned through my years as a surgeon [PODCAST]
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