The public’s unrealistic expectations about CPR

Physician
March 19, 2018

A survey of 1,000 volunteer adults found 71% regularly watched medical television dramas, but only 12% said the shows “were a reliable source of health information.”

The participants were given some brief vignettes describing scenarios where CPR was administered: a 54-year-old who suffered a heart attack at home and received CPR by paramedics, an 80-year-old with a postoperative cardiac arrest in the hospital after surgery, and a post-traumatic arrest in an …

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Communication skills: a tale of 2 doctors

Physician
March 18, 2018

There are two doctors working at the local hospital. They are both around the same age, been in practice for several years, and in the same specialty.

Dr. Cooper grew up in Ohio and went to medical school in California, before moving to New York after his residency training. Dr. Steele grew up in Michigan, where he also went to medical school, before completing his residency in Florida, and then ending …

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The truth about plastic surgery chains

Physician
March 17, 2018

Over 17 million cosmetic surgery and minimally invasive procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2016. With the increasing popularity of cosmetic procedures, it seems nearly everyone is out to get a bite of the apple.

Cosmetic surgery chains are growing in size and popularity in an attempt to cash in on this market. Examples include: LifeStyle Lift in the U.S., which declared bankruptcy in 2015 …

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Intern year is still universally hard. Intern year is also universally great.

Physician
March 17, 2018

4:00 p.m. Right on time.

I am walking down the street with my brother on his first visit to me in residency; I’m only two weeks in.

I turn to him: “Wait a second.”

I place my hand on the cement wall next to us, and I start to heave.

“Um … are you OK?”

“Yeah. No worries. My body’s just adjusting.”

I go on to describe how every day at 4 p.m. after a 24-hour …

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How to have a life in residency

Physician
March 16, 2018

Medical students and residents become accustomed to living life in year increments. Four years for medical school, three to five years for residency, a couple years for fellowship, research, and so on. While many of us like to think we are putting our life on “pause” as we complete our medical training this just isn’t possible. Life is happening all around us every day. Many physicians look back on their …

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5 ways to be financially successful as a physician

Finance
March 15, 2018

I was doing a procedure on a child last night, and the mother said to her son: “I want you to be a doctor, make lots of money and buy me a house.”

Of course, it was 11 p.m. on a Friday night, and I was making my riches doing a procedure on an anxious four-year-old in the emergency department.

Doctors make a good income after they finish 25 years of education …

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The challenge in oncology: balancing hope and reality

Conditions
March 14, 2018

asco-logo Part of the challenge in oncology is the balance between hope and reality, and that is probably the most important thing to strive for for patients living with metastatic disease. Often times, the important conversations relate to treatment options, goals of care, and patient preferences (i.e., how frequent the visits to the doctor and for …

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10 tips for surviving and thriving throughout your partner’s residency

Education
March 13, 2018

Your partner’s residency is hard for you both, but it is possible to both survive and thrive throughout it! Finding happiness and success while your partner is in residency comes down to a handful of simple lessons, at least in theory if not in practice.

1. It’s your residency, too. It’s a simple but powerful departure point: residency is both your partner’s job and a significant period in your life together. Your …

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Physicians: Get rid of car debt. Or, how to buy a car with cash.

Finance
March 13, 2018

Cars are incredible inventions.  They allow you to transport yourself hundreds of miles, whenever you want, in a relatively short time period.  Cars allow you to arrive at your desk job without any sweat or dirt on your face.  They also allow you to take amazing road trips and might even act as a camper on a rainy night.

Cars are a depreciating asset

However, don’t forget that cars are a luxury …

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Pay down student loans or invest: What should doctors do?

Finance
March 12, 2018

There are a lot of competing goals when you first get out of residency.

You have hundreds of thousands of student loans to pay off.

You need to build up your investment accounts, which lag far behind your college classmates who have been working for the past decade.

You need to save up for a down payment for your dream home.

If you have kids, you need to begin saving for their college educations.

And of course, you’ve been living like …

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Doctors: Don’t forget to take care of yourselves

Physician
March 10, 2018

It’s 10 p.m. on Wednesday night, and I’m finishing up my notes for my patient visits from this morning while I do my bowel prep for my colonoscopy tomorrow.

Now, I know we can argue the biomechanical challenges of doing both of these tasks at the same time, and this certainly may be TMI, but it struck me as I was sitting there trying to do both of these things how …

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A physician’s faith in God

Physician
March 8, 2018

My testimony is quite an odd one, similar to my professional journey.

I came to believe in God on a medical mission trip in Honduras when I was about twenty-one years old. A staunch atheist at the time, I was interested in beefing up my medical school application. A local church donated thousands of dollars for my college group’s mission trip; I was stunned. I had never even attended church! Finally, …

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A patient becomes a medical student

Education
March 8, 2018

I was a four-year-old kid when I was about to begin my first day of school. I was born and raised 20 kilometers away from the big city in a small rural area with minimal essential amenities — schools, roads, and hospitals. Like all other kids, it was a momentous occasion for me to start my first day of school, and I remember how exciting it was.

As I started to …

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Why seminary? Or, why are you non-traditional?

Education
March 7, 2018

“Why are you in seminary?”

As a “non-traditional applicant,” I was asked this question on every medical school interview four years ago.

I’ve come to learn that seminary training engenders stereotypes and mythopoeia. My mentors knew this, and advised me to have examples ready related to the importance of being trained in fields that both study the human condition and provide the skill set necessary to critically assess paradigms.

Some interviewers appreciated the …

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HIPAA: Are you in violation?

Physician
March 7, 2018

HIPAA (Health Information Portability Accountability Act of 1996) is the privacy care act involving electronic transfer of records so that the identity of a patient remains unknown. It includes any electronic, written or oral transfer of information. When I was a kid, there was no such thing. As a grown-up medical professional, you are surrounded constantly by HIPAA. Charts are placed on doors, so the names are hidden, instead of …

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If academic medicine is to avoid becoming academic, it must prioritize patient care

Physician
March 6, 2018

One of the definitions of “academic” is the following: Not of practical relevance; of only theoretical interest.

When we look at the term academic medicine, sadly the descriptor “academic” increasingly falls under this definition.

To be fair, there have been some wonderful scholars in the field of medicine: Semmelweis, Fleming, Salk, Sabine, Starzl, and Marshall to name a few. And these few were not readily embraced by their peers in medicine. Barry Marshall was ridiculed …

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Don’t ignore ADHD in adults

Conditions
March 6, 2018

Eight-year-old Tommy has trouble paying attention in school, is always restless in class, unable to complete his tasks, hyperactive both in school and home and his teacher discusses the possibility of him having ADHD with his parents. They decide to take him to see a pediatric psychiatrist. After some analysis, he’s diagnosed with ADHD, prescribed with Ritalin and is on his way home with his medicine. Classic childhood ADHD story, …

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Is your spouse experiencing physician burnout?

Physician
March 5, 2018

Many things in life can only be truly appreciated once reflected upon — like the onset of dementia, depression, and cancer, just to name a few. This got me thinking about the onset of burnout and how the true presentation in life is quite different than reading about it.

The term “burnout” is often thrown around loosely but is an actual syndrome comprised of the progression of “exhaustion, cynicism and reduced …

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