“You’re a clinician. You had a patient die under your care, and now your hospital is being sued. You are not named in the lawsuit, but you are being asked to give a deposition. How much of your time is this going to take? If some lawyer sends you thousands of …
What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses: A forensic pathologist explains [PODCAST]
In 2019, we (authors SM, LC) initiated a research study on the experience of care partners of people with Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP). Among other activities, participants wrote a letter to their care recipient’s doctor to the prompt: “Understanding that you know the most about this person, specifically their PD psychosis because you likely spend the most time with them (certainly more time than the doctor gets to spend with …
“If you are happy with where you are in the current system – that is wonderful, continue what you are doing. However, if you are feeling trapped, frustrated, or like the work you are doing is no longer meaningful, then there are plenty of opportunities for you to get out of the …
How this physician escaped the system [PODCAST]
1. Setting up automatic investments. The vast majority of young millionaires achieved their financial status by investing money. Unless they are a celebrity or were born into a wealthy family, they had to be diligent about investing money either in the stock market, a business venture, or real estate. You must do the same. One way to do this is by making your investments automatic. Have a certain amount of …
5 tips to become a millionaire
In my junior year of high school, I applied for and went on an educational mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Being the son of Uruguayan immigrants, I felt at home in the rural setting while my many classmates marveled at their first view of a culture different from theirs. On that trip, my ability to fluently speak two languages formed a common ground on which I could build relationships. …
A student’s volunteer experience at a mobile outreach clinic
“When faced with an existential crisis, any organization, as large as a nation or as small as a marriage, will go one of two ways. Either it will bond together, coalesced in a common purpose, or it will collapse in a spasm of blame and shame. While our health care institutions …
Responding to the COVID pandemic: a lesson in coalescence [PODCAST]
The 2020-2021 GME recruitment season was transformative. While it was full of new and old challenges for stakeholders, the impact of the first-ever entirely virtual recruitment season will be substantial and long-lasting.
Before COVID-19, the long-standing process of in-person interviews was considered “sacred” by many. But this system was simply not possible during a global pandemic. In the transition to virtual interviews, applicants saved significant time and expense but the canceling …
A transformative year for GME recruitment: How the process has changed forever
“Coffee in hand, I decided to try and collect my thoughts. I realized that a large portion of the literature we grew up reading has in many ways tried to implant this subconscious bias that contributes to gender disparities and these ideas about women that have continued to ruminate throughout parts of …
Gender disparities in medicine: How popular literature mirrors society [PODCAST]
Recently, President Biden introduced legislation that would provide federal funding for paid parental leave for all parents for up to 12 weeks.
As a pediatrician and hopeful soon-to-be parent, I am ecstatic. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has long advocated for a minimum of 12 weeks of parental leave to promote the health and well-being of both the …
Paid parental leave is long overdue
I was on inpatient service and had already seen most of the patients on my list. I just had to see one more before I could call it a day and rush out just in time to take my daughter to her tennis lesson. I reviewed the patient’s chart to find out that her cancer had spread to her spine, which had incapacitated her to the point that she could …
A nurse is to a patient what a mother is to a child
I am a palliative care physician in a hospital in our nation’s capital region. Like most urban hospitals, ours has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. My colleagues and I are exhausted and emotionally devastated. We are not alone. Yesterday I learned a friend of mine from medical school, a selfless and compassion-driven emergency medicine physician in Los Angeles, died by suicide. Before the pandemic, between 300 to …
A plea for help from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic
One of our most talented residents committed suicide during my psychiatric training. I remember relaxing with him in a VA hospital call room several months before his death, laughing together at some of the idiosyncrasies of our unit attending.
He opened up to me about his doubt in his choice in psychiatry and how he was considering a transfer into internal medicine. Having made the opposite transition just months before, I …
Doctors’ mental health: Don’t wait until it’s too late
“The corporatization of medicine has destroyed primary care as a specialty. The primary care physician is supposed to be your go-to doctor, your advocate, the coordinator of your health care. Now that corporations buy out hospitals and private practices in an almost predatory fashion, the priority is turning a profit for …
Rest in peace, primary care [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Tenacity in Children: Nurturing the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Success.
Did you ever wonder why babies quickly develop a social smile and look you in the eyes? Is it surprising to learn that the muscles in your ears are set within the range of women’s voices at birth or that babies prefer looking at women’s faces …
Tenacity in children and the 7 instincts
I was trained in delivering bad news.
I knew what to expect.
I knew the questions that would come.
I have learned the stages of grief.
More importantly, I had done this before many times in the past 15 years.
This is my job and my responsibility, I told myself.
I got to work earlier than usual, diffused some comforting essential oils, and did my routine 10-minute morning meditation. Then I slowly sipped my tea and …
Physicians should heal themselves first
In a moment of caffeine-depleted delirium, I volunteered to head the creation of a “notes committee” for my 80-member hospitalist group.
I placed myself on a 72-hour hold and quickly established a group consensus: “Bloated notes are a huge problem and a time suck. I’m glad you [rather than me] are working on this. My notes are fine, though. It’s other people’s notes that are bad. Other people’s bad notes are …
Bloated notes are a huge problem and a time suck
“For physicians who lack experience in end-of-life counseling, the process can be daunting at the beginning. However, they can be confident that once they have obtained the proper training, preparation, and experience, these conversations will be among the most fulfilling of their careers. By regarding end-of-life planning as a shared responsibility, …
End-of-life conversations: Embrace the responsibility [PODCAST]
United States health officials have lifted the 10-day pause of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID vaccine. This pause dealt a devastating blow to the nationwide vaccination effort. The seven-day moving average of vaccinations in the U.S. peaked right before the pause, and has been trending downward. Fear of developing blood clots is adding to vaccine hesitancy. Moving forward, …
Social math is key to J&J vaccine hesitancy
“Nowadays, I go on long walks through the city alone. I make dinner for one. When I go on bike rides, it’s a solo activity. I find comfort in myself, slowing down and making every small occasion a simple, peaceful one. I have a stronger sense of self, and through that, I …
Falling in love during a pandemic: a medical scribe’s story [PODCAST]
During this pandemic, do we blame people for acquiring COVID or do we empathize?
I wonder this as I read a message from my senior, who mentions that people are suffering or in isolation due to COVID because of their own negligence.
My mind reflects back on all the dying doctors who caught the infection while treating the virus. And then, there was the ophthalmologist in Wuhan who diagnosed the virus, the …
I’m a doctor who had COVID. Did I deserve this? Does anyone?
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