There’s a code for pain, but what’s the code for suffering?

Conditions
June 16, 2020

Opiates relieve pain and can transport people to their apparent happy place. So does marijuana.  Lyrica, the seizure-turned-pain medication, caused enough of a buzz in early study participants that it became a controlled substance. The anesthetic ketamine is now used for treatment-resistant depression.

Years ago, we had to be very specific about the location and classification of our patients’ pain. When pain then became a self-reported vital sign and chronic opioid …

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Feeling guilty for not being on the frontlines of the pandemic [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 15, 2020
YouTube video

“Do all physicians and scientists not on the frontlines of this pandemic feel this, or is it unique to women? Women in medicine and science have long struggled with the sense of never having ‘done enough’ and have pushed themselves even harder to get the same recognition accorded our male colleagues. Does that make us more vulnerable to guilt, or are …

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What physicians need to know about real estate syndications

Finance
June 15, 2020

Physicians have not been immune to the economic impact of the pandemic. There have been several furloughs and reductions in RVUs. Although physicians are high earning professionals, many start careers well into their 30s and are saddled with tremendous debt, and the need for financial planning cannot be ignored.

There has been a lot of buzz about investing in commercial real estate through syndication. This option may become more and more …

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South Asian physicians must be part of the solution against racism

Policy
June 15, 2020

Over the last few days, physicians and nurses across the country have taken a knee, galvanized by the recent death of George Floyd, as well as the disproportionate effect of the coronavirus pandemic on African-American families. The White Coats for Black Lives movement firmly identifies racism as a public health issue and calls on everyone in the health care system to take action.

As physicians, we can see what …

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Transition recommendations for the reporting of USMLE Step 1 scores as pass/fail

Education
June 15, 2020

On February 12, 2020, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) announced that, “the USMLE program will change score reporting for Step 1 from a three-digit numeric score to reporting only a pass/fail outcome” as early as January 1, 2022. This change will have a major impact on medical education. USMLE has not announced a complete plan for the transition to pass/fail score reporting. USMLE’s careful …

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Giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic: an obstetric anesthesiologist’s perspective [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 14, 2020
YouTube video

Thank you for listening to the podcast. There were some audio difficulties, which I hope you can overlook. It certainly does not take away from Dr. Sheikh’s message and her wonderful interview.

“‘It’s a strange time to be having a baby,’ my patient said as she sat alone in her labor room. The state order to shelter-in-place in California had left her …

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How medical education fails minority students

Education
June 14, 2020

“You have to work twice as hard to get half as far.”

As a black woman, this sentiment has haunted me for my entire life. Minority individuals are consistently forced to go above and beyond to prove themselves, regardless of the setting. Unfortunately, medical education is no different. Black and Hispanic students, often referred to as underrepresented minority (URM) students, consistently face racial bias, which places them at a disadvantage to …

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It’s time to flip the medical school classroom [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 13, 2020
YouTube video

“As a nearly graduated medical student, I have come to the conclusion that the focus of medical school is split between training and distinguishing medical students. Modern pedagogy has not found its way into the modern medical school classroom. Preclinical students spend mounds of time on impossible tasks, like memorizing First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, without learning concrete skills …

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Coronavirus through a storytelling lens [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 13, 2020
YouTube video

“Come with me on this journey, this very ancient journey.

To experience the age-old story of a very modern foe. This foe is invisible; it is neither living nor dead. You cannot smell it, and you cannot taste it. While it is not alive, it can become alive, with a flick of the right kind of switch. While it is not dead, …

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Immigrant and minority physicians at the frontline of pandemics [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 12, 2020
YouTube video

“It is no secret that we started off combating COVID-19 with disadvantages. Lately, news is rampant with coverage of the paucity of ventilators, hospital beds, and N95 masks. But it is important not to forget the deficits in our workforce. Last year, the American Medical Association estimated that our nation faces a projected shortage of up to 122,000 doctors in the …

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Ethical dilemmas in the pandemic era [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 11, 2020
YouTube video

“The donation of hydroxychloroquine, in contrast to the accompanying donation of 1,000 ventilators, is unethical as either humanitarian aid or as a ‘research study.’ The United States has a moral responsibility for any human harm that results. We cannot simply send medications off to potentially vulnerable populations without regard for the lives that could be negatively affected. It is not enough …

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We need improved mental health care for physicians

Conditions
June 11, 2020

In 2014, an emergency medicine resident opened a personal email and was shocked to see it briefly mention the death of another resident physician from a different training program. Unofficial group chats ensued amongst her co-residents, discussing the vague email. Suspicion arose that the resident has died of suicide. His particular death was never addressed outright in a formal or public manner at the hospital, department, or residency level. All …

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It’s time for a comprehensive universal health care system in America

Policy
June 11, 2020

When it comes to health care, this election cycle has been different than previous ones. Either it is Medicare for all or public option in the ACA, democratic candidates have shown support for some version of universal health care. As the health care costs, including prescription drug prices, keep rising, many Americans have started to advocate for universal health care coverage. At the same time, others still believe in the …

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Why this anesthesiologist has a problem with monitored anesthesia care (MAC)

Conditions
June 11, 2020

I have a major issue with MAC.

To be more specific, I have a major issue with how we communicate the concept of MAC to our patients, anesthesia care team members, and proceduralist colleagues.

MAC stands for “monitored anesthesia care,” and we tend to throw it around and use it interchangeably with a lot of other terms:

  • Sedation
  • Procedural sedation
  • Conscious sedation
  • Twilight anesthesia
  • Light anesthesia

The fact is, these entities are not …

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How doctors can navigate the financial crisis [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 10, 2020
YouTube video

“Out of the blue, a new virus popped up, and ten weeks later, it is a pandemic. Within the last ten weeks, doctors have identified this new disease, figured out how it is transmitted, identified what body fluid we need to test to determine who has contracted the disease, developed a test for it, mass-produced that test, and distributed the tests …

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Why physicians should invest in real estate

Finance
June 10, 2020

We have all heard that real estate is the investment vehicle of the wealthy. However, not many physicians take advantage of this tremendous resource.

The reality is the average medical student graduates with close to $200,000 in debt and does not finish training until his/her late 20s/early 30s with no financial education. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that no job is protected, and earning potential can decline at any …

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Don’t let the protests become last week’s news. It is our reality every day. [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 9, 2020
YouTube video

“Here we are again, mourning the death of another black person at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect and defend our rights. Another casualty in the 400+ year struggle that we have had in this country to be granted the same right to liberty, the same access to success and the same ability to live without fear, …

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The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 9, 2020
YouTube video

 

“Some media outlets and public figures have heralded the ongoing pandemic as a great equalizer, referencing the pathogen’s indiscriminate spread and disregard for national borders and tax brackets.

The sobering mortality statistics, however, dispense any notion of an equal-opportunity crisis, revealing a familiar theme among public health challenges in America: significant racial disparities exist, and communities of color are disproportionately affected.”

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I am an ICU nurse. We are drowning.

Conditions
June 9, 2020

I am an ICU nurse. I love what I do; It’s not just a career: It’s who I am. No other job could offer me the intimate opportunity to support and guide a total stranger through the worst (and occasionally best) days of their life. Nowhere else would I leave feeling humbled by what I do every day. Nothing compares to that. Simply put: You don’t find that sense of …

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Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 8, 2020
YouTube video

“As medical trainees, we will shape the rapidly changing health care environment in this country. We are fiercely advocating for our disadvantaged patients, debating the price of life-saving medications, and carefully considering how the upcoming elections will shape the health care system in which we both provide and receive care. All the while, we handle our responsibilities and prepare to care …

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