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A student’s volunteer experience at a mobile outreach clinic

Juan Arnoletti

Education

May 8, 2021

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. …

Responding to the COVID pandemic: a lesson in coalescence [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 7, 2021

“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 …

A transformative year for GME recruitment: How the process has changed forever

Jason Reminick, MD, MBA

Education

May 7, 2021

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 …

Gender disparities in medicine: How popular literature mirrors society [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 6, 2021

“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 …

Paid parental leave is long overdue

Catherine Spaulding, MD

Policy

May 6, 2021

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 …

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Paid parental leave is long overdue

A nurse is to a patient what a mother is to a child

Farhan S. Imran, MD

Physician

May 6, 2021

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 plea for help from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic

Kristin Adams Forner, MD

Physician

May 5, 2021

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 …

Doctors’ mental health: Don’t wait until it’s too late

Jennifer Reid, MD

Physician

May 5, 2021

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 …

Rest in peace, primary care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 4, 2021

“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 …

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Rest in peace, primary care [PODCAST]

Tenacity in children and the 7 instincts

Sam Goldstein, PhD and Robert B. Brooks, PhD

Conditions

May 4, 2021

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 …

Physicians should heal themselves first

Maheswari Raja, MD

Physician

May 4, 2021

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 …

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Physicians should heal themselves first

Bloated notes are a huge problem and a time suck

Craig Bowron, MD

Physician

May 4, 2021

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 …

End-of-life conversations: Embrace the responsibility [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 3, 2021

“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, …

Social math is key to J&J vaccine hesitancy

Sandra Vamos, EdD, Francesca Decker, MD, MPH, Jennifer Van Syckle, and Lawrence Weru

Conditions

May 3, 2021

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, …

Falling in love during a pandemic: a medical scribe’s story [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 2, 2021

“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 …

I’m a doctor who had COVID. Did I deserve this? Does anyone?

Dr. Natasha Khalid

Physician

May 2, 2021

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 may be damaging my brain this year, but it’s not from masks

Gretchen Arnoczy, MD

Conditions

May 2, 2021

I’ve been limiting my COVID-19 related engagement with social media because this has been a rough year. I like being a resource for my loved ones about COVID-19 stuff, but it feels never-ending.

A friend of mine asked me to weigh in on a letter sent to our local school board. It claimed that masks in school were a direct assault on human rights. This letter listed …

An acupuncturist’s take on the doctor-patient relationship [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 1, 2021

“Every professional I have done the exercise with admitted that their ideal patient was inspired by someone they were close to in their personal life. It was usually a family member, a best friend, or themselves. The ones who carry the most unbearable sufferings-the kind that reminds us of ourselves and …

Love is the strongest medicine

Steven Eisenberg, MD

Physician

May 1, 2021

An excerpt from Love Is the Strongest Medicine: Notes from a Cancer Doctor on Connection, Creativity, and Compassion.

For nearly two decades, I’ve been telling my oncology patients, with only a little irony, Welcome to your new normal. There’s no getting around the fact that a cancer diagnosis—for you or someone you love—is life-changing. Sometimes those changes are temporary (even …

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Love is the strongest medicine

What role does the science of complexity play in medicine? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 30, 2021

“The science of complexity lays a conceptual foundation for understanding “complex adaptive systems.” What all complex adaptive systems have in common is that they are all bound by the same set of physical laws. Their “behavior,” i.e., growth, maintenance, and death, can all be described using the same set of mathematical relationships. …

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