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How to be a “good girl”: confessions of an (im)perfectionist

Physician

April 10, 2021

Indian parents are perfectionists. This is what I had come to understand and believe, even before I had the vocabulary to define it. Perfection was the expectation. Not excellent, not superb, but perfection, and only perfection. After years of reflection, I don’t take issue with the expectation of perfection, but, rather, how I perceived it to be defined for me — a well-behaved, beautiful and academically successful girl who does …

Tears from heaven: a nurse’s tribute to Dr. Robert Lesslie

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

April 10, 2021

Recently, a former NFL football player, Phillip Adams, murdered Dr. Robert Lesslie, his wife, his two grandchildren ages 5 and 9, an air conditioning appliance man, and critically injured a second man. The NFL player had gunned down these innocent people. And then, he left and went to his parent’s house (who lived on the same road), and after hours of the SWAT team begging this man to surrender, he …

Exclusivity and exclusion: disability discrimination in medical education

Letitia Tomaszewski

Education

April 10, 2021

In my medical school admissions essay, I wrote about helping at-risk kids like myself. I wanted to be a child and adolescent psychiatrist, but that wasn’t the main reason for applying. The real reason I applied was for my own personal survival. I needed to learn how to talk to doctors about my symptoms and get an appropriate level of care.

For years, my doctors told me that my illnesses and …

What physicians should know before they’re interviewed by the media [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 9, 2021

“Lights, camera, action!

You get a call from your hospital’s public relations office asking you to speak to the local news. Even though this isn’t your first time, your heart is pounding, with a mix of nerves and excitement. You start doubting whether you have anything valuable to say about the topic, …

Why medical students should be taught the business side of medicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 8, 2021

“Ultimately, patient care is at the center of medicine and is the main reason many physicians chose to go into the field. A good understanding of the business side of medicine and personal finance can help future physicians focus on just that. There are plenty of options when it comes to how …

“Use the force”: How do we teach in the operating room?

Vivek Sant, MD

Education

April 8, 2021

As I embark on my chief year in general surgery, I look forward to most is taking junior residents through operations. I am grateful to have had excellent teachers over the past five years, and I appreciate the opportunity to pay forward this mentorship. But taking what you have learned and teaching someone else turns out to be a very different challenge than learning itself! Suddenly, you realize your attendings …

A medical student finds a reason to dance

Nikita Mittal

Education

April 8, 2021

Today I attempt to walk a new path in life, a path that sparkles from the sun above to guide my every move.

Step by step, I embrace the light and escape the dark shadow behind me. Slowly, I start to run as I crave harder to escape my unburdening. With the weight of sorrow on my back, I let it go and reach in front for the chamber in my …

End medical school grades [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 7, 2021

“There should be no grades in medical school. Forty-something percent of applicants get accepted to one or more medical schools. To even apply to medical school, one needs to have not only graduated or be on track to graduate college, but also needs to have passed the MCAT and have the support …

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End medical school grades [PODCAST]

A physician colleague’s gratitude

Mary Leung, MD

Physician

April 7, 2021

There are endless life lessons to learn from people around us. Our friends’ opinions on what they think about a product, a certain cuisine, or how they view life not only gives us a glimpse of who they are, but also can impact our own views. As a doctor, it is always fascinating to me how two patients with the same oncologic diagnosis can have such different views of life: …

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A physician colleague’s gratitude

A doctor’s life is absurd, but can it still be worth living?

Glenn P. Matney, MD

Physician

April 7, 2021

I will speak for myself to say that I completely identified with, and fully agree with, all the sentiments shared by Dr. Klingberg in “A breakup with primary care.” Still, from my own life experiences, and a 30-year career in primary care solo practice, I have been forced to believe that these sentiments are ultimately narcissistic and self-destructive.

Yes, primary care medicine has become thankless, oppressive, cruel, …

A physician applies to law school. Here is her application essay.

Cathleen London, MD

Physician

April 7, 2021

I have been a physician for 26 years. I have been a fierce patient advocate throughout my entire career. It never occurred to me that physicians do not have the same rights of citizenship that the very patients I fight for do. I always thought I lived in a democracy. Medicine is not what it used to be. Articles relentlessly speak of physician burnout as though we are responsible for …

Film and television continue to depict psychiatrists as heartless swindlers [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 6, 2021

“Have you ever watched a movie, television show, or read a book where the villain is a medical doctor? If you are a psychiatrist, you will be alarmed by how many times the villain in these stories turns out to be a psychiatrist. In all fairness, psychiatry has had its share …

After all the years of medical training, I learned how to treat ugly on my own

Farhan S. Imran, MD

Conditions

April 6, 2021

We first met about two years ago when she came to see me in my clinic as a new patient. I glanced through her chart and reviewed her scans and pathology reports. She had one of the worst possible kinds of lung cancers, called small cell lung cancer, that had spread to both of her lungs. Her disease was incurable, but I could give her chemotherapy to improve her symptoms …

Attention mid-career physicians: Let’s find our ikigai

Anish Sheth, MD

Physician

April 6, 2021

As a physician who helps administer and analyze our medical staff’s wellness data, I have been puzzled by one consistent finding from our semi-annual physician wellness survey – the group of physicians with the highest level of distress are the mid-career physicians, those who, like me, graduated from medical school 15 to 24 years ago.

Our hospital, a community-based, semi-academic hospital, utilizes a nine-question survey to track physician’s well-being. Some of …

A letter to Black America for those who do not want the COVID-19 vaccine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 5, 2021

“As a Black physician, I urge you to consider taking the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to you. Vaccines save lives. Preventing poor outcomes, as in death, is an exciting effect of this vaccine. I will be first in line when it is offered to me, and I hope to see …

How reviewing medical malpractice claims made me a better gastroenterologist

Scott Choi, MD

Conditions

April 5, 2021

When a patient is dissatisfied with his or her care, he or she can consult an attorney, who will enlist a physician “expert” to determine if a doctor has deviated from the standard of care and whether that deviation caused a negative outcome. Over the past decade of reviewing cases involving medical malpractice, I have identified five categories of medical error, which has improved how I care for my patients.

1. …

How this doctor deals with the F-word (fibromyalgia)

Rahul Gupta, MD

Conditions

April 5, 2021

I’m “blursed.” I have a loving and supportive family, an amazing wife, great friends, and that includes my dog, a career that is both secure and fulfilling, and yet there is something I carry with me that perpetually threatens to break my spirit. My fellow Reddit fans/addicts know the meaning of “blursed,” but for those that don’t, it’s one of my favorite portmanteaus – it means to be both “blessed” …

We must address glaring disparities in treatment [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 4, 2021

“It is not enough to say we are anti-racist; we have to modify our systems to recognize that we have placed individuals of color at risk of poorer outcomes. Lack of insurance, lack of finances, or even the presence of certain diagnoses may reflect less about the person and more about our …

No wonder patients detest our health care system, and doctors are leaving medicine in droves

Corina Fratila, MD

Physician

April 4, 2021

My patient is a brilliant, 30-something-year-old highly educated woman with type 1 diabetes. I’ve known her for many years, since she was a teenager. She is sweet and fun, even though she can be fierce and fiery at times. She has type 1 diabetes.

She has been living with this life-altering, life-threatening disease for many years. Even as a child, she always took charge of her life and consistently maintained her …

Why doctors are such bad investors

Daniel Shin, MD

Finance

April 4, 2021

At any given moment, about half of the physicians in the U.S. aren’t millionaires. While certainly, this is true for most Americans in general, doctors make much more than most Americans. In fact, compared to the average income in the United States of $87,864, physicians make 3 to 4 times more income than the average. Specifically, in 2020, Read more…

Why doctors are such bad investors

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