“Health care delivery will always be inherently unpredictable and challenging. Those drawn to medicine are among our most resilient, but the current landscape reveals acutely a rise in burnout that exceeded acceptable levels even before the COVID-19 outbreak. Such innate resilience in clinicians and clinical care teams is an individual and strategic …
How to protect your resilience [PODCAST]
“This is not what I signed up for.
Have you ever said this when you are rushing home 1.5 hours after the last patient left and you still haven’t finished all your charting? You grab a handful of forms to take home with you with the hopeful expectation that you will get them …
You don’t have to drown in the paperwork [PODCAST]
After entering Gate D at Fenway Park, John had his temperature taken and verified that he was symptom-free. As he rounded the corner, his friend heard him whisper through his mask, “I think this is real.” He was referring to the calming sounds of a string trio emanating from the concourse, next to the FIELD BOX 54-70 sign. Vaccine day was finally …
For the love of baseball and music: a Boston Hope Music story
In March, thousands of medical students received their residency match results. For most specialties, match rates for graduating U.S. MD seniors have typically remained above 90 percent. This almost certain job security is what allows most medical students to consider taking on astronomical amounts of student debt.
The individualist message is clear throughout medical school: Focus on yourself, your achievements, and hope for the best.
Absent from these …
The rise and fall of Hahnemann University Hospital
I am a trained neurosurgeon with decades of experience. However, I also have a passion for real estate.
So far, I have managed to amass a real estate investment portfolio of over $250 million in assets by working with our investors and co-development partners.
As a medical professional, I can relate to your current financial standing. You’ve managed to work your way into your current, high net-worth position(s) and are earning “good …
Physicians can practice medicine and build wealth through passive real estate investing
“I now say getting divorced was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Through that painful circumstance, I rediscovered me. I learned more about myself and my ability to do hard things than at any point in my life since medical training. I’m not the same person that I …
How divorce helped this physician [PODCAST]
I’ve been searching for a way to describe my experience as a third-year medical student until recently, when I stumbled upon two new terms: moral injury and emotional labor. Moral injury is a phrase coined to describe an insult to a person’s moral conscience or values. It happens as a result of actions that transgress his or her “deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.” It was originally used to describe …
Moral injury in medical school
When novice medical students such as myself learn how to counsel patients, the primary didactic focus is on developing awareness of how factors such as racism, socioeconomic status, environmental stressors, and social supports may predispose patients to or protect patients from acquiring disease and mediate adherence. But in this discussion of patients and the decisions that they may make before, during, and after a clinic visit, we often overlook personality.
As …
Under-addressed mediators of adherence: personality in patients
“One of the best solutions to rising obesity and non-communicable disease rates lie in primary care. Medical professionals can influence the U.S. food system indirectly through demand and collective purchasing power by educating their patients to choose and purchase healthier options. Merely improving nutrition education succeeds in shifting people’s thinking about food.
Simultaneous …
Put nutrition counseling in primary care [PODCAST]
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated America’s health, taking more than 500 thousand American lives, upending the economy, and perpetuating racial
The U.S. …
The pandemic’s epidemic: opioid use disorder and subpar suboxone access
In his novel Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor observed that “death alone is certain and the time of death is uncertain.” This knowledge should guide us in one of our most important decisions: How should we spend our limited amount of time on earth?
Why do you work so hard?
There are many different reasons why people might work too hard. Often they toil out of necessity. …
Put down the knife: A neurosurgeon explains the importance of a work-life balance
“I have closed my practice, but I have no plans to retire at the age of 52. I have started the journey to become a high school science teacher. There are frequent internet postings and blogs by physicians with strategies to retire young. I suspect that many of us, not near traditional …
Why this plastic surgeon chose to become a high school science teacher [PODCAST]
It pains me to write this. I am tired of pretending. I simply cannot do this anymore. I sincerely wish you well. I do hope our paths will cross again.
I first gazed at you, cautiously intrigued. Coquettish even. Butterflies fluttered when I thought of you. You left me longing for more details. You captivated my heart and mind. I became obsessed with you, wanting to understand your layers and complexities. …
“Definitions ground us in our profession and in our world. Definitions matter because they help us pause, give our body a moment to settle, and our breath time to move in and out. Our racist actions, inactions, and comments are invasive throughout our waking hours, but we can change them if we can …
Words matter: Definitions ground us in our profession and in our world [PODCAST]
It has been over a year now since shelter-in-place orders struck fear into many, forced millions into unemployment, and taught us all the meaning of the term “supply chain.” It didn’t take long before the chants of “flatten the curve” and “support our health care heroes” dissipated. Once more was known, many industries figured out to cope safely while others just decided to cope unsafely. The government stepped …
The coronavirus vaccine is not a political or social issue
“The good news is that imposter syndrome can be quieted with increased awareness and replacing negative internal messages with positive ones. In our work together, I helped Sheila identify the voices, understand the positive role the voices fill (and there is always a positive or protective role), and find specific mechanisms for …
Solving imposter syndrome in physicians [PODCAST]
“I am [sharing] my story as I would like to raise awareness about the dangers of benzodiazepines and advocate for stronger warning labels.”
I paused to wipe away tears before typing the final words of Bobbi’s report into the FDA’s MedWatch online reporting system. Bobbi, a physician assistant, was forced into medical detox by her state medical board after suffering adverse effects from prescription clonazepam. Six years …
The updated benzodiazepine boxed warning: What you need to know
This version of “My Shot” was written and recorded by an anesthesiologist, Bryan Tischenkel, MD, to raise awareness for the COVID-19 vaccine. He wanted to show the public the confidence with which many health care workers are receiving their vaccinations daily.
We all believe in the science behind vaccination. Each patient should speak to their physician about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Not throwing away my shot: Health care workers show confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine
“In the world of medicine, inordinate stress is instead accepted as just part of the job. If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen — or see a therapist on your own time and dime. I strongly believe that traditional therapy and psychiatry are vital and valuable disciplines- I …
Vulnerability is challenging but necessary for health care professionals [PODCAST]
This week a patient, for whom I served as the primary care physician for over many years, died after an extended illness. I had the privilege of visiting her two days before her death, as she weakened and drew closer to her last breath. It was an opportunity to tell her good-bye.
We were close. She was very smart. She had an engaging sense of humor. She loved college basketball. She …
Another lesson learned: This is what gratitude looks like
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