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COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people with severe allergies

Conditions

February 3, 2021

The intensive care unit nurse was worried the COVID-19 vaccine would kill her.

In the past, just minutes after getting the influenza vaccine, she had hives, wheezing, and throat swelling. Her life-threatening reaction only resolved after an epinephrine injection and monitoring in the emergency room. She vowed never to get another vaccine.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, she reconsidered her stance. Now she was in my clinic, …

Stuck between a virus and a cold place: A choice for homeless Americans [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 2, 2021

“What form the incoming winter will take depends on the location and status of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each city must find a method that will provide the most relief and assistance for their homeless population. Analyzing the results of the measures already taken by shelters in the country will prove vital to …

How divorce helped this physician

Trina E. Dorrah, MD

Physician

February 2, 2021

I got married the day after I graduated from medical school to someone I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with. Seven years later, we were divorced.

Even though a high percentage of marriages end in divorce, there is still a stigma that many of us who divorce feel. I had already completed residency and was an attending by the time I got divorced, and I remember feeling so …

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How divorce helped this physician

Yes, your doctor was a sorority girl

Erika Visser Aragona, DO

Physician

February 2, 2021

Patients often comment on my attire other than my white coat, particularly my impractical footwear, until I finally broke down and purchased Danskos to avoid being called out for my truthful impracticality. It is amazing how patients care more about my orthotics than remembering the reason they scheduled a visit with me, and God bless them for that.

I am in family medicine, and I thrive on personal and genuine relationships where …

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Yes, your doctor was a sorority girl

The impact of current work hour restrictions and OSHA misclassification on house staff health

Arielle Gerard, MD, MPH

Education

February 2, 2021

Over 100,000 medical and surgical resident physicians and fellows (combined, “house staff”) are the first-line physicians for most patients in the nation’s 1,100+ teaching hospitals. Maximum weekly work hours regulated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) are colloquially cited to be 80 per week. Notably, however, they are 80 hours averaged over 4 weeks (88 with “sound educational rationale”), without maximum weekly hour …

Nisha Mehta, MD on why physicians should consider side gigs [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 1, 2021

“At first, it may seem strange that ‘physician’ and ‘side gig’ are even used in the same sentence. After all, the average physician in the United States is already working more than a 40 hour work week and struggling with issues related to work-life balance. As someone who talks about physician …

2021: 10 health care trends to watch in the New Year

Davin R. Lundquist, MD

Instead of comparing, let’s nurture the next generation of physicians

Anonymous

Education

February 1, 2021

Years and years ago, everyone always walked up a mountain of snow and ice barefoot while dragging a carriage behind them to get to school, and their stethoscopes were made of bamboo. They were hard, hard times, and it was a time-honored tradition to hear the talk from our attendings about how hard training used to be and always elicited an internal groan. The follow up refrain frequently heard in …

The power sexuality has over our happiness

Moshe Kedan, MD

Conditions

February 1, 2021

An excerpt from Breaking the Silence: Why Opening Up About Your Sex Life Is the Best Medicine for Your Health, Relationships, and Overall Happiness.

I have been practicing medicine for forty-five years, and it has become clear to me that many of the mental and physical problems …

Death is personal for this physician [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 31, 2021

“In Wooster, Ohio, where I practiced, a small not-for-profit hospice agency relied on local physicians, clergy, and many other volunteers to supplement the skills and dedication of their employed staff. It was through this work with Hospice of Wayne County, in making home visits when needed, that I learned the immeasurable value …

Human elements: How Primo Levi brought science to life

David B. Ney

Education

January 31, 2021

He studied at Turin, worked as a chemist until the age of 24, and in 1943 he resisted Nazi occupation of Italy with a group of countrymen. Italian fascists arrested him, turned him over to the Germans, and sent him to Auschwitz in 1944. He arrived on a train packed with six hundred and fifty people. He was imprisoned in the concentration camp for a year. Later Read more…

Human elements: How Primo Levi brought science to life

How doctors are losing money every time a patient pays a bill [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 30, 2021

“A practicing anesthesiologist for the past 14 years, when COVID hit, and the ORs came to an abrupt halt, I needed to occupy my mind. An opportunity to learn about the business behind running a practice came to me via a good friend who is a founding member of an award-winning Fintech …

It’s time to curb rising C-section rates in Canada

Margaret Morris, MD and George Carson, MD

Conditions

January 30, 2021

Even during the pandemic, labor and delivery are the most frequent reasons for hospitalization in Canada, with over 350,000 births per year. That’s happy news. But of these births, nearly one third are by Caesarian section (C-sections). That rate is far too high – and rising.

C-section is the surgical procedure to deliver a baby that involves an incision in the mother’s …

Health care’s tech renaissance during the pandemic [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 29, 2021

“Just as the pandemic has forced massive technology adoption in the delivery of care, we will see the rapid, widespread implementation of innovative solutions that medical education has desperately needed for years. Technologies like computer-based training, adaptive learning using artificial intelligence, video game-based learning, and extended reality such as virtual reality and …

Social services resource overload: How using a simple interactive map can help

Adrian Falco

Education

January 29, 2021

Stacks of flyers ranging from local free dinners to legal services collecting in a box or filing cabinet are familiar scenes in student-run clinics (SRCs). To anyone who has worked in social services, maintaining organization and keeping up-to-date resources can be a frustrating and common challenge.

Across the nation, SRCs generally serve homeless, at-risk, and low-income populations for free or at little cost. Primarily run by medical students, SRCs also provide …

Zoom is foie gras of the brain [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 28, 2021

“We lack the necessary signaling of the nonverbal cues when only looking at one’s face. The presenter’s large face only a few inches from our screen may evoke our primordial threat response with its resulting cascading transmitters. The angulation of computer and phone cameras causes facial distortions. Unless one aligns oneself to …

Have crib deaths vanished?

Michael Hefferon, MD

Conditions

January 28, 2021

An excerpt from Medical Myths: A Sceptic’s Journey.

It may be a long while since you’ve heard of a very small infant being found dead in the crib.

As a young doctor, I recall the encounters on cold February nights with devastated …

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Have crib deaths vanished?

6 unconscious biases against vitamins and supplements

Melinda Ring, MD

Meds

January 28, 2021

Like many scary health scenarios where patients seek some modicum of influence, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to patient demand for “immune-boosting” dietary supplements. Toilet paper wasn’t the only essential item being limited by stores; bottles of zinc and vitamin C flew off the shelves as consumers stocked up. The role of vitamin D in COVID-19 has been conflated and deflated depending on …

Peer-to-peer support and the second victim syndrome [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 27, 2021

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone, especially those of us in health care. Our way of practicing medicine has been changed; some would say forever. We find ourselves affected not only clinically but also emotionally. As a result, clinicians are experiencing more stress and anxiety than ever before. These feelings are …

A physician’s story of sexual harassment

Anonymous

Physician

January 27, 2021

Like many surgical specialties, the one I was aspiring to is a male-dominated field. As such, all my colleagues were male, and I often felt as though I was trying to be a part of a boy’s club. I shed my intrinsic femininity and instead equipped myself with diplomacy, banter, a light-hearted attitude, and contagious enthusiasm.

I knew nothing about the footy, and I hated beer, but I was witty, I …