KevinMD.com

Is there hope for COVID with home visits?

Conditions

January 1, 2021

Health care has been hanging by a thread for some time — in our community and across the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses inherent in an underfunded public health system, a monopolized hospital, and a fractured medical supply chain.

At the beginning of this pandemic, I wrote, “Our lives will not be saved by the government. And lives will not be saved by elected officials or large institutions. Lives will …

Bottles and pacifiers: advice from a Latinx pediatrician [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 31, 2020

“Growing up in Puerto Rico, ‘babas’ (bottles: biberón/botellas) and ‘bobos’ (pacifiers: chupetes/chupón) were very common among the families and children of the island. I still remember our Abuelita giving us milk in our “babas,” so my younger sister and I were sure to fall asleep better. From the time of our births, …

Creativity in medical school and beyond

Thomas L. Amburn

Education

December 31, 2020

On those brisk walks across the hospital, I briefly look over at the instillations from local artists. Those pieces ignite a chain reaction of creative empathy and even critique from both patient and provider alike. In the briefest moment, we mentally collide into the artist’s creation, catching glimpses of their point of view. The result is our engagement in the vital need for our own creativity.

Hospital art fosters a welcoming, …

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Creativity in medical school and beyond

Why COVID is so emotional for physicians [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 30, 2020

“These encounters made my evening shift much more emotional than usual. I am still not sure what it was exactly that evoked such strong feelings of sadness. Was it having a patient who was a health care worker? Was it the rapidity in which all three patients’ conditions deteriorated? Was it …

Lessons learned from leaving my first job

Christina Arnold, MD

Physician

December 30, 2020

As a fellow, I made a list of what I wanted in my first job. I dreamed, prayed, and wished for the contract to finalize. It did. I went to Ohio hoping that this was my first, last, and always job.

Eight years later, I left feeling completely broken. On my first anniversary of leaving, here are the major lessons that changed my life.

1. It’s not my job’s job to make …

Alone in the hospital in the midst of a global pandemic

Kelly Lisciandro, DO

Conditions

December 30, 2020

I have never felt so alone. I was lying in bed with severe abdominal pain. Pain I never had before. Well, at least not for a reason.

As I lay there, I kept thinking, what if I die while I wait until morning. It was the middle of the night. I had not felt well since earlier the week before with a severe diarrheal illness. One that only babies have with …

Think you have an iodine allergy? You may want to reconsider. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 29, 2020

“Iodine-based contrast agents are widely used for CT and other X-ray studies. They light up blood vessels and enhance perfusing tissue. These agents are essential for diagnosing everything from clots, to tumor, to bleeding. Unfortunately, many patients do not get contrast studies they may benefit from, due to unnecessary confusion about …

Behind the scenes of a hospital’s COVID response [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 28, 2020

“In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, getting a flu shot has never been more important.

Many people are staying indoors, wearing a mask, and washing their hands frequently. In this environment, patients ask me, “With all this social distancing, do I really need a flu shot this year?” The answer is unequivocally, …

COVID-19 and the use of outpatient steroids

William Mazzella, MD

Conditions

December 28, 2020

In some people, COVID-19 causes mild or no symptoms at all. In others, it can cause significant respiratory distress that can lead to death. Once infected with COVID-19, is there anything that someone can do to foster a less severe infection? The answer is likely “yes,” avoid the use of outpatient steroids.

The risk factors for a poor outcome with COVID-19 include age over 65, obesity, diabetes, and a compromised immune …

Food allergies are not funny [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 27, 2020

“If we do not raise objections to this kind of comedy, we are teaching those around us that food allergies can be funny. It is no that surprise that data indicates kids and adults are anxious, embarrassed, and bullied due to food allergies. When we make light of anaphylaxis, we perpetuate …

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Food allergies are not funny [PODCAST]

Pros and cons of 457(b) plans: What physicians need to know

Paul Morton, CFP

Finance

December 27, 2020

There’s not a perfect financial planning vehicle in existence. Salary deferral plans, like many retirement plans and 457 plans, carry pros and cons. Many hospital systems have a combination of 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans. The 401(k) is often designed for the employees who make under a certain amount, say less than $150,000 or so. Then the 403(b) with an option to contribute to a 457 salary deferral plan is …

Science challenges dogma and upends previously held beliefs in its quest for truth

Shilpa Vellore Govardhan, MD

Conditions

December 27, 2020

Like most modern marriages with spouses in the same profession, ours is one based on an exquisite balance of willful one-upmanship and reluctant admiration. A pandemic with two physicians in critical care medicine, albeit in different disciplines, serves as ample cause for a seismic shift in that equilibrium.

In January, while the balance was still intact, when he remarked that the Chinese authorities should suspend their traditional New Year celebration because …

Getting a second opinion can save lives. It is time we make Miranda rights for patients.

Robert Trent

Physician

December 27, 2020

The Lebanese-born former American oncologist Farid Fata committed one of the most malicious acts of greed by a medical professional in recorded history.

Fata spent six years telling otherwise healthy people that they had cancer and needed immediate chemotherapy. He then fraudulently billed over $34 million in charges to Medicare and private insurance companies. Fata will arguably spend the rest of his life in prison, but the …

Surgical smoke evacuators and inertia in the time of COVID [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 26, 2020

“Early in the pandemic, in thinking of and discussing possible solutions to help protect health care workers, two of my former colleagues and I recalled a device called the Surgical Smoke Evacuator (SSE), which we used extensively since the 1990s when we worked together at the University of Pittsburgh to collect and …

Negotiate your employment agreement after residency

Barney Cohen, Esq

Finance

December 26, 2020

A lot is happening when graduating medical residents are looking for employment after completing graduate medical education. They are finishing their residencies, taking the specialty boards, and trying to decide where they will be spending the rest of their lives. Considering a new job offer can be both exciting and stressful. It is natural in such circumstances to focus on what the job promises, where it is located, and how much it pays—and easy to overlook the fact …

Talking politics in the exam room [PODCAST]

Hayward Zwerling, MD

Podcast

December 25, 2020

“The medical profession now understands that social determinants of health are probably the most important driver of a patient’s overall health, and these determinants are largely the result of political decisions. Clearly, we have a professional responsibility to teach our patients the science underlying their health issues. Don’t we also have a …

I am a physician who tested positive for COVID-19. My main symptom is anger.

Madison Pomerantz, MD

Conditions

December 25, 2020

As cases exploded across the country, I watched with horror as I saw people go on with their daily lives as if hundreds of thousands of people were not dying, as if millions were not infected, as if our health care system was not collapsing. I watched our country – a country I once believed in – fail miserably in taking care of its own people.

In …

Why corruption is ruining your health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 24, 2020

“Doctors help patients, and they love us for it. We fix bones, replace joints, cure killer infections, and control diabetes with insulin. We use painless scans for diagnosis. Liver, kidney, and heart transplants are now routine. Some patients get cured of lymphomas, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, and testicular cancer. Lives are prolonged …

The laws of The House of God and Man’s 4th Best Hospital

Samuel Shem, MD, PhD

Physician

December 24, 2020

Forty-two years ago, when I had finally finished the seven revisions of my first novel, The House of God, my editor said, “Why don’t you add a glossary and a list of The Laws of the House of God.” Writing the Laws, I hardly needed to refer to the text; they just flowed out. The Laws became common parlance, not only tacked up in on-call rooms but even, recently, listed …

Why dog poop is a metaphor for challenge, controversy, and change

Randall S. Fong, MD

Physician

December 24, 2020

I run outside, barefoot, and encounter natural phenomena along the way. One of these is dog poop. Ironically, there’s been recent chatter about dog poop on our community Facebook page. It’s a topic worthy of multiple posts and the impetus for the rather absurd bit of writing to follow.

The Facebook posts center on those anonymous people who fail to pick up their dog’s waste. Since I’m …