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10 lessons from my first year as a female attending physician

Physician

June 25, 2020

1. Change is slow. In fact, it’s much slower than I ever imagined. Part of the issue is that people don’t like change; another is that workplace culture often doesn’t support new ideas.

Tackling this issue: Shift your focus. Get to know people first. Be present. Changing perceptions and convincing people to change first requires that you know them, and they know you.

2. Patience is a virtue. …

When Brooklyn meets Alabama: a physician story from a 50-year career

Ronald Halweil, MD

Physician

June 25, 2020

I never expected to have a friend from Alabama. My upbringing in Brooklyn, New York, didn’t include anyone from the South, and this was a time in American history when the South was in turmoil. I recall black and white images on our family’s TV showing federally enforced integration of schools and communities, swelling civil rights marches, and disturbing scenes of riots and attack dogs used to intimidate …

The day you finish residency is just a normal day for everyone else

Sarah Reck, MD

Physician

June 25, 2020

I was listening to a podcast the other day about this woman who kayaked the inner passage from Puget Sound to Juneau, Alaska. She was describing the end of her journey, the day she paddled into Juneau, and she noted that it was so anticlimactic. She paddled in, after 66 days and there was no one to celebrate the end of the journey with, the harbormaster was badgering her to …

The superhero within during the time of COVID-19

Lauren Fine, MD and Vijay Rajput, MD

Physician

June 25, 2020

Over the past few months, my 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son have been confined almost entirely to our house and backyard to shelter them from the coronavirus pandemic. They know that “the virus” is dangerous and invisible. However, like superheroes facing adversity, they found their own escape from the confines of their world to their imaginary world of superheroes. During the day, my son insists on wearing a frayed and …

Why physicians need to diversify their incomes [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 24, 2020

“Physicians have struggled and sacrificed to develop the clinical judgment and skill needed to provide competent clinical care. They have undergone over a decade of schooling and training, taken on excessive student loan debt, worked backbreaking hours for low pay during residency, and risked their lives during the process. Yet when they have completed their training, they often times have to …

Why a prison psychiatry rotation should be mandatory for all medical students

Tiana Walker

Education

June 24, 2020

Most incarcerated individuals — over 95 percent of them — will return to their communities. Medical students have a unique opportunity, as a part of their training, to learn about the medical needs of this group and help provide care for a vulnerable population that has historically been abused. Moreover, prison health services have been shown to reduce the stigma of those …

The story of an Indian doctor with vitiligo

Dhaval Desai, MD

Conditions

June 24, 2020

“Alright, sir, that’s the plan, and we will take good care of you. What questions do you have for me?” I asked after discussing the patient’s condition and hospital course. The patient looked satisfied and nodded as if he understood the plan, and asked: “Well, one question, where are you from?” I immediately let out an internal sigh, knowing where this conversation was going and replied, “Well sir, I was …

Will telemedicine make us better diagnosticians? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 23, 2020

“Sitting in front of my laptop with both of us on the screen, I can maintain decent eye contact even if I look something up or type something into the medical record. The patient sees me as paying more attention than when I couldn’t effectively both maintain eye contact and look at the screen while talking to him or her (because …

What the police and psychiatrists have in common

Sara K. Zachman, MD, MPH

Policy

June 23, 2020

“Give ‘em out like candy,” advised a senior resident while handing me a stack of small flyers. The text outlined a list of services provided by a nearby community resource center for help with things like housing, food, education, employment, and legal issues. I never thought this quarter page of paper would prove so critical throughout my time working as a psychiatry resident in our county clinic.

IMGs are abandoned during COVID

Dr. Michelle Warncke and Dr. Wahab Khan

Education

June 23, 2020

The Match is a stressful time during any physician’s life. Applicants study for, arrange for, and lose sleep over their USMLE steps, their letters of recommendation, and their personal statements. The matching process is particularly difficult during a global pandemic.

As COVID-19 spread in March 2020, all USMLE testing was suspended. Applicants were reassured that tests would either be rescheduled, or that an alternative testing format would be proposed. The National …

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IMGs are abandoned during COVID

Physician finance tips in the year 2020 [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 22, 2020

Physicians are finding out that their jobs aren’t as secure as they thought. Many have taken salary acts, are furloughed, or worse, laid off completely. It comes as a financial shock to many doctors. In this episode, gastroenterologist and certified financial coach Brent Lacey shares his tips and advice on how physicians can navigate these uncertain financial times.

A young mother’s medical school journey

Choryon Park

Education

June 22, 2020

I was 19 years old when I became pregnant. Pregnancy and birth, at such a young age, was both the happiest and the scariest thing to have happened to me.

My dream of becoming a doctor began when I was in middle school, from a seemingly mundane moment that suddenly and unexpectedly changed the course of my life. It stemmed from a tennis injury, a broken leg, and a visit to …

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A young mother’s medical school journey

The cancel culture and the erasure of less just times and imperfect people

Andrew Pickens, MD, JD, MBA

Policy

June 22, 2020

Two years ago, my wife and I spent our 20th wedding anniversary in Charleston, SC, a city steeped in national history, both good and bad. Nothing could be more iconic of good history than Fort Sumter, and nothing more iconic of bad history than the Old Slave Market on Chalmers Street. We learned a great deal about how our country grappled with its shortcomings. The Great American Experiment, through blood …

10 telemedicine billing questions and answers that are relevant right now

Clint Phillips

Heroism and a global health COVID perspective [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 21, 2020

“We desperately want to be part of it. For most of us, this pandemic has tapped at a foundational, altruistic urge to do our part. Our friends and loved ones are on the frontlines, their faces creased by masks worn all day, their eyes bloodshot, their foreheads grooved by too-tight goggles. Our friends and loved ones risk their lives while we …

Proactive care is the linchpin for saving America’s health care system

Ronald A. Paulus, MD, MBA

Policy

June 21, 2020

Even before the pandemic, the U.S. health care system needed a significant overhaul. For too long, we have operated in a reactive mode, prioritizing treating illness over ensuring health and wellness. In the post-COVID-19 era, stakes are even higher. Our health care system faces an unprecedented demand surge from millions who put their own care on hold over the past several months. How we approach this impending surge will determine …

How the pandemic is affecting the residents [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 21, 2020

“When the director of my general surgery program asked for a report on how the pandemic was affecting the residents, I queried my colleagues, promising anonymity to encourage candor. I received a wide variety of responses and reactions. Some are thriving; others are not.

In the end, I cannot decide if things are going well or not. That may be because everything …

Coping with fear as a physician [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 20, 2020

“Few physicians feel properly prepared to face the fear caused by this pandemic. I certainly did not. However, we continue to show up every day for our colleagues and our patients. We continue to focus on our jobs and the things that we can do to help. Let’s not forget to find moments throughout the day to recognize that we are …

Breaking bad news to patients when they are alone [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 19, 2020

“Today, we got called on a patient in the ICU who recently had a new brain mass removed surgically. The specimen came back positive for an aggressive brain tumor known as glioblastoma multiforme. We discussed his diagnosis and prognosis with him at bedside alone, with his wife and daughter on speakerphone given visitor restrictions due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately, this …

Technological change and mental health: How will the workforce of the future cope with the fourth industrial revolution?

Samoon Ahmad, MD

Conditions

June 19, 2020

Work is a necessary part of life. More than simply a means to a paycheck, work gives individuals a sense of dignity and accomplishment. Feeling as though one is participating in meaningful work, whether it is contributing to a massive project or an individual artistic pursuit, allows one to feel as though they have a purpose.

While this urge to create or work appears to be a universal human trait, the …