2 tales of physician assistant burnout

Conditions
September 3, 2020

For the first 12 years as a physician assistant, I thought provider burnout only happened to wusses, those better suited to working in health insurance or doctoring at a summer camp.  Sure, I felt overwhelmed at times, but I planned to soldier on in clinical practice, happily serving my patients until retirement.

That was before.   Before dreading Sunday nights, feeling heaviness in my gut, a tightness in my neck, and bouts …

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2 tales of physician assistant burnout

The transition from resident to attending: Setting the stage for your new life and career

Physician
September 3, 2020

You’re finally at the point in your career that you’ve been waiting for! Training has been strenuous, and you have spent many years of your life readying yourself professionally for this moment. It is now time for you to transition from a resident to an attending physician.

At this time, you may be tempted to jump right in and start working.  I recommend taking a little time off for yourself first. …

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The transition from resident to attending: Setting the stage for your new life and career

An infectious disease physician says: Wear a F-ing mask [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 2, 2020
YouTube video

“In honor of one of the great classic novels, Go the F**k to Sleep, I would like to present to you my literary work: Stay the F@$k at Home.

To the healthy 20 year old who asks, “Why should I stay the F@$k at home, COVID-19 is not going to kill me?”

I ask: Do you want to kill your nana and grand-pops?

No?

Then …

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An infectious disease physician says: Wear a F-ing mask [PODCAST]

The hospital CEO who made a surgical incision. What happened?

Physician
September 2, 2020

Recently on Twitter, I asked this question above.

The 130 (2.5 percent) of 5,213 respondents who said they would allow a CEO to make a skin incision highlight the unscientific nature of Twitter polls. Restricting voting to surgeons only is not possible. Many people asked me why I asked the question because surely no surgeon would ever have allowed it. Here is …

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The hospital CEO who made a surgical incision. What happened?

Virtual care needs to be designed for equitable usage and accessibility [PODCAST]

Podcast
September 1, 2020
YouTube video

“Although technology and disruptive innovation theoretically diminish systemic barriers and geographic isolation, in practice, they frequently widen chasms in access for vulnerable populations. The reality is telemedicine disproportionately caters to younger, wealthier, and more educated patients.

Hospital systems need to ensure every patient has access to remote health care services, whether through offering landline phone visits, examining pitfalls in digital skill requirements, …

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Virtual care needs to be designed for equitable usage and accessibility [PODCAST]

Hassle-free real estate investing for busy doctors

Finance
September 1, 2020

A few short years ago, I started to worry about my family’s financial future while vacationing. During our annual ski trip, I took a nasty fall, landing on my wrist. The pain in my arm made me take notice of just how fragile our financial situation was.

As a self-employed periodontist, I asked myself:

  • What if I was injured while playing sports with my kids?
  • What if I became permanently disabled?

If …

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Hassle-free real estate investing for busy doctors

A letter to my first patient

Education
September 1, 2020

It was only my first week in the hospital as a third-year medical student when we met. I entered your room early Tuesday morning. Only knowing your chief concern, I knocked on your door and entered the room. You didn’t complain when I awakened you. You didn’t complain when I asked many questions about a story you had already relayed multiple times to others. You didn’t complain when …

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A letter to my first patient

Making a career change for better work-life balance [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 31, 2020
YouTube video

“Is it possible to have it all?  Can you have a job that you love, helping people and using your brain and hands all at the same time; plus, a family, with a spouse and children, that you are always there for?  Is it possible to have a balance between your work and your family live while working as a medical …

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Making a career change for better work-life balance [PODCAST]

Estate planning and personal finance tips for physicians [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 30, 2020
YouTube video

“With COVID-19 raging through the nation, and limited supply of PPE at hospitals, doctors and other critical care personnel are at high risk due to their increased and daily exposure to the virus. For health care workers, the need to plan for a possible worst-case outcome for themselves and their families has become an immediate concern. Doctors are spending limited weekend …

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Estate planning and personal finance tips for physicians [PODCAST]

An ode to hospital cafeterias

Physician
August 30, 2020

I have been nourished by cafeteria food since elementary school. I remember the public school pizza squares with its melted artificial cheese, the fruit cocktail drenched in sickeningly sweet syrup, and 2 percent chocolate milk pints—costing $1.65 per meal. In college, I enjoyed access to a wider selection, including $6.50 custom omelets and midnight mozzarella sticks to fuel late-night study sessions. However, nothing came close to the quality and …

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An ode to hospital cafeterias

I am tired. But I still love emergency medicine.

Physician
August 30, 2020

I love being an emergency doctor. I loved my residency, my co-residents, and my attendings.

I love my training: watching, learning, treating.

I love the emergency department, the vastness, and the variability of emergency medicine.

But I am tired.

I am tired of feeling like a workhorse, a production line made to just churn patients in and out.

I am tired of being told that my worth as a doctor is based on my time …

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I am tired. But I still love emergency medicine.

How to help families struggling to find their way in a foreign culture [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 29, 2020
YouTube video

“We are blessed to work in a clinic that has a very large immigrant population. Over the years, we have cared for those who speak over 80+ languages with an even higher number of unique countries and regions represented. Arabic and Spanish are our two most commonly spoken non-English languages. We also have patients who speak unique languages such as Kurdish, …

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How to help families struggling to find their way in a foreign culture [PODCAST]

Why is the government so scared of directly negotiating drug prices?

Meds
August 29, 2020

President Trump recently signed two executive orders directly related to prescription drug prices in the U.S.

One order would allow the “reimportation” of prescription drugs from Canada. This longstanding idea would allow U.S. pharmacies and drug wholesalers the ability to pay generally much lower prices for their prescription drugs by getting them from Canadian suppliers who benefit from government management of the system. Many consumers have been buying direct from Canadian …

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Why is the government so scared of directly negotiating drug prices?

The impact of COVID-19 on human kindness

Physician
August 29, 2020

Human kindness is a trait that, though inherent within our genetic make-up, can also be a learned behavior.

The absence of human kindness is blatantly visible to others when a lack of compassion and/or empathy permeates within an interaction with another human being.

As our daily life responsibilities continue at a steady state: mundane things such as paying bills, holding down a job and successfully interacting with co-workers, our ability to respond …

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The impact of COVID-19 on human kindness

AI-powered, digital voice assistants in the exam room [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 28, 2020
YouTube video

“Building great tech for doctors is no different from ventilator technology. In some scenarios, you will want to talk to the EMR like you talk to Siri, rather than poring over a screen littered with boxes and lists. In other cases, you will want elegant graphs intuitively laid out to show how your ICU patient is progressing. Other solutions will go …

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AI-powered, digital voice assistants in the exam room [PODCAST]

How to be a transformational, supportive leader during COVID-19

Conditions
August 28, 2020

The behavior of managers and supervisors in organizations affects the mental health of their employees. This is especially true during times of uncertainty, such as a global pandemic.

Does a leader’s health and well-being change how they lead?

Early evidence shows that when leaders are experiencing challenging conditions, they are more likely to become resource depleted and exhibit negative behaviors, such as passive leadership or abusive …

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How to be a transformational, supportive leader during COVID-19

How COVID-19 impacts rural America [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 27, 2020
YouTube video

“We all knew this pandemic was going to change how we practiced medicine, but I, personally, was not prepared for how much it would challenge the ‘work-life balance’ that I have spent years carefully maneuvering. Female physicians are often hesitant to express individual needs for fear of being viewed as “weak.” I’m finding freedom in removing the stigma of weakness and …

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How COVID-19 impacts rural America [PODCAST]

Physician personal development and growth [PODCAST]

Podcast
August 26, 2020
YouTube video

“COVID-19 has given all of us the opportunity to live in extremely challenging times. We can choose to run away from this challenge or decide to acknowledge it as part of our journey to grow and transform. So, will you face your habitual reactions, biases, and unpleasant emotions and turn these COVID-19 related challenges into opportunities for personal development and growth?

It’s …

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Physician personal development and growth [PODCAST]

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