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Why creative endeavors are important for the future surgeon

Education

February 27, 2021

As an aspiring surgeon, I at times contemplate whether being creative has any effect on my future career. On one hand, if you see surgery as an “art,” then possibly a creative personality is beneficial. On the other hand, surgery often seems objective and clear-cut, qualities often deemed uncreative. Perhaps even my goals of surgery and my interests in artistic creation are independent, noncommunicating personality features that are unrelated and …

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Chadwick Boseman: a tale of two cancers in America [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 26, 2021

“Separated by less than a month (Boseman on August 28th and Ginsburg on September 18th) and both due to gastrointestinal cancers (Boseman had colon cancer and Ginsburg had pancreatic cancer), the situations of Ginsburg’s and Boseman’s deaths is emblematic of the racial disparity in American health outcomes. Boseman was African American/Black and …

The USMLE Step 1 score reporting change looks bad. Here’s what it gets right.

Bethany M. Erb

Education

February 26, 2021

Social media platforms lit up when sponsors of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) announced Step 1 score reporting will change from 3-digit numerical scores to pass/fail by January 1, 2022. First-year Harvard Medical School student LaShyra Nolen tweeted, “this could reinforce the hierarchy among med schools,” arguing the score change could encourage residency admission directors to favor applicants from prestigious medical …

The trap of Black excellence in medical education

Helio Neves da Silva

Policy

February 26, 2021

“To become successful, you need to be excellent and likable,” said a local Black physician giving advice to young underrepresented students facing the usual challenges of medical school.

“Black excellence is the only way forward. The system and the institutions are racist, but we just need to work extra hard. If we do, we will get what we deserve,” said another prominent African-American doctor trying to inspire graduating Black physicians.

Both of …

How books influence the medical student experience [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 24, 2021

“I will never forget these words. This physician validated my efforts to emotionally connect with patients. This message will indelibly shape the way I allow myself to care for and become invested in the patients to come in my future. Illness is often incredibly unfair, and sometimes we cannot overcome. However unbeatable …

6 ways to build trust with communities of color when distributing the COVID-19 vaccine

Susan Lopez, MD

Conditions

February 24, 2021

As a Latina physician on the frontlines of COVID-19, it feels like a race against time to get as many vaccines as possible to the communities of color that are more likely to be infected, hospitalized, and die from the virus. A lot of effort right now is focused on the logistics of managing vaccines that need to be manufactured, stored, allocated, …

This physician misses seeing his patients

Anthony Fleg, MD

Physician

February 24, 2021

As I finished the endless clicking, the clinic day came to a close.

Clicking to begin and end phone visits.

Clicking to get on and off Zoom visits.

The endless video game clicking that is life as a physician documenting electronic health records. Too bad I have never been a gamer; maybe some who are can imagine amidst all of this they are in a scene from a Nintendo or Playstation classic.

Clicking boxes …

What happens to your child’s brain when you nag

Marc Arginteanu, MD

Conditions

February 24, 2021

Part of your job as a parent is to teach your children, and there’s no way for a child to learn anything without making a few mistakes. Actually, a lot of mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes can be infuriating. They might be self-destructive mistakes. They might be mistakes that can cause harm to their siblings or classmates. They might be mistakes that happen over and over again. They might …

A panic attack brought on by the stress of medical school

Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD

Education

February 24, 2021

An excerpt from Cured: A Doctor’s Journey from Panic to Peace.

Dead bodies surrounded me. They lay on their backs, supine in medical terminology. I imagined some staring at the white plastic sheets that covered them completely, others glaring at their closed eyelids. Their smell, a mixture of formaldehyde and …

Letizia Alto, MD on why to become a semi-retired MD [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 23, 2021

“Something had to give, and it would either be clinical medicine, or my business. I finally had to admit I was no longer fulfilled to the same level doing hospitalist work.

So I made the decision to leave my clinical job.

It was so terrifying that I put off making a decision for …

3 steps for physicians to shift from stuck to unstoppable

Stephanie Wellington, MD

Physician

February 23, 2021

Every physician has had the experience. The moment you ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

It could be when you look into the waiting room where there are more patients to be seen and know if you take a break, it will set you back even further.

It could be on the final stretch of the 24-hour shift that redefined the meaning of the word “nonstop.”

It could be the third time …

Overcome COVID vaccine hesitancy and boost vaccine confidence: How you can help

Emily O’Brien, PhD and Jessica Mega, MD, MPH & The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 22, 2021

This article is sponsored by HERO-TOGETHER, a paid, prospective, observational study of 20,000 adult U.S. health care workers who received a COVID-19 vaccine within the past 60 days.

With over 27 million cases and 470,000 deaths reported to the …

An open letter to the medical community at large regarding the termination of Dr. Princess Dennar

Sacharitha Bowers, MD, Eve Bloomgarden, MD, Regina Royan, MD, MPH, Angela Weyand, MD, and Shikha Jain, MD

Physician

February 22, 2021

Deeply entrenched racism, rooted in the foundation of white supremacy, has had a stronghold in medicine for hundreds of years. Its legacy of harm against Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, particularly its atrocities against Black Americans, is undeniable. Yet significant change eludes us. For decades, these communities have borne the disproportionate burden of public health short-comings from police brutality, gun violence, infant and maternal mortality, and …

Maybe we’re not all hanging in there. And that’s OK.

Luyi Kathy Zhang, MD

Physician

February 22, 2021

Long ago, in the BC (before COVID) era, I would chat up a local in a foreign country. Their usual response upon learning I was from the U.S. would be to seek clarification on aspects of American culture found most peculiar. There were your usual suspects — the Electoral College, imperial versus metric systems, and why we’re obsessed with the Kardashians — but the most common question was about our …

How technology is a weapon in the fight against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 21, 2021

“As the COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the globe, companies are working hard to develop innovative solutions to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese companies such as Alibaba have led the way using artificial intelligence, data science, and technology. Startups are teaming up with clinicians, engineers, and government entities to reduce …

Everything physicians need to know about Bitcoin [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 20, 2021

“It is still extremely early in the Bitcoin story. This is due to the same network effect that Facebook, Amazon, and Apple have had as adoption of new technologies rapidly expand and are adopted by society. Bitcoin has passed its ‘tipping point.’ Converting some of your money to Bitcoin now is …

How the pain of unexpected and tragic deaths lingers with physicians [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 20, 2021

“The memory of these patients, and their families’ utter anguish, stays with me. There was nothing I could have done to save them, nothing I did wrong. I’ve lost sleep, questioned my career choice, and sought mental health counseling to manage the stress of their loss. But the pain of their unexpected …

Jealousy and missed opportunities in medicine

Anonymous

Education

February 20, 2021

“Julie” began the telehealth encounter in her car, greeting me with a cheerful smile. The sun glimmered through the driver-side window, illuminating the water spots to sparkle like diamonds.

“How are you doing with your suboxone dose? Do you feel that you need to go up, or are you happy with your current dose?” I asked.

“Everything is going great,” she said. “I feel no cravings – only some constipation. Otherwise, everything …

What’s in your grief toolkit?

Debra A. Shute

Conditions

February 20, 2021

Loss is incurable, but grief is metamorphic. The end of another human life is a fluid experience for those left behind. For most of us, grief legitimizes the range of human emotion and, at least temporarily, erases the idea of being too sensitive.

There are many ways in which this paradigm is unequal, particularly for individuals who frequently confront death. It seems that when a challenge moves into the …

Read more…

What’s in your grief toolkit?

The pandemic exposes critical gaps in Canada’s health workforce planning

Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, PhD

Policy

February 20, 2021

Health workers in Canada experience endemic levels of burnout directly related to understaffing and work overload. Leaves of absence from work for mental health and stress-related issues are 1.5 times higher among health workers than the rest of the population. Increasingly, health workers are significantly reducing their hours worked to cope or leaving their jobs altogether.

That was before the pandemic. With COVID-19, we are witnessing levels of stress, overload, and burnout …