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Declaring racism as a public health crisis from the lens of two Latinx student doctors

Policy

July 15, 2020

“I often heard as a child that Mexicans were lazy and dirty. As a Mexican-American, I did not wear shorts for years despite the heat because I thought my knees looked dirty. Now I fully embrace my identity. However, as a medical student, I still feel the pressure to disprove these stereotypes.”
– Camila Hurtado

“Growing up in the barrio, my white classmates would tease and bully the brown Latino kids constantly. …

COVID-19 is the symptom. Chronic oppressive job conditions are the disease.

Andres Barkil-Oteo, MD and Eden Almasude, MD

Physician

July 15, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the dysfunction of our health care systems, from dramatic racial disparities in mortality rates to the abuses of health care workers. As a health care staff working on inpatient floors during the pandemic, the medical system’s inequities have never been more clear — and they hurt the safety of both patients and health care workers.

A few years …

Real estate investing for physicians [PODCAST]

Cherry Chen, MD

Podcast

July 14, 2020

“Many physicians are looking for alternative sources of income and are looking for ways to diversify their investment portfolio from the volatility of the stock market. Some have heard of real estate syndications, but what exactly is a syndication? For those who have not heard of it, real estate syndications can be an attractive investment vehicle for busy professionals who do …

Uninsured medical students are at risk

Zannah Herridge-Meyer, Melanie Langa, and Kelly Stewart

Policy

July 14, 2020

During clinical training, medical students worry about caring for patients, learning how to do procedures, memorizing drug interactions, and documenting their work in the electronic medical record —they shouldn’t be worried about paying medical bills at the same time. Shortages of personal protective equipment and the subsequent dangers of working in health care permeate the news and threaten our ability to overcome the COVID pandemic. However, there is another often-neglected …

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Uninsured medical students are at risk

A medical educator shares his love for medicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 13, 2020

“Each patient I have seen over these four decades has made me a better doctor. Books do not impact long term memory the way a real patient can. I once heard the chair of medicine at a teaching hospital say that the worst thing about being on call every other night as an intern is missing half the patients. I now …

Living with extended family? Try these tips for better mental health.

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

July 13, 2020

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the structure of many people’s households has changed dramatically. Young adults who were away at college had to return home when schools closed, and many will still be at home this fall as schools continue to limit on-campus classes. Some people chose to move in with family after job loss strained their finances. And some families chose to temporarily move older relatives out …

The uncertainty of an international medical graduate during the COVID-19 pandemic

Juan J. Delgado-Hurtado, MD, MPH

Policy

July 13, 2020

A quarter of the physician workforce in the United States consists of international medical graduates (IMGs). This year 4,222 non-U.S. citizens matched in first-year residency positions. I am an IMG from Guatemala, where I completed medical school. In March of 2014, I matched to an internal medicine residency in the United States. The road has been both satisfying and challenging, with all kinds of uncertainties. I have always been attracted to …

A psychiatrist explores the mental health of physicians [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 12, 2020

“We know that the past two months haven’t been easy. We know about the sleepless nights, anger, tears, depression, and anxiety. We know all of this because we know what trauma does to a person, and you are in the middle of experiencing a repeated trauma. The trauma of watching patients die in ways you’ve never seen, the trauma of watching …

Immigrant physicians: Acknowledge our privilege and move to action

Toyin M. Falusi, MD

Policy

July 12, 2020

Born in the United States of America to Nigerian parents, I was raised in Nigeria and returned to the U.S. after medical school for residency training. I have practiced medicine in Chicago, IL for 25 years, and like many others, have had to deal with microaggressions and racism within and outside the workplace. However, this article is not aheabout outlining my personal experiences. This is a call to action to …

A few intense hours with a cardiothoracic surgeon

Tomi Obafemi, MD

Physician

July 12, 2020

The warm rays of the sun serenade me as I drive to work eager to begin another shift. I find a parking spot on the first floor of the garage don my N95 mask and walk towards the hospital. First, I must stop by at the neighboring building and have my temperature checked. Today it is 97.3. I am awarded the sticker for the day; my boarding pass into the …

Strategies to foster meaningful connection during telemedicine visits [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 11, 2020

“The COVID-19 pandemic has upended health care, with telemedicine emerging as a strategy to reduce risk exposures for patients and clinicians. Video visits, in particular, can be effective for many types of clinical care and offer convenience and savings for patients. As care shifts to this virtual modality, however, there is a risk of jeopardizing the meaningful human interaction that is …

Why it’s so important to look at the big picture

Joy Hallmark, MD

Physician

July 11, 2020

One of the last things my dad said to me before he passed was, “remember to always look at the big picture.” He said this many times throughout my childhood and teenage years, but it never quite resonated until I was thinking about it in retrospect.

As I near the end of my intern year, my dad’s words hold true. As an emergency medicine resident, I am often running on adrenaline. …

What we can learn from a palliative care chaplain [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 10, 2020

“Faced with the prospect of not being able to provide all COVID-19 patients with the life support that they may need, physicians and nurses are working in conditions that have been described as ‘hell.’

How are providers to cope with the trauma they are experiencing in New York and Italy, and presumably other nations as well? How are they to cope with …

3 reasons why doctors don’t unionize

Baird Brightman, PhD

Policy

July 10, 2020

In a market economy, business leaders take every opportunity to shrink the cost line of labor on the balance sheet to boost profits and shareholder/investor value. It’s the metric on which they are evaluated, and left unopposed; they will do it more and more.

The core strategy for shrinking labor costs (along with automation and offshoring) is to drive increased “efficiencies” by demanding more and more work from the same number …

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3 reasons why doctors don’t unionize

10 reasons why divorce is hard for doctors and 5 tips to make it easier

Toyin M. Falusi, MD

Physician

July 10, 2020

No matter who pulls the plug, divorce sucks.

It does get better, and eventually, you get to a new normal — but the process sucks. I know this because our two-physician marriage ended 15 years ago when our daughters were six and seven years old.

Divorce can be especially hard on physicians, and during these COVID times, additional challenges have surfaced for many divorced physicians. Some on the frontlines have been unable …

Why COVID-19 is a threat to hospital medicine

Hemal Sampat, MD

Physician

July 10, 2020

As hospitals everywhere have been using every health care provider available to them in response to COVID-19, the specialty of hospital medicine has shown itself to be uniquely suited for coordinating the effort, to be the front of the frontline responders. I suspect that many people don’t understand what “hospital medicine” is, even though it’s larger than almost any other …

The physician who treats depressed, anxious, and suicidal teens [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

July 9, 2020

“After almost 30 years in this profession, I have come to the conclusion that there is some truth to that, as no day or week passes that I do not have a depressed, anxious or suicidal teen on my ‘to see list.’ Could it be my own personal history of depression and suicidal ideation? Could it be my own history of …

I always hope that a sense of humanity will supersede the status quo

Erica Jaclyn Mark

Policy

July 9, 2020

I look out at the world through bright blue eyes. Blonde hair. A skinny but shapely 19-year-old’s body. I know six languages. I am educated. I can prescribe medicine that saves lives. I am in love. I am a person.

I look down at the tattoo on my arm. A number— like cattle. My family is gone. My home destroyed. I am living in a small room— …

Don’t be afraid to say “Black” when asking about someone’s culture

Arindam Sarkar, MD

Physician

July 9, 2020

On the morning of George Floyd’s funeral less than ten miles from our medical center in Houston, I was avoiding the word “Black.” Despite wholehearted pride in the strong Black presence in our community health center’s physicians, staff, and patients, I felt a loss of words that Tuesday morning. There was simply too much pain, grief, and rage in our community.

I was thankful …