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COVID-19 from the New York City frontlines [PODCAST]

Podcast

June 1, 2020

“As a physician anesthesiologist who has previously been on assignment for Doctors Without Borders in a resource-depleted region fraught with conflict, I’d like to say there’s little I haven’t seen. But now, after four weeks of staffing COVID intensive care units and emergency response teams throughout New York City, I struggle to distinguish between the exhaustion of a distant war-zone and …

I transitioned to a non-clinical career. What did that mean?

Michelle Mudge-Riley, DO

Physician

May 31, 2020

Career transition is talked about a whole lot more these days than it was in 2004. Maybe I just notice it more now. Back then, I felt like I was the only one doing it. You know how it is when you are going through something difficult, and you feel utterly alone and unsure about what you’re going to do tomorrow? That was me, only I also felt like a …

The social worker and a patient’s homicidal thoughts

Raymond Abbott

Conditions

May 31, 2020

“Howard wants to go to the hospital. He knows he isn’t doing that great. He says he is having homicidal thoughts.” This from my supervisor, Linda.

Homicidal thoughts on the part of any client get our attention, especially so with Howard, because years before, he killed a man with a gun. I believe it was in a fight.

“He wants you to take him to the hospital, Ray.”

“Sure,” I say. “You think …

Why is it hard to find a good dermatologist in a competitive market?

Dina D. Strachan, MD

Physician

May 30, 2020

We’ve all heard the phrase, “survival of the fittest.” It suggests that in the competitive, “free market” world, it is the “best” who survives and it’s “the cream” that rises to the top. But is that true for doctors? Do patients get better care when competition rules the health care marketplace?

A few years ago, a doctor from a large primary care group contacted me to give a talk to the …

Nurses deserve all the respect doctors and patients can muster

John Bishop, MD

Physician

May 30, 2020

Every year, National Nurses Day is celebrated on May 6 to raise awareness of the role nurses play in society. The date also marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. In addition to the annual celebration, the World Health Organization has smartly declared 2020 the “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife,” in recognition of their …

30 podcasts in 30 days: Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 29, 2020

The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system, but are rarely heard from.

We give a voice to those in health care who may not be famous or have a big name. …

George Floyd: Framing police brutality through the lens of an emergent public health crisis

Jay Wong

Policy

May 29, 2020

Those who knew George remembered him as “a big man with a heart to match” and a “good friend,” “good person,” and someone who “took care of people.”

Tragically, George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020.

You may have already seen the heartstrings-shredding video showing his excruciatingly slow and torturously savage homicide. As George struggled in his final moments to simply breathe while begging for his life, and onlookers recording the …

The new words from the coronavirus pandemic

Susan MacLellan-Tobert, MD

Conditions

May 28, 2020

With any new illness comes metaphor. It is humanity’s attempt to incorporate the mystery of disease into our own stories. We like to personify illness, give it human characteristics as a way of visualizing it. We name its actions to help lessen its unpredictability. Tuberculosis consumed. Syphilis punished. AIDS invaded. Cancer grows. COVID-19 quarantines separate and spread fear.

How long does it take for a disease or illness to become a …

Mobilizing medicine: a breathtaking solution to asthma disparities

Gabriel Esmailian, Justin Ong, Sangrag Ganguli, Subhash Gutti, and Varun Mehta

Policy

May 28, 2020

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the U.S., with a prevalence of 15.2 percent. The condition is manageable when treatment is appropriately prescribed, adjusted, and accessed by the patient. However, uncontrolled asthma can impair various facets of life and may even be fatal. This dichotomy is noteworthy, especially when considering how strongly asthma outcomes correlate with other elements of an individual’s social …

Ventilator rationing is guided by rules that could worsen health inequities

Vishal S. Arora, MD

Conditions

May 28, 2020

Imagine there are two individuals who have been admitted to a hospital due to COVID-19, and both desperately need ventilators. One is a 60-year-old with a heart condition, and another is a 63-year-old with chronic kidney disease. Because of resource constraints, you have to decide which patient will be able to receive a ventilator. Both patients’ families are looking to you to help their loved one through this illness. With …

The truth about research: Lessons learned by an aspiring physician-researcher

Sara-Jane Onyeama, MD

Physician

May 27, 2020

Many people looking in on the world of research have perceptions of brilliant minds at work, rapidly putting forth groundbreaking ideas. While they’re not entirely wrong, I discovered that this arena of fascinating new discoveries is not always so rapid and not glamorous at all.

As a clinical trials research associate, I learned that research is hard. I found that testing and implementing theories and postulations takes time and dedication. I …

5 reasons why your anesthesiologist is a medical ninja

Stephen Freiberg, MD

Physician

May 27, 2020

1. Anesthesiologists are your protector

Think about this: An anesthesiologist’s job is to protect you from the harm your surgeon is causing. Seriously. A surgeon’s job, at its very essence, is to damage your body. Now undeniably, it is with the intention of causing greater good and/or fixing something that is already broken. But in order for a surgeon to help a patient, they take a knife, saw, drill, or hammer, …

New York City provides residency training like no other

Sarang S. Koushik, MD

Physician

May 27, 2020

As a fourth-year anesthesiology resident, I opened up my email eagerly, awaiting the results of the pain fellowship match. It was official; I was heading to a major academic program in New York City. First came excitement and relief immediately followed by a rush of all-encompassing fear. I had grown up in Arizona my entire life, and the idea of living and training in New York City was daunting, to …

Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 25, 2020

I’m excited to announce The Podcast by KevinMD.

There are many physician podcasts out there, and I was hesitant to throw my hat into the podcasting ring. After all, there are many physician-interviewers better at the craft than I am.

Then I thought back to the mission of KevinMD: To share the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system, …

Read more…

Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD

How working as a flight attendant made me a better physician

Alexie Puran, MD

Physician

May 25, 2020

June 2020 will mark 15 years of my departure from flying the friendly skies. I have had the privilege of working as a flight attendant for JetBlue Airways from 2001 to 2005. Today, I am proudly grounded as a physician specializing in pediatric emergency medicine.

Gratitude is a positive mindset where you see your life and experiences as a gift. Practicing gratitude is a powerful way to reduce stress and build …

Physicians with nonclinical careers can do as much good for humanity as those with purely clinical careers

Sylvie Stacy, MD, MPH

Physician

May 25, 2020

An excerpt from 50 Nonclinical Careers for Physicians: Fulfilling, Meaningful, and Lucrative Alternatives to Direct Patient Care.

Our profession, as physicians, is medicine. This holds true regardless of career path or job title.

The knowledge earned through medical training is ours to keep. Barring …

A physician wedding in the age of COVID

Toby Terwilliger, MD

Physician

May 23, 2020

April 2020 was to be a month of personal milestones. I would be traveling to Mexico with sixty closest friends and family to marry the woman of my dreams. Twelve days later, I would celebrate my thirtieth birthday. Suffice it to say, I was looking forward to April with the excited anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve.

But that was before COVID. Before all eyes were focused on the novel …

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A physician wedding in the age of COVID

Cause unknown: the burden of diagnosis

Lala Tanmoy Das

Conditions

May 22, 2020

Around three weeks ago, my 72-year-old patient, Mr. J., woke up feeling severely short of breath. He felt unusually tired, noticed a dry cough, and felt achy in his arms and legs. Suspicious of COVID-19, he and his wife called an ambulance and went to the nearest New York City emergency room.

At first, the doctors too thought it was COVID-19. However, a chest X-ray, CT scan, and a series of …

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Cause unknown: the burden of diagnosis

Charting in uncharted territory: Scribing during COVID-19

Gazal Homayouni

Conditions

May 21, 2020

On Friday, March 27, 2020, California went on lockdown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It changed every Californian’s life, including my own. As the newly appointed chief scribe, the possibility that I would be jobless by the time Monday rolled around, was the last of my worries. What would happen to the patients who depended on our care? Or the physicians, nurses, and administrators that kept the center …

Words of encouragement to physicians and trainees during the pandemic

Candice Williams, MD

Physician

May 21, 2020

As a fellow physician colleague, I felt compelled to address what medical personnel is experiencing in the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, we’ve never been here before, and I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the gravity of the situation, its effects on trainees and attending physicians across the globe. While this is not a discussion about the virus, I urge you to please follow credible sources of information, …

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