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Transition recommendations for the reporting of USMLE Step 1 scores as pass/fail

Education

June 15, 2020

On February 12, 2020, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) announced that, “the USMLE program will change score reporting for Step 1 from a three-digit numeric score to reporting only a pass/fail outcome” as early as January 1, 2022. This change will have a major impact on medical education. USMLE has not announced a complete plan for the transition to pass/fail score reporting. USMLE’s careful …

Giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic: an obstetric anesthesiologist’s perspective [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 14, 2020

Thank you for listening to the podcast. There were some audio difficulties, which I hope you can overlook. It certainly does not take away from Dr. Sheikh’s message and her wonderful interview.

“‘It’s a strange time to be having a baby,’ my patient said as she sat alone in her labor room. The state order to shelter-in-place in California had left her …

How medical education fails minority students

Shenyece Ferguson

Education

June 14, 2020

“You have to work twice as hard to get half as far.”

As a black woman, this sentiment has haunted me for my entire life. Minority individuals are consistently forced to go above and beyond to prove themselves, regardless of the setting. Unfortunately, medical education is no different. Black and Hispanic students, often referred to as underrepresented minority (URM) students, consistently face racial bias, which places them at a disadvantage to …

It’s time to flip the medical school classroom [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 13, 2020

“As a nearly graduated medical student, I have come to the conclusion that the focus of medical school is split between training and distinguishing medical students. Modern pedagogy has not found its way into the modern medical school classroom. Preclinical students spend mounds of time on impossible tasks, like memorizing First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, without learning concrete skills …

Coronavirus through a storytelling lens [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 13, 2020

“Come with me on this journey, this very ancient journey.

To experience the age-old story of a very modern foe. This foe is invisible; it is neither living nor dead. You cannot smell it, and you cannot taste it. While it is not alive, it can become alive, with a flick of the right kind of switch. While it is not dead, …

Immigrant and minority physicians at the frontline of pandemics [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 12, 2020

“It is no secret that we started off combating COVID-19 with disadvantages. Lately, news is rampant with coverage of the paucity of ventilators, hospital beds, and N95 masks. But it is important not to forget the deficits in our workforce. Last year, the American Medical Association estimated that our nation faces a projected shortage of up to 122,000 doctors in the …

Ethical dilemmas in the pandemic era [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 11, 2020

“The donation of hydroxychloroquine, in contrast to the accompanying donation of 1,000 ventilators, is unethical as either humanitarian aid or as a ‘research study.’ The United States has a moral responsibility for any human harm that results. We cannot simply send medications off to potentially vulnerable populations without regard for the lives that could be negatively affected. It is not enough …

We need improved mental health care for physicians

Jason Bowman, MD and Adaira Landry, MD

Conditions

June 11, 2020

In 2014, an emergency medicine resident opened a personal email and was shocked to see it briefly mention the death of another resident physician from a different training program. Unofficial group chats ensued amongst her co-residents, discussing the vague email. Suspicion arose that the resident has died of suicide. His particular death was never addressed outright in a formal or public manner at the hospital, department, or residency level. All …

It’s time for a comprehensive universal health care system in America

Sagar Chapagain, MD

Policy

June 11, 2020

When it comes to health care, this election cycle has been different than previous ones. Either it is Medicare for all or public option in the ACA, democratic candidates have shown support for some version of universal health care. As the health care costs, including prescription drug prices, keep rising, many Americans have started to advocate for universal health care coverage. At the same time, others still believe in the …

Why this anesthesiologist has a problem with monitored anesthesia care (MAC)

Stephen Freiberg, MD

Conditions

June 11, 2020

I have a major issue with MAC.

To be more specific, I have a major issue with how we communicate the concept of MAC to our patients, anesthesia care team members, and proceduralist colleagues.

MAC stands for “monitored anesthesia care,” and we tend to throw it around and use it interchangeably with a lot of other terms:

Sedation
Procedural sedation
Conscious sedation
Twilight anesthesia
Light anesthesia

The fact is, these entities are not …

How doctors can navigate the financial crisis [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 10, 2020

“Out of the blue, a new virus popped up, and ten weeks later, it is a pandemic. Within the last ten weeks, doctors have identified this new disease, figured out how it is transmitted, identified what body fluid we need to test to determine who has contracted the disease, developed a test for it, mass-produced that test, and distributed the tests …

Why physicians should invest in real estate

Fola Babatunde, MD

Finance

June 10, 2020

We have all heard that real estate is the investment vehicle of the wealthy. However, not many physicians take advantage of this tremendous resource.

The reality is the average medical student graduates with close to $200,000 in debt and does not finish training until his/her late 20s/early 30s with no financial education. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that no job is protected, and earning potential can decline at any …

Don’t let the protests become last week’s news. It is our reality every day. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 9, 2020

“Here we are again, mourning the death of another black person at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect and defend our rights. Another casualty in the 400+ year struggle that we have had in this country to be granted the same right to liberty, the same access to success and the same ability to live without fear, …

The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 9, 2020

“Some media outlets and public figures have heralded the ongoing pandemic as a great equalizer, referencing the pathogen’s indiscriminate spread and disregard for national borders and tax brackets.

The sobering mortality statistics, however, dispense any notion of an equal-opportunity crisis, revealing a familiar theme among public health challenges in America: significant racial disparities exist, and communities of color are disproportionately affected.”

I am an ICU nurse. We are drowning.

Lauren Powers, RN, CCRN

Conditions

June 9, 2020

I am an ICU nurse. I love what I do; It’s not just a career: It’s who I am. No other job could offer me the intimate opportunity to support and guide a total stranger through the worst (and occasionally best) days of their life. Nowhere else would I leave feeling humbled by what I do every day. Nothing compares to that. Simply put: You don’t find that sense of …

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I am an ICU nurse. We are drowning.

Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 8, 2020

“As medical trainees, we will shape the rapidly changing health care environment in this country. We are fiercely advocating for our disadvantaged patients, debating the price of life-saving medications, and carefully considering how the upcoming elections will shape the health care system in which we both provide and receive care. All the while, we handle our responsibilities and prepare to care …

A better way to screen police officers

Alex El Sehamy, MD

Physician

June 8, 2020

I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget these sleepless nights with the sight and sound of protesters in the streets right outside of my apartment. I’ve lied awake until 2 a.m. watching videos on Twitter taken by protestors themselves, torturing myself with the displays of violence that are complex to understand, but shocking nonetheless.

As I watched police officers and protestors clash on the lightbox in my hands, …

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A better way to screen police officers

During the pandemic, faith keeps us together [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 7, 2020

Thank you for listening to the podcast. There were some audio difficulties, which I hope you can overlook. It certainly does not take away from Dr. Syed’s message and her wonderful interview.

“An essential part of daily living for many people is faith. No matter what faith you belong to, people practice their faith in different ways. Most people have faith intertwined …

We need to stop seeing patients as dollar signs

Anonymous

Physician

June 7, 2020

I am a newly minted surgical specialist, less than one year into practice. Residency was no walk in the park, but the clinical experience, along with hours of studying, reading papers, and reviewing practice guidelines, undoubtedly gave me the tools to practice modern, evidence-based medicine. As residency came to a close and the light at the end of the tunnel grew bigger and brighter, my excitement to move on to …

Health care workers in the time of COVID: reluctant superheroes?

Ankur Sharma, MD, MPH

Physician

June 7, 2020

Invisible and unassuming, the radioactive spider slowly descends from the ceiling, and before he knows it, Peter Parker’s life has changed forever. With that one bite, he is transformed from a normal man into a reluctant superhero. Only, that infamous spider is COVID-19, and Peter Parker is a health care worker during these troubled times.

It may surprise you to know that many of us in health care are uncomfortable being …