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Physician income vs. burnout: Why working harder fails

Physician

November 26, 2025

I strongly believe that working harder in medicine is making us as doctors poorer, and it’s quietly harming patients too. Not because we don’t care, but because rushing destroys the very thing patients need most: Time, attention, and real care.

Let me explain.

If you’re a medical doctor or another primary care clinician, you’ve probably heard this your whole career: “Work harder. Work faster. See more patients. Push more. Do more.” And …

Our relationship with medicine: a triumph

Joseph Shaw

Conditions

November 26, 2025

Take a look in your medicine cabinet. What you see isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a testament to one of the greatest partnerships in modern life: the one between your body and medical science. From the vaccine you got as a kid to the pill that keeps your blood pressure in check, these interventions aren’t just treating sickness. They are part of who you are. In a world still …

Rediscovering the sacred power of the patient story [PODCAST]

American College of Physicians & The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 25, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Professor and senior associate dean of engagement Janet A. Jokela discusses her article, “Celebrating internal medicine through our human connections with patients.” Janet shares moving stories from medical students who are discovering …

The human element in clinical trials

Dr. Bodhibrata Banerjee

Physician

November 25, 2025

I have often heard people speak of numerology, weaving destinies around digits. They say that behind every event in a person’s life lies the hidden hand of numbers. I do not know if such beliefs hold scientific truth. Yet, in medicine, numbers certainly matter. Numbers fill our trial registers, power our statistics, shape our protocols. In research, life is reduced to codes, columns, and counts.

As a medical student, the jargon …

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The human element in clinical trials

Is direct primary care sustainable in a downturn?

Dana Y. Lujan, MBA

Conditions

November 25, 2025

Primary care innovation has always been framed around access, autonomy, burnout, and patient experience. Direct primary care (DPC) in particular is often positioned as a solution for physicians exhausted by fee-for-service complexity and for patients who want a more personal relationship with their doctor.

This article focuses on how the broader economic landscape has shifted in ways that directly affect DPC, especially in light of the rapidly evolving national discussion around …

The Silicon Valley primary care doctor shortage

George F. Smith, MD

Physician

November 25, 2025

Not long ago, a friend told me, “I switched insurance and can’t find a doctor who will take me.” Another said, “I left Kaiser after going on Medicare and now no one will see me.” These aren’t isolated complaints. They’ve become the new reality in Silicon Valley: It’s easier to buy a multimillion-dollar home than to find a new primary care doctor.

I saw this problem firsthand before I retired from …

Transforming patient fear into understanding through clear communication [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 24, 2025

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Counselor and certified coach Mary Remón and oncologist Tiffany Troso-Sandoval discuss their article, “Clear communication is kind patient care.” They explore the common scenario of patients leaving the office more confused and …

How movement improves pelvic floor function

Martina Ambardjieva, MD

Conditions

November 24, 2025

Most people exercise to improve cardiovascular fitness, metabolic health, or mood, but regular physical activity also plays a significant role in sexual and urinary function. As a urologist, I routinely see how movement influences two intimate yet essential systems: the reproductive system and the lower urinary tract.

When patients present with urinary leakage, erectile changes, or reduced libido, they often expect a prescription or procedure. Yet for many, measurable improvement begins …

How immigrant physicians solved a U.S. crisis

Eram Alam, PhD

Conditions

November 24, 2025

In the decades following the passage of the Hart-Celler Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the face of American medicine irrevocably changed. This bill expedited the rapid entry of physicians from post-colonial Asian nations into the U.S. in significant numbers. In this migratory flow, South Asian physicians, in …

Pediatric leadership silence on FDA ADHD recall

Ronald L. Lindsay, MD

Conditions

November 24, 2025

“The FDA has issued a nationwide recall of lisdexamfetamine capsules.”

That sentence in Newsweek magazine should have triggered alerts, guidance, and coordinated response. Instead, the silence from pediatric leadership has been deafening. Newsweek turned to the FDA and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Where are the leadership of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics? Silent. Why?

The recall that should have sparked action

In …

How relationships predict physician burnout risk

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

November 24, 2025

We entered medicine with a shared calling (to heal, to serve, and to make a difference). Yet somewhere along the journey, between the never-ending charting, late-night calls, and invisible emotional burdens, many of us forgot how to heal ourselves.

Every few months, another survey or report confirms what so many of us already sense in our bones: physicians are burning out at staggering rates. But what remains under-discussed, and perhaps even …

The ethical conflict of the Charlie Gard case

Timothy Lesaca, MD

Conditions

November 24, 2025

Some cases linger in our memory because of the humanity at their center. The case of Charlie Gard, which unfolded in England in 2017, is one of those. It took place within the National Health Service and under a legal framework in which courts decide a child’s treatment when parents and clinicians cannot agree. Before it became a global controversy, before it drew international headlines, it began as something far …

Preserving your sense of self as a doctor

Camille C. Imbo, MD

Physician

November 24, 2025

My fourth year of OB/GYN residency there was an essay contest about what it meant to be an advocate for women’s health while preserving your sense of self. I sent a screenshot of the contest to my then-boyfriend, now-husband. He replied, “You want to add something else to your to-do list?” He was joking, but he wasn’t wrong. Just a few days prior, I was hyperventilating from all the things …

Understanding the hidden weight bias that harms patient care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 23, 2025

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Registered nurse June Pomeroy discusses her article, “How physician obesity affects patient care.” June explores the complex realities of weight bias within the medical field, examining how a physician’s own struggle with …

The ethics of mandatory Tay-Sachs testing

Sheryl J. Nicholson

Conditions

November 23, 2025

Introduction

Tay-Sachs disease is a devastating genetic disorder that primarily affects individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, though it is also found among Cajuns in Louisiana and French-Canadians. This fatal condition typically manifests within the first six months of life and leads to progressive neurological deterioration, often resulting in death by age five. As medical science advances, the question arises: Should genetic testing for Tay-Sachs be mandatory for all individuals of reproductive …

The geometry of communication in medicine

Patrick Hudson, MD

Physician

November 23, 2025

For most of my training, I assumed communication was a straight line. Say the thing. The other person hears the thing. Why complicate it? Only much later, in a small seminar room at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, did a tutor named Charlie Fasanaro loosen that idea. He walked us through Euclid the way you might guide a child who is learning to see. I had no sense then …

Why I became a pediatrician: a doctor’s story

Jamie S. Hutton, MD

Physician

November 23, 2025

One of the first questions you’re asked when applying to medical school is: Why do you want to be a doctor? For most, the answer is some version of “I want to help people.” But for me, that was never the real question. It was always “Why do you want to be a pediatrician?”

I’ve known since I was very young that I wanted to work with children. I’ve always loved …

Why toys matter in the exam room

Diego R. Hijano, MD

Conditions

November 23, 2025

Children often surprise us with the seriousness they bring to a clinic visit. Every so often, when the room feels tense, I turn to a simple question and ask what their favorite toy is. Caregivers smile, and children lean forward with the kind of excitement that only play can spark. In a moment, the atmosphere changes. The room feels lighter, the conversation easier, and the visit begins to unfold with …

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Why toys matter in the exam room

Why bad math (not ideology) is killing DPC clinics [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 22, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Health care strategist Dana Y. Lujan discusses her article “Why direct primary care (DPC) models fail.” Dana argues that the DPC community’s obsession with “purity” is missing the point, stating that these …

Glioblastoma immunotherapy trial: a new breakthrough

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Conditions

November 22, 2025

All clinical trials are fueled, in part, by optimism. A trial currently underway in California is fueled by the optimism of one patient in particular, Kayvon Goodarzy.

Despite decades of effort, there has been an abject lack of new approved therapies for glioblastoma (GBM). The standard of care for this deadly brain tumor has been chemotherapy and radiation, to less-than-ideal results. But that might be changing, and it’s all thanks …

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