A pediatrician’s reflections on resilience and rebuilding in Asheville after the hurricane

Physician
October 7, 2024

Reflections: Day 5

It’s a strange feeling to look down at my phone calendar and realize that nothing will be grayed out because it happened, but only because time keeps ticking.

It’s interesting and beautiful to watch my kids keep moving forward as the community around us is so devastated: playing music, rediscovering the joy that is reading, helping clean up the yard, making a game out of who does which chore …

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After Hurricane Helene: How Asheville rose from the floodwaters stronger than ever

Physician
October 7, 2024

The floods came and we were not ready. Miles from the ocean, flanked by mountainous sentinels, we never thought to build an ark.

The skies darkened and the deluge commenced. Rapturous winds splintered ancient oaks and rent open the heavens. Barbarous gusts cleaved power lines, fractured telephone poles, brought a power grid to its knees. The lights went out in the west. Feeble candlelights flickered to life as the rivers swelled. …

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How in-home care gave this couple a new lease on life

Conditions
October 7, 2024

An excerpt from Get What’s Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs.

Carmella Mason has been a caregiver since her husband, Frank, had a heart attack fifty years ago. They were in their 80s when we spoke. Frank likely owes his survival to her efforts. When he developed diabetes, circulatory complications necessitated the amputation of a big toe in 2022. Things did not go well. He underwent more …

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Is tech the answer to America’s growing doctor shortage? [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 6, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Patrick Hunt, a physician executive, to explore one of the most pressing challenges in U.S. health care—the growing physician shortage. With projections indicating a shortfall of up to 86,000 …

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Why doctors must take charge to save our failing health care system

Physician
October 6, 2024

I recently wrote an article about the problems with our broken health care system, ending with a call for doctors to help develop solutions. In follow-up, here are some possible solutions to consider before the system self-implodes. There is concern that, without any changes, Medicare will run out of funding by 2031. Here are a few things that I think could help.

Address physician burnout

It’s real, and COVID-19 made it …

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PGY-22 has a steep learning curve

Physician
October 6, 2024

Becoming a physician is hard work. No doubt about it.

Each phase felt like the steepest of learning curves.

Remember your MS-1 anatomy class? So many names and terms to memorize.

How about that first clinical rotation in your third year? It took me at least an hour to get a simple SOAP note written in a patient’s chart (yes, handwritten notes back in those days).

And then there was the dreaded internship year, …

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How empathy and emotional intelligence transform patient care [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 5, 2024
YouTube video

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We are joined by Paul Pender, an ophthalmologist with extensive experience in patient care. We explore the vital role emotional intelligence plays in strengthening the physician-patient bond, particularly in challenging health care environments. …

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Radiologists need to be realistic about the job market

Physician
October 5, 2024

It is undeniable that the radiologist shortage is here. While reimbursement is declining, free agents are few and far between, and compensation is exploding. Compensation per wRVU in the western region of the U.S. jumped nearly 16 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to MGMA. Job postings show salaries almost double what they were even five years ago, with signing bonuses, accelerated partnership tracks, and 12, 26, 34, or even …

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How drug and soap commercials are manipulating you

Meds
October 5, 2024

Having worked as a copywriter and creative director at some of the world’s top ad agencies, including McCann Erickson (now McCann Worldgroup), I am vehemently critical of new advertising. Why? I know the tricks and how they manipulate well — think the old TV series Mad Men.

Leading the list of ads that I hate are direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads which began in the late 1990s. I am especially critical of …

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Parents in crisis: How physicians can help

Conditions
October 5, 2024

Did you hear the news from the U.S. Surgeon General recently? Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory called “Parents Under Pressure,” outlining the ways in which the 63 million-plus parents and caregivers in the U.S. are struggling—really struggling. Even as a parent who is a child psychiatrist, I was shocked by some of the data.

An analysis of parents’ responses from the 2023 Stress in America survey, conducted by the American …

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How lack of hands-on experience could endanger patient safety [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 4, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us for an episode featuring Lynn McComas, a recognized expert in precepting nurse practitioners and advanced practice provider students. We’ll discuss the critical importance of hands-on training in medical education and the …

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What U.S. veterans with ALS deserve to know

Conditions
October 4, 2024

When considering the diseases that United States veterans are burdened with, you might think of COPD, Type 2 Diabetes, certain cancers, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. However, there is another disease diagnosed at twice the rate in veterans compared to the general population: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is one of the only diseases known to occur at an increased rate in all veterans, regardless of when or how long …

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How COVID-19 shaped my view on neurosurgery: a medical student’s insight

Education
October 4, 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has left an indelible mark on every aspect of health care, including neurosurgery. As a fourth-year medical student navigating my neurosurgical rotations during this unprecedented time, I experienced firsthand how the pandemic reshaped our approach to medical education, patient care, and surgical practice. This period has been transformative, challenging my understanding of neurosurgery and reinforcing the need for adaptability and resilience in the face of unforeseen challenges.

Before …

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Psychological safety for all: Why this phenomenon matters to everyone

Conditions
October 4, 2024

We saw the smile vanish from her face instantly. Our colleague, a zestful individual with a passion for obstetrical care, fell silent after our superiors met her ideas for improving her training experience with defensiveness and deflection. After the meeting, she confessed she was losing hope about getting robust enough exposure to delivering babies and managing laboring mothers prior to completing residency. For her, this was essential to her securing …

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Telltale hearts: the untold power of patient stories in medicine [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 3, 2024
YouTube video

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We welcome Dean-David Schillinger, an internal medicine physician and public health leader. Dean-David discusses his book, Telltale Hearts: A Public Health Doctor, His Patients, and the Power of Story. Drawing from over three …

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The surprising power of laughter and creativity in medical training

Education
October 3, 2024

Teaching is a blast! As an attending, I love to employ offbeat methods, with absurdity and humor, at times skirting the edge of political incorrectness, all for the purpose of enhancing one’s medical education.

Educating medical students and residents by practicing physicians is a tried-and-true element of medical education, a practice dating back through the ages, where those without formal education in the art of teaching provided instruction. This tradition continues …

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Reclaiming joy in health care: Taking control amidst systemic challenges

Physician
October 3, 2024

The American Medical Association recently reported a decline in physician burnout rates, which is fantastic news. Decreasing burnout means happier doctors, improved patient care, and healthier relationships with family and friends. Yet, even with this progress, burnout rates in my own specialty, family medicine, along with other primary care specialties, remain staggeringly high—over 50 percent. As primary care providers, we are often the first point of contact in the health …

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The surprising struggles of retirement no one warned you about

Finance
October 3, 2024

It took me forever to retire—three years or so. It took so long that my nurses got tired of bringing me purple cakes decorated with whipped cream stethoscopes, but I did it. Now, a few years later, I can tell you that the things I worried about were not the ones that gave me trouble.

I had mostly agonized about money—had we saved enough to last us the rest of our …

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Fall prevention in hospitals: How technology can save lives [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 2, 2024
YouTube video

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We dive into the persistent challenge of fall prevention in hospitals with our guest, Christine Gall, a nurse executive. Despite advancements in patient safety, falls remain a significant issue, resulting in severe injuries …

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