As I become a better baker, I hope that I will continue to become a better doctor

Education
February 12, 2020

Growing up in a Korean household meant that I had very little experience with the type of baking that most Americans are used to; My grandma made rice cakes, not birthday cakes.

But during my third year of medical school, an intern recommended a show called The Great British Bake Off. After watching a few episodes and seeing what devoted home bakers could do, I was smitten and resolved to bake a …

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As I become a better baker, I hope that I will continue to become a better doctor

Cervical cancer guidelines leaves women confused about annual pelvic exams

Conditions
February 11, 2020

There is good news and bad news in the world of women’s health.

The good news is that women do not need annual Pap smears. The bad news is that, upon hearing the good news, many women incorrectly assume they no longer need annual pelvic exams, either.

Historically, Pap smears were performed annually, and during the same time as pelvic exams, so it is understandable why women would conflate the two. But …

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Cervical cancer guidelines leaves women confused about annual pelvic exams

Why doctors need life skills

Physician
February 11, 2020

Medical school prepares doctors for patient care: perform a history and physical, and based on the findings, consider the next diagnostic tests to order, review all data, and develop a treatment plan. By graduating from medical school, you are skilled to perform those duties with a certain level of competency and confidence.

Success in the next phase of this journey and the rest of your life depends on honing those skills …

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Why doctors need life skills

Medical residents need parental leave

Physician
February 10, 2020

My wife and I had a baby a few months ago. Or, more accurately, she birthed a child while I sat in the corner, contemplating the miracle of reproductive physiology in a vasovagal fugue. In the months leading up to and following that wondrous moment, we found ourselves navigating the labyrinthine complexity of parental leave in graduate medical education.

To start with the positive, we are both residents in the same …

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Medical residents need parental leave

Health care is like lions for lambs

Physician
February 9, 2020

I just watched the movie 1917 at the theatre. Shot in a unique way giving an immersive experience, showing the frontline reality of war through an unforgettable human story, it has to be one of the greatest war movies ever made. I’d encourage everyone to go watch it. I learned a fair bit about the First World while I was in high school in the United Kingdom. Its stories are …

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Health care is like lions for lambs

How you can show patients you are listening

Physician
February 8, 2020

Being a physician is an important role. It’s easy to forget the impact that you have on a patient just by being at their bedside.

It’s huge.

Have you ever been a patient? It’s an incredibly vulnerable experience.

You’re not really sure what’s happening and what is going to happen next.

People are really putting their faith in you to understand their needs and to ease their suffering. It’s a powerful thing to ease …

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How you can show patients you are listening

MKSAP: 32-year-old woman with loose stools, bloating, and weight loss

Conditions
February 8, 2020

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 32-year-old woman is evaluated for a 6-month history of loose stools, bloating, and a 3.2-kg (7-lb) weight loss. Her medical history is otherwise unremarkable. Her brother has type 1 diabetes mellitus, and her mother has autoimmune thyroid disease. She reports no other symptoms and takes no …

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MKSAP: 32-year-old woman with loose stools, bloating, and weight loss

Goodbye, Benadryl: It is time for you to retire

Meds
February 7, 2020

Sometimes, old ideas and time-tested treatments remain the best. Newer doesn’t always mean better. Except in the case of one of our oldest antihistamines, tried-and-true Benadryl. It is time for that old drug to be retired, sent off to pasture, and never used again. Goodbye, Benadryl. Fare thee well, adieu, and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) was introduced in 1946. The top single that …

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Goodbye, Benadryl: It is time for you to retire

A case for nephrology

Physician
February 7, 2020

In recent times, physician burnout has rightfully surfaced as a social concern for the medical fraternity. Physician burnout is a thing, and lately, I was thinking about it related to nephrology.

Many national physician organizations and local hospital systems are developing strategies to reduce work-life stress and improve the engagement of the workforce. In November 2018, I represented the Renal Physician Association at the interim meeting of the American Medical Association …

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A case for nephrology

Reconciling consent culture and bodily autonomy with pediatric care

Conditions
February 6, 2020

Every day, children are cared for in clinics and hospitals. And every day, some of them are unhappy about it; some of them deeply unhappy about it.

The contemporary practice of nursing and medical care includes health care providers having to touch their patients. This may include an abdominal exam, listening to their lungs with a stethoscope, or even slightly invasive maneuvers, such as having to put an otoscope into their …

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Reconciling consent culture and bodily autonomy with pediatric care

How to build trust and therapeutic relationships in 15-minute office visits

Physician
February 5, 2020

It is well known by now that a physician’s demeanor influences the clinical response patients have to any prescribed treatment. We also know that even when nothing is prescribed, a physician’s careful listening, examination, and reassurance about the normalcy of common symptoms and experiences can decrease patients’ suffering in the broadest sense of the word.

This has been the bread and butter of counselors for years. People will faithfully attend and …

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How to build trust and therapeutic relationships in 15-minute office visits

Stressed is desserts spelled backward

Physician
February 5, 2020

Tiramisu, chocolate mousse, red velvet cake, freshly baked cookies, and warm brownies topped with ice cream. These are some of my favorite desserts and the things I start thinking about when I am under intense stress. I often gaze at the bakery section at the grocery store just to take a look when I feel overwhelmed with stress at work or home. It is the classic description of what we …

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Stressed is desserts spelled backward

The doctor who avoids answering your questions

Physician
February 3, 2020

Most of us are, to some degree, procrastinators. We avoid or postpone doing unpleasant things. In this sense, physicians who are avoiders are no different from anyone else. For a doctor, however, avoiding things often leads to poor, or at least less than frank, communication with parents.

One kind of avoidance behavior is when the doctor avoids answering your questions. These doctors do not behave this way because they are poor …

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The doctor who avoids answering your questions

The questions people ask medical students

Education
February 3, 2020

Wow, you’re in medical school? So you are going to be a doctor? What year are you? When are you going to finish? What are you going to go into?

You should become a skin doctor, what do they call them again? It doesn’t matter, but they do good. But they are not real doctors, so maybe it’s not worth it.

You should become a doctor that gives vaccines. Are vaccines real? …

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The questions people ask medical students

A medical student’s advice for clinical rotations

Education
February 2, 2020

As a rising fourth-year med student, these are my words of wisdom for all students who are on their clinical rotations.

Your mental health is paramount; do not neglect how you are feeling!

There is not one med student that I know of who hasn’t felt anxiety, paranoia, or depression. Some of your peers may even be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and take medications. And that is OK! As a mentor of …

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A medical student’s advice for clinical rotations

Black Man Syndrome: in memory of Bryce Gowdy

Physician
February 1, 2020

He came to the office in search of help as many patients do, but the circumstances that compelled him to seek medical attention were all too similar to me. I’ve seen it time and again. He said that he couldn’t sleep at one visit. At another, his blood pressure was high.

At a visit after that, he’d share more information, and his wife would attend with him. He wasn’t making enough …

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Black Man Syndrome: in memory of Bryce Gowdy

Black boxes: health warning or profit warning?

Meds
February 1, 2020

“Boxed warnings” or “black boxes” are the strictest FDA label warnings. They appear on cigarettes, fluoroquinolones (for tendon rupture), Lamictal (for SJS and TEN), Accutane (birth defects), and other products with well-known risks.

The industry obviously dislikes black boxes since they reduce sales (though their lobbyists charge the boxes “confuse” and “unnecessarily alarm” patients).

So it was no surprise that when the Read more…

Black boxes: health warning or profit warning?

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