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Is it physician burnout or perimenopause?

Conditions

September 20, 2019

I am an experienced OB/GYN, well-versed in obstetrics, infertility, gynecology, surgery and — yes — menopause, or so I thought. So why was I so blindsided by my own menopause transition?

I thought I was going through burnout, with anxiety, anger, mood swings, irritability, and depression. I was at a point in my career as an OB/GYN of 20-plus years that patients flocked to me because of my reputation and expected …

Clearing up the confusion surrounding Medicare for all

Caroline Poplin, MD, JD

Policy

September 18, 2019

The Democratic debates this summer demonstrated massive confusion around Medicare for all. Does it mean Medicare for all who want it? Medicare Advantage? A “public option” on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange?

Democrats need to get their story straight.

The confusion is understandable. Medicare for all has been an aspiration since at least the New Deal, but since 1965, when Congress …

A psychiatrist closes his practice

Michael Dorfman, MD

Physician

September 18, 2019

After practicing psychiatry and behavioral health for nearly 25 years, I’m done. I feel sick, and especially sicker from my occupation. Not merely burned out, but ill. Primarily mentally.

I’ve always had complex post-traumatic stress disorder. And depression and generalized anxiety, and many other diagnoses from the DSM. But, I’ve covered my illnesses so I could go to work and help so many people. Least of all myself.

My mother had chronic …

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A psychiatrist closes his practice

7 questions every doctor asks about locum tenens

Bill Heller

Physician

September 18, 2019

When it comes to locum tenens, doctors have a lot of questions. Maybe you even have some of your own. But first, let me ask you a few:

Did you know that there are more than 50,000 doctors working locum tenens in the U.S.? Or that 90% of health care facilities use locum tenens each year? Or that 21% of residents choose to work locum tenens right out of college?

Despite its …

The infiltration of venture capital and private equity in the surprise medical bills debate

Rachel Bluth and Emmarie Huetteman

Policy

September 17, 2019

As proposals to ban surprise medical bills move through Congress and state legislatures with rare bipartisan support, physician groups have emerged as the loudest opponents.

Often led by doctors with the veneer of noble concern for patients, physician-staffing firms — third-party companies that employ doctors and assign them out to health care facilities — have opposed efforts to limit the practice known as balance billing. They claim such bans would rob …

How provider-in-triage systems in ERs compromise patient care

Keith Corl, MD

Physician

September 16, 2019

If you’ve needed emergency care in the last few years, you probably encountered this situation: Soon after entering the emergency department, you were asked to go to a triage area in the waiting room where a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant asked you a few questions and ordered some diagnostic tests while you waited.

That’s a …

Virtual scribes are game-changers for physicians

Torie S. Sepah, MD

Tech

September 16, 2019

Today was like no other day. It was our first day together.

Me and my “virtual” scribe — an actual person who seems to “virtually” to exist inside of a Jabra speaker on my desk and so subtlety that I forgot to mute a few times when not seeing patients. The “man” in the Jabra speaker now knows just how long of an appointment I need for my hair, and that …

A successful physician who is also successful in business

Marshall Kuremsky, MD

Physician

September 15, 2019

Successful and happy physician. But why stop there? What about successful businessman as well?

This is my story. And I’d love to share it. Maybe it’ll inspire someone else who works in health care.

I am very blessed. I am actually living out my childhood dream. When I was 15, and starting high school, I wrote down something for our class time capsule that was to be opened at our 10-year high …

An ophthalmologist analyzes Joe Biden’s red eye

Brian C. Joondeph, MD

Conditions

September 14, 2019

Four years ago, there was legitimate concern over Hillary Clinton’s health. Between her coughing spells, facial tics, stumbles and falls, not to mention her prism glasses and inability to hold more than a few campaign events per week, it wasn’t at all clear that she was up to the rigors of being president.

Now it’s Joe Biden and his red eye-raising red flags over his health. His so-called gaffes are well …

Doctors aren’t gods. They need God to help them.

Anthony Youn, MD

Physician

September 14, 2019

An excerpt from Playing God: The Evolution of a Modern Surgeon.

A woman, call her Betsy, comes to see me. Betsy is in her early sixties and horribly unhealthy. She walks with a cane, each step she takes slow and painful. It hurts to watch her walk. Betsy has undergone …

The language of medicine can be complicated. Does it need to be this way?

Sarah Fraser, MD

Physician

September 14, 2019

Several weeks ago, I began my studies for a master’s degree in journalism. I’m continuing to work as a physician, but for the next two years, I’ll also be gaining knowledge in an important field: health communication.

I recall being a medical student and observing the different ways in which my supervising doctors spoke with their patients. Some doctors communicated clearly and were easily understood. Others used words that I had …

A pediatrician speaks out against combining sibling appointments

Anonymous

Physician

September 13, 2019

Imagine your typical yearly physical. It’s probably booked for 20 to 40 minutes. Since you, like many of us, may see your physician only once a year, it is important for you to have your physician’s complete attention and to have all of your concerns addressed. Some of these concerns may be of a sensitive – even embarrassing – nature. Your physician may likewise ask you some probing questions about …

Does marijuana really relieve pain? Here’s what anesthesiologists say.

Padma Gulur, MD and Amanda Nelli, MD

Meds

September 13, 2019

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

Marijuana is made from the dried flowers of the cannabis plant. Made of more than 500 chemicals, including over 100 compounds called cannabinoids, the primary active compounds in the plant are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC acts on specific brain cell receptors that …

How EMRs can actually help physicians

Fred N. Pelzman, MD

Tech

September 12, 2019

Collaboration is the key.

When I think about how hard it is to take care of our patients, and how many different people are involved in their care, it’s a wonder that anything ever gets done.

We need to simplify systems, and harness the power of the information systems available to us, as well as the promise of the electronic medical record, …

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How EMRs can actually help physicians

5 clinician concerns about OpenNotes

John Santa, MD, MPH

Tech

September 12, 2019

More than 200 health organizations have now implemented OpenNotes. Many more are piloting, are soon to implement — or have implemented, and we don’t know it! For more than three years I’ve been fortunate to represent OpenNotes to potential implementers, and I’m confident I’ve heard almost every clinician concern or anxiety regarding what might happen when patients read their own notes.

Here are the five most common concerns I’ve heard — …

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5 clinician concerns about OpenNotes

It’s time to abolish the MCAT

Inginia Genao, MD

Education

September 12, 2019

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) should be abolished. This single test — which ranks students by the science they’ve learned before going to medical school — prevents the physician population in the U.S. from looking like the population it serves. Underrepresented minority students have lower scores on all standardized tests. And the MCAT is no exception. When medical school admission committees use the MCAT as a screening tool to …

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It’s time to abolish the MCAT

Never let your patients know you’re in a hurry

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

September 11, 2019

I was recently working in clinic on a Friday afternoon. I was on my last patient of the day, and it had been a particularly long clinic. I had big plans for the weekend and should have already finished. The gentleman entered the room, sat down, and we began the consultation. Because I was so behind, I went through everything a little quicker than I usually would, but still covering …

A slow death by charting

Erin O'Laughlin, DO

Tech

September 10, 2019

It’s 10 p.m.

Seven days before Christmas.

I’m sitting at work “finishing” up some charts.

I am suddenly overcome with anger.

What am I doing here right now at this minute? I am helping no one.

This work I’m typing away at — trying so hard not to scream — it’s hoops. Fucki*g hoops … for insurance companies. So I can beg them to pay me. Pay me pennies for the hard, good, compassionate, humanitarian …

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A slow death by charting

Most of what you learned in medical school is wrong. And that’s OK.

Joshua Y. Yang, MEng

Education

September 10, 2019

“90 percent of what you will learn over the next four years will be wrong in a couple of decades from now.”

Speaking to a lecture hall of 120 first-year medical students, our professor’s prophecy seemed to fall on deaf ears. Looking around, I saw no concerned students, no diminishment of our collective enthusiasm. For me, however, his words of caution struck a chord on that first day of medical school.

As …

Medical schools cause burnout. Here’s how to fix that.

Augustine M. K. Cho, MD

Education

September 9, 2019

Students’ time in medical school should help them grow and become insightful, caring doctors. Instead, medical education is somehow turning smart, gifted, enthusiastic applicants into exhausted and unhappy students who become interns, residents, and physicians at increased risk of depression and burnout.

I’m no stranger to the demands of medical school. My father and father-in-law were both …