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The experiences in medicine shape your future

Physician

July 26, 2019

Hitting a roadblock in your life and career? Don’t get frustrated. Use the resources that are readily available to you.

Not sure what they are? Think about it. You have had access to them all the time.

The moment you decided to become a doctor, you became unstoppable. You may have followed the traditional path and went from college into medical school and then residency. Maybe your path took a few turns before medical …

Think beyond benzodiazepines for anxiety

Wallace B. Mendelson, MD

Meds

July 25, 2019

An excerpt from Understanding Medicines for Anxiety.

Although the SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are among the most widely prescribed medicines for depression, they also have a useful role to play in treating anxiety disorders. In this article, we will look at their benefits and limitations when used in this …

5 things I learned from being a “high-maintenance” patient

Dhaval Desai, MD

Physician

July 25, 2019

Physicians and health care providers across the world are trained to treat disease processes and disease states. Often, this approach becomes technical. And while directed towards the patient, it paradoxically distances itself from the patient. The distance created between the patient and the physician through diagnostic and therapeutic approaches is related to the patient’s dissatisfaction with their medical journey.

Being sick and ill, whether it is a major or minor illness, …

The suffocation of social isolation

Harsh Moolani

Conditions

July 24, 2019

Literature surrounding the effects of social isolation and loneliness for older adults is no longer lacking. Studies and articles outlining the dreadful consequences of these epidemics have even pierced large media outlets like Time magazine, where they emphasize how one in three older adults are lonely.

While any attention brought to the fact that the age group containing people age of 85 and up is …

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The suffocation of social isolation

Understanding professional liability insurance in physician employment contracts

Elizabeth Shubov, JD

Policy

July 23, 2019

An excerpt from Physician Employment Contracts, The Missing Module: A comprehensive introduction to physician agreements written for doctors.

Professional liability or “malpractice” insurance protects a physician and the employer from claims related to the negligent practice of medicine. Two common types of professional liability coverage carried by major insurance companies are “claims-made” …

Why we must embrace medical uncertainty

Philip A. Masters, MD

Physician

July 23, 2019

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

In the late 1800s, William Osler stated, “… if you want a profession in which everything is certain, you had better give up medicine.” He made this observation at a time when the science underlying health care was nascent, and little was understood …

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Why we must embrace medical uncertainty

Define what true resilience means for you

Sarah E. Jorgensen, RN

Policy

July 22, 2019

Can you let things roll off your shoulders? Are you the tough, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is, stand-your-ground type? Do you show up to work no matter what? Has no one ever seen you cry at work?

Are these things resilience?

We nurses openly divulge the issues that make us leave the bedside, even amid a vast shortage of nurses. Professional organizations report these issues, and academic, and research institutes aggregate data for a convenient …

36 things I learned in 36 years of medicine

Joe Bocka, MD

Physician

July 22, 2019

Thirty-six years ago, I arrived an hour early for my first medical school patient care rotation at the East Orange, NJ, VA hospital. Over the years, ‘I’ve seen and learned (and unfortunately also forgotten) a lot about medicine and life. I have been writing down wise nuggets since that first year and keep reviewing and adding at times.

Here are 36 random reflections in honor of these 36 years that I …

To first-generation college pre-medical students: Your future patients need you

Jenny Ruiz, MD

Physician

July 22, 2019

Being a first-generation college student is hard. Being a first-generation college student and being pre-med is even harder. And since education and income are closely linked in the U.S., it’s no surprise that many first-generation college students also come from a low-income background.

I fell into this category.

My parents did not finish high school, and money was always tight. I had never heard of pre-med until I got to college. I …

The secret to ending cynicism in medicine

Roger Harrie, MD

Physician

July 19, 2019

To fill an assignment in an undergraduate medical sociology class, my friend and I made an appointment with the assistant administrator in a local hospital. After the interview, we proceeded towards the exit by cutting through the obstetrical wards. We passed an exhausted young doctor with a stethoscope draped over his neck and hunched over a stack of charts. He glanced up as we passed, and we introduced ourselves as …

The scourge of the pediatric urgent care fellowship

Ron Yalon, MD

Physician

July 19, 2019

I am one of those lucky souls who actually likes their job. Since I completed my pediatrics residency two years ago, I have been working in urgent care settings. What’s not to like? I get to see a wide variety of patients, I’m always learning something new, and I get to finish my encounters with a high-five from an overeager toddler. If you’re a general pediatrician like me, that’s the …

Don’t lower the voting age, says this neurosurgeon

Marc Arginteanu, MD

Conditions

July 19, 2019

On several occasions, most recently during a press conference in March 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has advocated changing the voting age to 16. Pelosi told reporters that lowering the voting age would increase engagement in politics among younger Americans and would help drive a higher level of voter awareness and turnout.

Speaker Pelosi is not the only prominent lawmaker to advocate for a lowered voting age. Also in …

Medicine is my passion. I love my job, but I am human.

Kacey Gibson, DO

Physician

July 19, 2019

I am a small-town family physician, and I am blessed enough to be living my dream.

You see, I have always wanted to be a doctor. I cannot think of one other occupation choice that has ever entered my brain. I have wanted this since I was four-years-old, and I can remember in vivid detail telling the world this was what I was destined to be.

So what happens when your dream …

How to rekindle your love of medicine

Christina Shenvi, MD, PhD

Education

July 18, 2019

Recently, thousands of new residency and fellowship graduates have earned their wings and will be, mostly metaphorically, hanging out their shingles. Sadly, though, as the excitement of finally finishing training after decades of schooling wears off, even great work can become routine.

There is a parable about three men laying bricks. When asked what they were doing, the first man said, “Laying bricks.” The second man said, “Building a church.” And …

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How to rekindle your love of medicine

I will not stop sacrificing for my medical career

Anonymous

Education

July 18, 2019

At the moment, I should be studying for my first round of boards, but there is something I can’t get off my mind: sacrifice.

If you ask a medical student what they have had to sacrifice to study medicine, the list could go on for days. It could be small things like watching their favorite teams play or being caught up on current events. But more than likely we will list …

Here’s what I wish I knew as a resident

Irene Tien, MD

Physician

July 17, 2019

When I decided to become a doctor, little did I know that medical school and residency would be like a hazing for future physicians. We are broken down mentally and physically and then remade in the image of the “strong” doctor and to admit to being sick is equivalent to being weak. We are publicly shamed for admitting we don’t know the answer to daily pimping on morning rounds. We …

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Here’s what I wish I knew as a resident

Are benzodiazepines “the worst thing that’s ever happened to people”?

Nicole Lamberson, PA

Meds

July 17, 2019

Although Arnold Knutsen and I “met” virtually five years ago, we only first spoke on the phone recently when he called to share his story. He’s the eldest member of the online benzodiazepine support group we cohabitate. His posts in the group always reeked of desperation, and there was a palpable sense of urgency to his pursuit of a cure for his situation. It was clear …

Workplace violence in the health care setting is a public health emergency

Amy Costigan, MD

Physician

July 16, 2019

Health care providers may have one of the most dangerous jobs out there — and it is only getting worse. Nearly 74 percent of workplace assaults occur in the health care setting, and health care accounts for almost as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined. The statistics are alarming. Seventy-eight percent of emergency physicians report being targets of workplace violence in the …

Considering locum tenens? Think about these factors first.

Cory Fawcett, MD

Finance

July 16, 2019

Locum tenens is a great way to make a living or earn some extra income. But frankly, there are some groups of physicians who should not even consider doing locums work. When you pair the right person with the right job, you can get employment bliss. But when the wrong person takes a job, both the employer and the employee are often unhappy.

I believe everyone should enjoy the work they …

The default for psychiatric patients: “Send them to the ER”

Edwin Leap, MD

Conditions

July 15, 2019

Here is a standard emergency department situation, played out all across America today.

Patient X has schizophrenia. He takes medication, but only until he feels better. He is calm when he takes it, but sometimes aggressive and assaultive when out of treatment and off medications.

Patient X decides to leave town and drive somewhere else because he is angry at 1) family 2) significant other 3) health care system 4) situation.

He is …