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I don’t plan to buy a home after medical school. Here are 12 reasons why.

Finance

March 31, 2019

I’m a graduating fourth-year medical student, and as most physicians know, this has been one of the best years of my life. I just matched into my top choice residency and am one step closer to becoming a primary care sports medicine physician, my dream job. Many of my classmates have capitalized on this time of excitement by making the controversial decision to buy a home before they start residency. I have not. …

Do not take medical tests as gospel

Edward Hoffer, MD

Conditions

March 31, 2019

During my time in practice, I had at least eight patients who came to me sure they had systemic lupus erythematosus, also commonly called SLE or lupus. This is an autoimmune disease, characterized by joint pain, that can affect almost any organ, including skin, kidneys, brain, and heart, and can even be fatal. In every case, they had been given this diagnosis because of a blood test called an ANA, …

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Do not take medical tests as gospel

Best jobs for retired physicians: What are the options?

Health eCareers

Physician

March 30, 2019

This article is sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com.

Even the best of careers must end sometime. Sure, most doctors look forward to retirement, but not every retired physician wants to sit back collecting sea-shells for the rest of his or her life. Whether driven by financial constraints or by that persistent longing to change the world, any physician …

How physicians can find meaning in their work

Joshua D. Hartzell, MD

Physician

March 29, 2019

“Seriously, do you often/very often reflect on how your work helps make the world a better place?”

I was recently involved in an email exchange with a colleague when she sent me this line. We will get to the answer to that question at the end. I was disappointed, but not surprised because until about three years ago, I probably would have answered, “No.” However, I have had a paradigm shift …

The financial barriers of applying to medical school

Shin Mei Chan and Jamieson O’Marr

Education

March 28, 2019

In May 2018, it happened. The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) opened its floodgates. As we wrapped up our last years in undergrad, we felt a twinge of excitement as we finally began applying to medical school.

But we quickly found one thing that wasn’t all-too-exciting: the bill. In 2018, the AMCAS charged $170 for the first school applied to and $39 per additional school. Like most medical school applicants, …

Remembering Dr. Denton A. Cooley

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Education

March 28, 2019

Back in the 70s, Dr. Denton A. Cooley would do eight or so heart operations a day often on babies and children with heart defects. One day, he operated on four babies. Three of them died. It was around eight o’clock at night, and as Dr. Cooley walked down the hall with his team, he said, “Today was a bad day, but …

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Remembering Dr. Denton A. Cooley

The sweet path to hell: addiction in medical professionals

Rada Jones, MD

Physician

March 28, 2019

K: “I was assaulted by an intoxicated female. She punched me and ruptured two discs in my back. I lost my whole self. I could no longer take the CPR course required. I lost my income that was supporting me and my three children.

I needed the narcotics — not only to dull the physical pain but to numb the emotions. I found myself taking more than prescribed. I asked the …

Fixing burnout among hospitalists is a leadership challenge

Rahulkumar Singh, MD

Physician

March 28, 2019

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Burnout among physicians is at an epidemic proportion. National data suggests that more than 50 percent of our workforce is burned out, and this trend has been across the board from physicians in training to practicing physicians. Some of the specialties are more affected than others. Repercussions of provider burnout on health care …

How Big Medicine is hurting patients and putting small practices out of business

John Machata, MD

Policy

March 27, 2019

Recently the CEO of a large health care network stated: “Market forces don’t apply to health care.”

Of course, economic and political forces apply to health care. Big Medicine’s most powerful entities (insurers, hospitals, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, and government agencies) formulate health care policy to enrich themselves at the expense of patients and small, independent medical practices.

As an independent family doctor, my practice’s existence is in jeopardy. Small physician …

Hospice didn’t stop suffering. But what it did for us was priceless.

Dheeraj Raina, MD

Physician

March 27, 2019

My wife Uzma died peacefully at home. She didn’t take any painkillers for her last three days. Our kids, my parents, and I were next to her. In the weeks leading up to her death, many old friends visited her. Others sent her flowers, cards, and food. It was a good death. Yes, in the last five years cancer and its treatment took a physical and emotional toll. Yes, she left us a …

Medical care was never intended to be daily fights against insurance companies

Robert Bonakdar, MD

Conditions

March 27, 2019

Last month I saw Joan, a woman who has had low back pain for years. She’d been through the ringer like every other person in severe pain: countless procedures and medications. She continued to have daily pain that stopped her from staying focused at work, playing with her kids or being the spouse or friend she wanted to be. After our long consultation and review of her records my prescription …

Take the naloxone challenge

Matthew Zuckerman, MD

Meds

March 26, 2019

Last week I took the naloxone challenge. I walked up to a pharmacy window, waited in line, and requested naloxone from the pharmacist. She showed a supportive but knowing look, and I became acutely aware of the four people in line behind me. After giving her my name and date of birth, she was able to pull my insurance info from prior visits, and I left with a dose of …

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Take the naloxone challenge

It’s time to acknowledge the developmental behavioral pediatric workforce

Nerissa Bauer, MD, MPH

Conditions

March 26, 2019

There are roughly 15 percent of the nation’s children who suffer from a developmental-behavioral condition or about 1 in 6 children. Unfortunately, many of those children often do not get the help they need.

Children with developmental and behavioral challenges can easily be missed, especially when the behaviors are more subtle or impacts on function are not evident daily, such as with a …

Reminding ourselves why we practice medicine

Jasmine Toor, MD

Physician

March 25, 2019

Going to medical school was a dream come true. I was excited; I couldn’t wait. I spent my childhood dreaming about it. It was this amazing fantasy in my head where nothing was impossible, and I would be able to help thousands of people, maybe millions? Biology, physiology, chemistry, physics — they resonated with me. I could not imagine doing anything else. I loved meeting new people. I loved learning …

How to match into dermatology: A medical student shares her success story

Jenny Wang

Education

March 24, 2019

I didn’t match dermatology the first time. It was a harrowing experience, and I had a chip on my shoulder until the day I opened my match envelope.

The reality is that in the last ten years, dermatology has become the most competitive specialty in medicine. Hundreds of extremely qualified applicants are disappointed each year. Therefore, not matching is not a reflection of one’s qualifications as a future …

How social media can help or hurt your health care career

Health eCareers

Social media

March 23, 2019

This article is sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com.

We live in a time when social media isn’t just about sharing pictures or ideas with a close circle of friends and family. Between our Facebook statuses, our Twitter profiles and especially our LinkedIn pages, we are always public, all the time — no matter what your privacy settings may have you believe.

For …

Why staying ahead of your pain with opioids is the wrong advice

Myles Gart, MD

Meds

March 22, 2019

I often hear the mantra, “You must stay ahead of your pain, or else.” The president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, states a common mistake people make, is waiting too long to take pain medication. By the time you’re in pain, you’re starting from behind the eight ball. “It takes a lot more medicine to control pain after it’s started as opposed to starting it ahead of time,” he …

Hope is essential in every field of medicine

Shannon Casey, PA-C

Conditions

March 22, 2019

A man in his fifties is wheeled into the emergency department on a gurney hoping he’ll still be around to cheer from the sidelines at his daughter’s next soccer game. A little girl on the pediatric floor upstairs simply hopes her tummy stops hurting. A woman in the clinic explains her puzzling symptoms and hopes that this is the specialist who will finally be able to ascertain why she hasn’t …

9 non-clinical career options for doctors

Maiysha Clairborne, MD

Physician

March 21, 2019

With burnout on the rise, many physicians are choosing to leave clinical medicine for alternative careers. Other physicians are wondering if it’s worth it to stay in a workforce that does not pull for the well being of their front line workers. Gone are the days where physicians stay stuck, suffering in a practice or career that is no longer fulfilling or worse, causing burnout. Those physicians are considered old-school …

Adverse childhood experiences: How changing a child’s environment can help

Heather Finlay-Morreale, MD

Conditions

March 21, 2019

Some children present to me with complex problems or multiple problems that fail to resolve after the typical interventions.

I recall a child with severe abdominal pain. He had tried numerous medicines and had had scopes and studies galore. It had reached the point where he was being scheduled for exploratory surgery to try and see the cause of his pain. I lost track of his case when I rotated elsewhere …

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