We should consider a new position in our primary care teams — that of the scrum master. “Scrum” is a rugby term that comes from agile, a work methodology for software development that now is being applied to industry and health care.
In rugby, a scrum is a huddle where the teams come together with interlocked arms to regroup and start play again. In agile, scrum masters facilitate team huddles and …
A scrum master for primary care
It’s hard for me to believe that a few years ago, I completely turned my back on an acting career I had spent almost two decades building and instead decided to forge into an unknown world of medicine. Even now, with nearly seven years of experience in the medical field and currently in my fourth year of medical school, I sometimes feel lost for an identity.
At the time of my …
I learned how to be a good doctor in theater school
I do not feel that I truly survived my lawsuit. Sure, I am alive, but the emotional toll it took on me during the four years that we co-existed was tremendous. That being said, I do feel that it taught me several things that may be helpful to others.
My lawsuit occurred very early in my career. The series of events that led up to it happened when I was a …
How to survive a medical liability lawsuit
Combating loneliness as a non-medical spouse to a surgical resident is my current struggle.
I do not just mean the absence of his physical self — which do not get me wrong is frustrating– but the complete absence of his mind when he gets home from a long day at the hospital.
Absolutely no one gave me the proper and direct heads up that I needed as to what it would feel …
What you need to know as a non-medical spouse to a surgeon
It’s my first day at a new facility — and I’m prepped with food, snacks and a closed-lid container for my morning coffee and to refill it in the afternoon with water. You never really know how stringent the policies will be for water containers at your new workstation or whether food or snacks are allowed. You might even be lucky enough to get a surprise Joint Commission inspection, or …
The issues physicians face when changing their name
Doctors spend their early adulthood preparing for medicine. In college, we take classes to satisfy prerequisites and prepare for the MCAT exam. Medical school has a life of its own. The volume of material to master is extensive, and the pressure mounts to be your best. Next is the interview process for residency training and the anticipation of Match Day.
Then life will begin. Maybe?
Now, you are in your late 20s …
7 keys to having a medical career that serves your life
The other day I felt like a used car salesman.
I was carefully phrasing my words, picking out just the right ones — the kind that really pack a punch — and delivering them at the right moment, with the perfect momentum. I was trying to make a sale.
Now, my cadence happened to be spot on, as I approached the finish line: the part where I get to package it all up. …
Your doctor may need lessons from a used car salesman
This article is sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com.
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are both advanced-practice providers with considerable autonomy, but they’re not interchangeable. Each brings something slightly different to the table, and if your practice is considering hiring an advanced-level practitioner, it’s important to understand the differences so you can hire appropriately for your need.
Because medical facilities are …
Should your practice hire a physician assistant or nurse practitioner?
I saw two patients with a chief complaint of bubbles in their urine this month.
One middle-aged woman had eaten some wild mushrooms she was pretty sure she had identified correctly, but once her urine turned bubbly a few days later, she came in to make sure her kidneys were OK.
Even though she was feeling quite well, they were not, and she ended up going straight to Cityside hospital for IV …
It’s the physician’s job to think of worst-case scenarios
My parents were married at the College of Physicians.
They picked a location that was not tied to either of their family’s religions but still sated a ceremonial need. A justice of the peace filled the role of a rabbi or priest, and they got married under the only doctrine they both held sacred: the Hippocratic Oath.
I never knew that this was an unconventional wedding location. I used to watch their …
My future as both a mother and a physician
An excerpt from The Pharmacist is a Whore: How Pharmacists Lost Control of Their Profession and Why You Should Care.
The day patients became customers was a black day for us all. Don’t get me wrong, pharmacy has always been a service profession, and we take that …
How pharmacists lost control of their profession and why you should care
I sat in seat 23F next to the window, took out my leftover dinner from my backpack, and furiously started eating. A few minutes later, a man wearing an Astros baseball cap sat next to me with a puzzled look.
“You sure look hungry.”
“I am, can’t beat fried noodles with chicken. My name’s T.J. Pleasure to meet you.”
“My name’s Mike, Mike Jordan.”
“Are you related to the Michael Jordan?”
“Ha ha! I sure …
Dealing with prejudice as a cancer patient
I spent my first two years of medical school collecting stories. I journaled about my thoughts in the anatomy lab. I wrote about what it was like to learn how to interview and examine patients, about the immense honor and privilege I felt just being able to don a white coat with a stethoscope around my neck. I wrote about the patients that touched my heart – the patient with …
One of the biggest lessons medical school can teach you
I cannot get behind fat acceptance, or better stated in medical lingo as “normalizing obesity.” As a physician and as someone who has been obese or morbidly obese my adult life, I know first hand what it’s like to hate my body and feel ashamed of it. I still do this very moment as I type this, that’s something I have to work on.
Funny thing is, I am much more …
Don’t sign off on fat acceptance. Don’t normalize obesity.
I’m proud to announce that I have partnered with Health eCareers to launch Careers by KevinMD.com: a new, dedicated career center ready to support your career at every stage.
Whether you’re ready to make the leap to a new job or just keeping your ear to the ground, there’s something here for every medical professional.
Here are some …
Welcome to your new career center!
Prior authorizations (PAs) have become increasingly burdensome for providers — they contribute to 92 percent of care delays and an estimated 77 million are submitted manually each year. In fact, the process has become so burdensome that many physicians get fed up with the process end up writing for less-effective prescriptions because they know the preferred drug will require a prior …
The answer to your prior authorization problem is simpler than you think
I’m a pathologist and the main way I communicate to the outside world — to your doctor and ultimately to you, the patient is via the pathology report. But the short missives I send from behind the microscope lack any excitement and can fall short of full communication.
Here’s the usual story:
Skin left scapula, biopsy
Nodular basal cell carcinoma
Negative for perineural invasion
Margin status: Positive
Doesn’t sound real interesting, does it?
How about a more …
A breakdown of your pathology report
All have to wait. As is normal with the busy ER, the ambient noises of machines, alarms ringing, painful moaning, and loud drunken outbursts permeate the department. It’s a controlled chaos.
But, a woman’s scream pierced my soul. Her baby eight-month-old boy laid limp in her arms. He’s already pale, lips blue, his chest not rising as it should with breathing — he is not responding at all. We wasted no …
Every few months, there happens to be another breathless news story about racism in health care. Mass media seems shocked, progressives angrily tweet, while conservatives claim that somehow it was all President Obama’s fault.
Meanwhile, the four relatively unknown and certainly underappreciated historically black college or university (HBCU) medical schools in the United States (Howard University, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School of …
Why historically black colleges and universities matter
Guess what? You’re surrounded by rich doctors. You probably didn’t even know it. You know why? Because doctors don’t talk about that filthy lucre known as money. So while you’re assuming that all the other doctors in your group, office building, and hospital are in the same position as you, you’re wrong. Some of them are rich. There are ten things they’re not telling you, but which …
10 things wealthy doctors won’t tell you
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
