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The difficult conversations physicians have with patients

Uzma Khan, MD

Physician

March 21, 2018

A 60-year-old lady came for follow-up after a recent stay in the hospital. She was diabetic — horribly uncontrolled — the result of which was that she had already been on dialysis for four years. She ended up in the emergency room with chest pain. Diabetic patients are at higher risk than the general population of having heart attacks.

She underwent studies to evaluate for blockages in her heart. The cardiologist …

This medical student scored a 281 on the USMLE Step 2 CK. You can, too

Alyssa Ehrlich

Education

March 21, 2018

Once a minor hurdle on the road to Match Day, the USMLE Step 2 CK is now required by many residency programs before ranking applicants. For those with low Step 1 scores, Step 2 CK is even more critical, as it represents a student’s only opportunity to compensate for Step 1 performance. I was happy with my Step 1 score but planned to take Step 2 CK well before applying …

What do you do when your loved one becomes suddenly ill?

Natalie Santiago, MD

Physician

March 21, 2018

When someone you love who has always been healthy and a go-getter suddenly takes ill, it can be very scary and confusing for both of you. It can be particularly scary and confusing for your loved one. Your loved one, while healing, is also experiencing grief/loss, and not just over the loss of health. Even as adults, we can sometimes feel like bad things won’t ever happen to us. Feeling …

10 tips to help patients through benzodiazepine withdrawal

Christy Huff, MD

Meds

March 20, 2018

As physicians, we are experts at prescribing medications. However, we often fail miserably when it comes to recognizing adverse reactions and tapering medications. It’s something that is simply lacking in our medical training. I have become a victim of this with benzodiazepines, as I detailed in a prior blog post. Benzodiazepines, in particular, are very difficult drugs to taper. I would like to share with you …

Enjoy financial freedom by reaching the land of critical mass

Live Free MD

Finance

March 20, 2018

If you’re doing investing right, you’re saving a large percentage of your income every month (like 25-50%) and stuffing it into stocks, bonds, and real estate investments.

At first, even with a high savings rate, your net worth will be low, and the money made by your investments will also be low, like maybe a few hundred dollars a month. However, as your net worth increases, your investments will make more …

How inflation will affect our health system

Robert Pearl, MD

Policy

March 19, 2018

All eyes are on interest rates as investors look for more signs of trouble ahead.

If their concerns over higher-than-expected inflation prove accurate, many players in the U.S. economy will suffer the burden of higher costs. But perhaps no sector would feel the strain more than health care. Higher costs would be just the start of many problems to come for providers, insurers and, eventually, patients.

Surging inflation would create a vicious …

The public’s unrealistic expectations about CPR

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

Physician

March 19, 2018

A survey of 1,000 volunteer adults found 71% regularly watched medical television dramas, but only 12% said the shows “were a reliable source of health information.”

The participants were given some brief vignettes describing scenarios where CPR was administered: a 54-year-old who suffered a heart attack at home and received CPR by paramedics, an 80-year-old with a postoperative cardiac arrest in the hospital after surgery, and a post-traumatic arrest in an …

Communication skills: a tale of 2 doctors

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

March 18, 2018

There are two doctors working at the local hospital. They are both around the same age, been in practice for several years, and in the same specialty.

Dr. Cooper grew up in Ohio and went to medical school in California, before moving to New York after his residency training. Dr. Steele grew up in Michigan, where he also went to medical school, before completing his residency in Florida, and then ending …

The truth about plastic surgery chains

Jennifer Greer, MD

Physician

March 17, 2018

Over 17 million cosmetic surgery and minimally invasive procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2016. With the increasing popularity of cosmetic procedures, it seems nearly everyone is out to get a bite of the apple.

Cosmetic surgery chains are growing in size and popularity in an attempt to cash in on this market. Examples include: LifeStyle Lift in the U.S., which declared bankruptcy in 2015 …

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The truth about plastic surgery chains

Intern year is still universally hard. Intern year is also universally great.

Grace Faith Chao, MD

Physician

March 17, 2018

4:00 p.m. Right on time.

I am walking down the street with my brother on his first visit to me in residency; I’m only two weeks in.

I turn to him: “Wait a second.”

I place my hand on the cement wall next to us, and I start to heave.

“Um … are you OK?”

“Yeah. No worries. My body’s just adjusting.”

I go on to describe how every day at 4 p.m. after a 24-hour …

How to have a life in residency

Angela Seabright, DO

Physician

March 16, 2018

Medical students and residents become accustomed to living life in year increments. Four years for medical school, three to five years for residency, a couple years for fellowship, research, and so on. While many of us like to think we are putting our life on “pause” as we complete our medical training this just isn’t possible. Life is happening all around us every day. Many physicians look back on their …

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How to have a life in residency

The implicit biases of gender stereotypes in medicine

Jenny Hartsock, MD

Physician

March 15, 2018

I was lucky to be raised in a place and time where I have not had any significant barrier in my way because I am a woman. I have been allowed to make my own choices and pursue my own path in life. My gender never deterred me from achieving what I set out to do. Can you imagine being a woman a hundred or two hundred years ago or …

5 ways to be financially successful as a physician

Mick Connors, MD

Finance

March 15, 2018

I was doing a procedure on a child last night, and the mother said to her son: “I want you to be a doctor, make lots of money and buy me a house.”

Of course, it was 11 p.m. on a Friday night, and I was making my riches doing a procedure on an anxious four-year-old in the emergency department.

Doctors make a good income after they finish 25 years of education …

The challenge in oncology: balancing hope and reality

Don S. Dizon, MD

Conditions

March 14, 2018

Part of the challenge in oncology is the balance between hope and reality, and that is probably the most important thing to strive for for patients living with metastatic disease. Often times, the important conversations relate to treatment options, goals of care, and patient preferences (i.e., how frequent the visits to the doctor and for …

10 tips for surviving and thriving throughout your partner’s residency

Nashira Pearl

Education

March 13, 2018

Your partner’s residency is hard for you both, but it is possible to both survive and thrive throughout it! Finding happiness and success while your partner is in residency comes down to a handful of simple lessons, at least in theory if not in practice.

1. It’s your residency, too. It’s a simple but powerful departure point: residency is both your partner’s job and a significant period in your life together. Your …

Physicians: Get rid of car debt. Or, how to buy a car with cash.

Live Free MD

Finance

March 13, 2018

Cars are incredible inventions. They allow you to transport yourself hundreds of miles, whenever you want, in a relatively short time period. Cars allow you to arrive at your desk job without any sweat or dirt on your face. They also allow you to take amazing road trips and might even act as a camper on a rainy night.

Cars are a depreciating asset

However, don’t forget that cars are a luxury …

Pay down student loans or invest: What should doctors do?

Wall Street Physician, MD

Finance

March 12, 2018

There are a lot of competing goals when you first get out of residency.

You have hundreds of thousands of student loans to pay off.

You need to build up your investment accounts, which lag far behind your college classmates who have been working for the past decade.

You need to save up for a down payment for your dream home.

If you have kids, you need to begin saving for their college educations.

And of course, you’ve been living like …

Doctors: Don’t forget to take care of yourselves

Fred N. Pelzman, MD

Physician

March 10, 2018

It’s 10 p.m. on Wednesday night, and I’m finishing up my notes for my patient visits from this morning while I do my bowel prep for my colonoscopy tomorrow.

Now, I know we can argue the biomechanical challenges of doing both of these tasks at the same time, and this certainly may be TMI, but it struck me as I was sitting there trying to do both of these things how …

A physician’s faith in God

Marissa Lombardo, MD

Physician

March 8, 2018

My testimony is quite an odd one, similar to my professional journey.

I came to believe in God on a medical mission trip in Honduras when I was about twenty-one years old. A staunch atheist at the time, I was interested in beefing up my medical school application. A local church donated thousands of dollars for my college group’s mission trip; I was stunned. I had never even attended church! Finally, …

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A physician’s faith in God

A patient becomes a medical student

Dr. Vivek Podder

Education

March 8, 2018

I was a four-year-old kid when I was about to begin my first day of school. I was born and raised 20 kilometers away from the big city in a small rural area with minimal essential amenities — schools, roads, and hospitals. Like all other kids, it was a momentous occasion for me to start my first day of school, and I remember how exciting it was.

As I started to …

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A patient becomes a medical student