I’m retired, but I’m disgusted with medical schools. Here’s why.

Education
March 10, 2017

The year was 1976. I was graduating from a small branch of my state university with a bachelor’s in chemistry when I first applied to medical school. I was living at home and paying my own tuition. There were no physicians in my family, but I became interested in medicine after I was impressed with a surgeon who had operated on my shoulder. I had a better-than-the-medical-school-acceptance-rate average on my …

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I’m retired, but I’m disgusted with medical schools. Here’s why.

A letter from a grateful physician to his patients

Physician
March 9, 2017

To my beloved patients and your families,

Over the years, it has been an incredible experience and honor to be allowed to enter into your world. It is a world that I know few people are privy to, and it is an intimate world where the deepest questions about life tend to arise. I know that when you are confronted with sickness that leads you into this world, it can be …

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A letter from a grateful physician to his patients

Retired at 37: Breaking up with a career in medicine

Physician
March 9, 2017

Leaving your career in medicine is like breaking up in a long term relationship. It may have all started out with lofty expectations, excitement about the future, and becoming your best self. However, somewhere along the way, things got messy and twisted and not what you signed up for.

There were hiccups along the way, signs that maybe it wasn’t good for you. There was the time you fell asleep at …

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Retired at 37: Breaking up with a career in medicine

The truth about Caribbean medical schools

Education
March 8, 2017

Dear Dr. Wible,

I want to fill you in on what really goes on behind the scenes at my medical school and maybe you can help inform other students about what happens here before they make a huge mistake. If students slip through the cracks of a U.S. medical school, then international med schools in the Caribbean may be the next choice. Some have better residency match rates than others so …

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The truth about Caribbean medical schools

4 scenarios surgeons need to explain to their patients

Physician
March 8, 2017

Among surgeons, it’s pretty common knowledge that residents and other providers may perform non-critical parts of a patient’s procedure. This not only helps residents and other trainees gain valuable surgical experience, it also gives patients better and faster access to high-demand surgical expertise.

The question is this: How well are surgeons explaining these facts to their patients?

Recent guideline updates by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) underscore the need …

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4 scenarios surgeons need to explain to their patients

All good doctors listen to nurses

Physician
March 7, 2017

Medicine, what a noble profession.  As the keepers of human health and longevity, we are entrusted with a huge but solemn responsibility.  It’s an ancient artwork, passed through the generations from pre-antiquity, hand in hand from physician to physician.  The Hippocratic oath ensuring that we first “do no harm” and commit ourselves to the honorable calling.  We often hear “see one, teach one, do one” and so propagates the training …

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All good doctors listen to nurses

Life coaching for physicians is an underused physician burnout tool

Physician
March 5, 2017

The onset of the new millennium has brought about a shift in not only the technological aspect of our industry, but also the mindset of physicians who are entering the field. Gone are the days of “work 40 years at the same practice, retire and live the good life.”  Physicians are finding more creative ways to be doctors including entering non-clinical careers, being entrepreneurs on the side, and moving into …

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Life coaching for physicians is an underused physician burnout tool

Does Adderall make you underachieve?

Education
March 4, 2017

It’s rare for medical students nowadays to go through training without knowing someone who uses prescription stimulants to study. The ever-popular Adderall and Concerta seem to be omnipresent on college campuses and medical schools, while prescriptions for these medications are suspiciously less common. In environments where success and self-worth are often based on academic achievement, the temptation to succumb to using these pills is high.

The temptation is even higher as …

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Does Adderall make you underachieve?

Compartmentalization failed me, and I’m forever grateful

Physician
March 2, 2017

I’m humbled by the honor to practice medicine.  We have the opportunity to be frontline participants in an ever evolving cascade of events in the lives of others.  Our decisions, directions, and split second actions have the ability to unite families, sustain breath or literally a beating heart.  Although biased, I can’t think of many professions more fulfilling and honorable.  There are issues and concerns, but they pale in comparison …

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Compartmentalization failed me, and I’m forever grateful

We must remember to humanize our patients

Physician
March 1, 2017

I’m probably crazy. I ride my motor scooter to and from work at the hospital. Some consider it unsafe. Perhaps it is, but feeling the wind and rain, those unfiltered elements. And after 12 hours inside a controlled environment, it’s too refreshing to pass up. So at 2 a.m. Friday night, I’m zooming (you always “zoom” on a scooter) through the industrial district after a tiring admitting shift. I see …

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We must remember to humanize our patients

The medical profession has a bad reputation. Here’s why.

Physician
March 1, 2017

It is no secret that physicians are disenchanted with the changes in medicine and can be overheard saying that they do not want their children to go into the profession. Has the practice of medicine deteriorated to the extent we say it has, and are there more appealing options?

According to a Doctors Company survey of 5,000 physicians, 9 out of 10 physician respondents indicated an unwillingness to recommend health care …

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The medical profession has a bad reputation. Here’s why.

Doctors serve the people not the system

Physician
February 27, 2017

Most health care professionals went into the field because of a calling. For many of us, it is not just a career but a sense of mission. While the system drives hoards to the brink and over the edge of burn-out, a sense of purpose remains. The goals are not the same for all, but it is a good time to re-examine our life goals.

Being a doctor, or any professional …

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Doctors serve the people not the system

Is breastfeeding as a working doctor an impossible task?

Physician
February 27, 2017

I am a new mom to a beautiful 8-month-old girl, and I am breastfeeding. I am also a doctor at a large, well-known academic institution. The hospital where I work delivers several thousand babies a year, and highly encourages their new moms to breastfeed. They offer a postpartum consultation with a lactation consultant, keep the baby in the mom’s room 24/7 while in the hospital, and provide several other pro-breastfeeding …

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Is breastfeeding as a working doctor an impossible task?

Are you ready for a recording device in your exam room?

Tech
February 26, 2017

During residency, one of my patients brought a tape recorder to his appointment.  It was a big bulky old tape recorder, that was antique technology ten years ago.  He was older and wanted to record his appointment so he could remember every detail.  His children often called him and wanted an in-depth report of all of his medical visits.  He decided he would audio-record his appointments and send the tape …

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Are you ready for a recording device in your exam room?

Obese patients are among our most vulnerable

Physician
February 26, 2017

It was around 2 p.m. when a 380-pound woman came into the ED. She was in her late 30s. The physician went to see her and then ordered IV fluids, some basic blood tests, and a urine sample.

At a hospital, everyone’s job is made harder when a patient is obese. Getting the patient on the bed requires more personnel. Inserting an IV — an intravenous catheter to infuse fluids or …

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Obese patients are among our most vulnerable

Physician coaching and retreats are innovative ways to fight burnout

Physician
February 25, 2017

One of the most memorable times from my family medicine training days was the annual residency my intern year. It was the year of the World Cup, and a bonding experience that would later save my life.  Being able to be with not only my residency class, but also the faculty in a relaxed and empowering environment brought a sense of safety that allowed me to reach out to one …

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Physician coaching and retreats are innovative ways to fight burnout

How journaling can help physician wellness

Physician
February 23, 2017

Health behavior was my emphasis in my MPH. Add a faculty development fellowship, time as residency faculty, work in a private practice, and increasing interaction with medical students now as faculty at a medical school; the outcome is not just an emphasis, but a mindset. A mindset of health behavior that is not just for patients, but for physicians, as well.

I must have company in this concept as ten invitations …

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How journaling can help physician wellness

Having a baby during medical school wasn’t such a bad idea

Education
February 22, 2017

My stomach had been in knots that morning.

“Are you pregnant?” my classmate laughed after I returned to the gross anatomy lab for the second time after leaving for fresh air.

“No,” I spat, dissection through fat and fascia, teasing out muscles from nerves.

But, I wondered.

After lab, I bought a pregnancy test. I began medical school in my late 20s, already having discussed with my husband appropriate times to start a family during …

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Having a baby during medical school wasn’t such a bad idea

How to publish as a medical trainee

Physician
February 22, 2017

With all this talk about medical student, resident, and fellow burnout, I thought we might take a break to discuss the small delights that sprinkle throughout medical training. This is not a “You should publish as a trainee” manifesto. It’s more of a DIY guide for those who are interested but can’t find the time or the mentor. And after a decade of rejected manuscripts, unfortunately, I’ve …

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How to publish as a medical trainee

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