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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 …

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

Matthew Anderson, MD, MBA

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 …

Obese patients are among our most vulnerable

Helena Frischtak

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 …

Physician coaching and retreats are innovative ways to fight burnout

Maiysha Clairborne, MD

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 …

How journaling can help physician wellness

Amanda S. Cuda, MD, MPH

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 …

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

Allison Lyle

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 …

How to publish as a medical trainee

James E. Siegler, MD

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

Doctor revived after suicide tells all

Pamela Wible, MD

Physician

February 18, 2017

In this podcast, I share insights from a doc who barely survived his suicide attempt plus simple ways to prevent the next suicide. Listen in. You may save a life.

Dear Pamela,

I’ve never been so happy to fail at something in my life. Four weeks ago today I died. Cardiopulmonary arrest in jail. Why was I in jail? My wife alerted …

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Doctor revived after suicide tells all

Once upon a time, being a doctor was great. Not anymore.

Edwin Leap, MD

Physician

February 16, 2017

Gather round kids! Let Grandpa Doctor Leap tell you a few things about the old days of doctoring in the emergency room:

Back in the good old days, medicine was what we liked to call “fun.” Not because it was fun to see people get sick or hurt or die, but because we were supposed to do our best and people didn’t wring their hands all the time about rules and …

Should patients order their own lab tests?

Michael Kirsch, MD

Physician

February 16, 2017

Knowledge is power. Increasingly, patients are demanding and receiving access to levers in the medical machine that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. The informed consent process, which I support, can overwhelm ordinary patients and families with conflicting and bewildering options.

Television and the airwaves routinely advertise prescription drugs directly to the public. Consider the strategy of direct-to-consumer drug marketing when millions of dollars are spent advertising a drug that …

Patients are unique with individual needs. That is the art of medicine.

Andrea Eisenberg, MD

Physician

February 15, 2017

On a busy day in the office, a patient was added to my schedule for “bleeding, early pregnancy.” She was one of my partner’s patients, but he was not in the office that day. We talked for a minute, then I examined her and did an ultrasound. As I expected, she was in the process of a miscarriage. Unfortunately, I, who wasn’t her regular doctor, had to give her this …

The blame game: It’s not alright to blame the patient

Nancy Collins, PhD, RDN

Physician

February 14, 2017

Most of the lawsuits I deal with have more than one named defendant. For example, the plaintiff (typically a deceased patient’s next of kin) might sue a hospital, a nursing home, and the attending physician at each facility. Sometimes they go a bit further and may even include the administrator, the director of nursing, and individual HCPs, such as the wound care nurse or the registered dietitian nutritionist.

When a lawsuit …

4 reasons why being a doctor is worth it

Jean Robey, MD

Physician

February 14, 2017

2016 closed around a continued effort to “salvage” the medical profession’s reputation, but the notion that it’s broken continues to be counterproductive.

The brightest students, for example, question the long journey and delayed gratification being a physician entails. They do the math and continue to engage in other professions that are medical but not specifically Medical Doctorate degrees or Doctor of Osteopathic degrees. These same students conclude there is no longer …

Words of wisdom for new nurses

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Education

February 13, 2017

Welcome to the land of happiness, sadness, confusion, self-doubt, defeat and heroism. You have only just begun. This is not an easy job. And countless times you will say, “What was I thinking?” Or “Why did I do this?”

But it’s not really a job. It is a lifelong sentence. It can be insanely gratifying, or you can throw in the towel.

But be patient. It will consume you, and you will …

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Words of wisdom for new nurses

The Physician’s Bill of Rights

Michele C. Parker, MD

Physician

February 10, 2017

I love teaching my children about history, and in the process, I often see a clearer perspective of events I learned about at a young age when I had less life experience under my belt.

As I have been revisiting the evolution of our country, the formation and restructuring of our society, and the emergence of periods of oppression, rebellion, and social change, I have been struck by the concept that …

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The Physician’s Bill of Rights

Are you asking students questions or “pimping?”

Joseph Cooper, MD

Education

February 10, 2017

One of the most respected and skilled clinician-educators — of course, he is an infectious diseases specialist — at our institute came into my office, sat down and immediately starting eating pretzels. “Let me know what you think about this,” he said between bites. He went on to recapitulate a recent interaction he had with the members of the internal medicine team (medical students, house staff and the attending physician) …

How to navigate the language barrier with patients

Matthew Bower

Education

February 10, 2017

William Osler once said, “Listen to your patient; he is telling you the diagnosis.” Anybody who practices medicine knows that is easier said than done. The ability to take a skillful history takes years to develop. There are many nuances in a medical history and physicians must know the right questions to ask. The next step is to avoid asking the wrong questions and the wrong wording of the right …

This doctor is a pro-choice physician. Which means she promotes life.

Anne Toledo, MD

Physician

February 9, 2017

To my friends who view abortion as a betrayal of their religious values: I want you to know that I love you for who you are and understand where you are coming from.

I grew up with many friends for whom the church was an important part of family and community. I was, perhaps unwittingly, towed along to vacation bible camp” at said friends’ churches and for several summers in high …

Hospital color codes, and what they mean

Ben Gold, MD

Physician

February 9, 2017

Hospitals have lots of codes. The most famous one is Code Blue (medical emergency), but it turns out there are lots of color-based codes. This can be confusing, as the connection between the code colors and the situations they represent are usually tenuous at best. Today we explore all of the types of codes, and shed some light these arcane medical euphemisms.

Code Blue

What it sounds like it means: Aggressively-scented cologne from Armani.

What it actually means: …

Should we stop burping babies?

Chad Hayes, MD

Conditions

February 7, 2017

One evening this past week, after my wife finished feeding our 5-week-old daughter, I took over baby duty. I sat her up on my lap and gave her a few thumps on the back. Not hard enough to hurt, obviously, but just to make her burp.

She didn’t burp. So I gave her a couple more gentle-but-firm whacks, still without a result.

And then I remembered the phone call I got a …

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Should we stop burping babies?