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The sacrifices medical students have to make

Education

October 14, 2016

As a therapist, I have worked with medical students struggling with depression and anxiety, sometimes addiction but mostly desperate to save what is left of their failing relationships. They are torn by guilt and conflicting concerns that make them feel out of control. Medical school demands more than they can give, and yet they give, and give, and give until finally they are depleted. Ironically, this is when they need …

Double booking patients is difficult and destructive

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Physician

October 14, 2016

Not only have we shortened medical appointments to 15 minutes — we sometimes double book them.

I get the feeling that non-providers think of this as something fairly ordinary, and even reasonable. But it is often a very difficult and destructive thing to do.

The term “double booking” and the way it looks in an ordinary doctor’s scheduling grid suggest that the physician might possibly be expected to be in two places …

Why do so many Americans hate their health care system?

Peter Ubel, MD

Policy

October 13, 2016

There is lots to love about American health care. We have some of the best clinicians in the world, as evidenced by the huge number of people who come to the U.S. from other countries when they are sick. Yet the American people are less satisfied with their health care system than are citizens of the majority of other developed countries.

Why do people in the land of the Mayo Clinic …

Did a prostate cancer test save actor Ben Stiller’s life?

Dr. Saurabh Jha

Conditions

October 12, 2016

Ben Stiller—one of the few comedians on this side of the pond who can make me laugh—said prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing saved his life. I suspect he wasn’t being funny. Stiller had Gleason Grade 7 localized prostate cancer.

Is he right?

The honest answer is that we don’t know for certain. Before I get granular, we must visit proof, level of proof and burden of proof. The statement, “there’s …

When naturopaths treat autism, children suffer

Britt Marie Hermes, ND

Physician

October 12, 2016

Another child has been severely harmed by a naturopath—this time, in the UK.

A four-year-old boy with autism received naturopathic treatments that landed him in the emergency room. The boy had severe dehydration and dangerously elevated calcium levels. A naturopath had prescribed a regimen of vitamin D, calcium, cod liver oil, zinc and a long list of other substances that included silver, enzymes, salts and trace minerals

As a …

The honest reasons why this doctor chose internal medicine

Ted Tsai, MD

Physician

October 11, 2016

As an internal medicine physician, the #3 question people most often ask me is why I chose to be an internist. (The top two being “What is internal medicine?” and “What’s this thing growing on my genitals?”) So I thought that I would pull back the curtain and show how I made my decision.

According to Wikipedia, “Internal medicine or general medicine (in Commonwealth nations) is the medical specialty dealing with …

A story for those who pontificate about patient behavior

Patricia Salber, MD

Conditions

October 8, 2016

I was offered my choice of bisphosphonates after breaking my shoulder and ended up with a diagnosis of osteoporosis. I initially opted for Reclast, a drug that only requires one dose a year albeit by IV infusion. I made an appointment to get the drug several weeks later. I wanted to have time to research my options. After reading as much as I could during that time, I made an …

When should doctors see a therapist?

Kelly Smyth-Dent, MSW

Physician

October 7, 2016

Waiting to get help to improve your life and relationship is like waiting for the cancer to spread. You feel a lump on your body. Do you wait a few months to see if it gets bigger? Do you make an appointment right away? Do you avoid making an appointment altogether and hope it just goes away on its own?

Many times, we wait until after the divorce, after the accident, …

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When should doctors see a therapist?

What does “do no harm” really mean as a doctor?

Cory Michael, MD

Physician

October 7, 2016

I was working at the free clinic late in the first semester of my third year of medical school when I met a patient I will call Mary, the last patient to be seen for the evening. Mary had a fairly typical story among uninsured individuals. She was 26 years old and worked three jobs near minimum wage to make ends meet, none of which offered cost-sharing for health insurance. …

A physician volunteers in Honduras. Here’s what she learned.

Apoorva Jayarangaiah, MD

Physician

October 7, 2016

I quickly finished my day’s work in the resident’s clinic (documentations, relaying results) and raced home to hurriedly double check the list of things that I would need for my week long medical mission in Roatán, Honduras.

The air was frigid, and my pace matched the wind. In the 2-hour car ride to the airport, my mind was alive and restless; making mental note after mental note about our endeavor but …

Dos and don’ts for your residency interview

Joseph Cooper, MD

Education

October 6, 2016

It’s that time again — time to dust off your nicest suit and prepare for either residency or fellowship interviews. Being knee-deep in interview season for infectious diseases fellowships, my interview days bear some resemblance to my residency interviews, yet also are quite different. I have a unique opportunity this year to be a part of the recruitment and decision process for our internal medicine residency program, in addition to being a fellowship applicant.

I was visiting …

The day that the pediatricians quit

Kristen Compton, MD

Physician

October 5, 2016

Once upon a time, there was a land where parents were anxious, information was pervasive, and trust was hard to come by. Misinformed celebrities with impressive influence (despite minimal education) were spouting ideas that provided concrete solutions to poorly understood situations, and parents were clinging to them as if their (child’s) life depended upon it.

Pediatricians everywhere were scratching their heads, wondering, what has happened? Why are our patients doubting us? …

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The day that the pediatricians quit

A physician experiences a medical error. Here’s her story.

Maja Castillo, MD

Physician

October 4, 2016

As a physician, I knew exactly what was happening when I walked into the emergency room. My eyes were nearly swollen shut. My throat was closing. I was in the midst of a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. I urgently needed epinephrine, a potent medicine that could halt my life-threatening symptoms. When I told the nurse what was happening, she rushed me to the trauma room where doctors and nurses encircled …

I don’t apologize for being a fast doctor

Dina D. Strachan, MD

Physician

September 30, 2016

When we think about the technology revolution, we often get excited at the thought of getting what we want instantly. We wait in line for new smartphones. We instant message. We love fast. Getting something done faster, with as good a result, is usually seen as a virtue — unless one is a doctor.

In these times of fast information, we find ourselves bombarded with surveys. Part of the downside of …

Patients want to make their own informed choices. We need to let them.

Niran S. Al-Agba, MD

Physician

September 30, 2016

Growing up during the 1970’s and 80’s, Little House on the Prairie was an iconic part of my childhood. Doc Baker was the physician and veterinarian for all of Walnut Grove, in spite of limited resources. Medical lessons were everywhere in the beloved television series: Mary experiencing onset of blindness (most recently attributed to viral meningoencephalitis, likely from measles), the death of Laura’s infant son by unknown cause, and Rose’s …

When EMTALA forms meet EMRs, chaos can ensue

Edwin Leap, MD

Physician

September 28, 2016

Ah, EMTALA! The revered Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act! It’s one of those things which is like a nursery rhyme to emergency medicine folks like me. We’ve heard about it from the infancy of our training. “And then the bad doctor sent the poor lady to another hospital because she couldn’t pay! And the King came and crucified him for doing it!” The end.

EMTALA, for the uninitiated, is …

This doctor is against medical marijuana. Here’s why.

Michael Kirsch, MD

Meds

September 26, 2016

I have already opined on my disapproval of a medical marijuana law recently passed in Ohio. Once of my points in that piece is that I did not want legislators making medical decisions for us. They can’t even do their own jobs.

I am not against medical marijuana; I am for science. The currency of determining the safety and efficacy of a medicine should be medical evidence, not faith, …

Captain Sully and the human factor in health care

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

September 25, 2016

I recently watched the movie Sully. It was the first time I’d ever watched a movie on its actual release date. Knowing what a legendary actor Tom Hanks is, and what a fascinating and near-tragic story unfolded on January 15, 2009, I felt confident that my choice to venture out to the cinema on a beautiful Boston September evening, would be a good one.

The movie sure didn’t disappoint. Brilliantly directed …

Physician parents, physician children. Why?

Robert G. Dorfman

Education

September 25, 2016

Upon starting medical school, I remember feeling amazed to learn just how many of my classmates had physician parents. I felt like I was in the minority, not having any family members of my own who were doctors. This made me realize: Physician parents tend to breed physician children. But why? I soon discovered that the answer may lie in the genetics of personality.

The academic study of personality has grown extensively over …

The yoga of surgery

Red Hoffman, MD, ND

Physician

September 24, 2016

Early on a random Tuesday morning, I walked into the burn unit and found my 87-year-old patient, Mr. Gray, in septic shock. While Mr. Gray’s burn injury was small by our standards, it appeared that the sequelae of the injury might prove fatal. I called Mr. Gray’s wife to obtain consent for a vascular catheter through which I planned to begin continuous dialysis and was surprised when she declared, “No …

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The yoga of surgery

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