Does silence as a faculty retention strategy in academic medicine and health sciences work?

Conditions
May 17, 2025

Faculty retention remains an ongoing concern for colleges and universities, especially at a time when there is a clear misalignment between the socio-political environment, the mission of higher education, and the values held by most faculty. If you’ve been paying attention, you know: higher education is experiencing waves of faculty disengagement.

However, some institutions respond to crises not with dialogue, but with silence. They avoid confronting faculty concerns …

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Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction

Conditions
May 17, 2025

In an interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed whether society should bear the cost of health care for individuals whose health problems are largely self-inflicted, citing smoking as an example. He questioned the fairness of providing the same level of care to people who, in his words, “predictably get sick” from behaviors like smoking as to those born with congenital illnesses.

While emphasizing personal responsibility is important, this …

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How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

Education
May 17, 2025

Shortly after taking the oath of office on January 20, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump issued two Executive Orders: One halted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government, and another mandated the use of “sex,” rather than “gender,” in official federal documents while simultaneously terminating federal funding for gender-affirming care. In the days that followed, institutions …

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Alzheimer’s and the family: Opening the conversation with children [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 16, 2025
YouTube video

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Journalist and patient advocate Carol Steinberg discusses her article, “Alzheimer’s impact on the young should be an open book.” She argues that while Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) …

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AI in mental health: a new frontier for therapy and support

Conditions
May 16, 2025

The mental health crisis in America continues to intensify. With therapist shortages, high costs, and long waitlists, there are millions of people without access to therapy. As a cognitive scientist who analyzed therapy transcripts in grad school and now develops AI mental health applications, I’ve observed artificial intelligence emerging as a complementary solution to these accessibility challenges.

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What prostate cancer taught this physician about being a patient

Conditions
May 16, 2025

I recently wrote about my experience of becoming a patient and how that change in role transformed my perspective as a doctor. But, in that article, I did not share that the reason I had become a patient was that I was undergoing a biopsy for potential prostate cancer.

In preparation for the procedure, the doctor reassured me that the outlook was good and that he did not expect to …

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Why fearing AI is really about fearing ourselves

Tech
May 16, 2025

I was at a conference of physician executives and physician founders recently, and there were many stimulating conversations. The idea that AI could see us as a threat and eventually destroy us came up in various forms, often as a half-serious joke. Half-serious jokes are serious concerns. Indeed, astrophysicist Martin Rees predicted that humanity had a 50 percent chance of destroying itself this century due to technological advances and threats, …

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The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

Physician
May 16, 2025

Practicing medicine today is not what most of us envisioned when we chose it as a profession. We still love science. We still love health. We still love helping patients and being healers.

But the practice of medicine has changed—and continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Navigating this shifting landscape requires a new mindset—one rooted in adaptability, self-awareness, and resilience. The way we were trained to practice medicine twenty or …

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Why great patient outcomes don’t protect female doctors from burnout [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 15, 2025
YouTube video

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Pediatrician and holistic wellness expert Noemi Adame discusses her article, “Having a female doctor is better for your health, but not for hers.” She highlights research indicating patients often experience better outcomes—including …

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Why ADHD in women is finally getting the attention it deserves

Conditions
May 15, 2025

More women than ever before are receiving ADHD diagnoses. From 2020 to 2022, the percentage of adult women with a new diagnosis nearly doubled, and clinicians continue to encounter higher rates of women seeking assessments.

It’s reassuring that, after decades of association with rambunctious little boys, ADHD is finally being acknowledged as a condition that can affect anyone, regardless of age or …

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How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor

Physician
May 15, 2025

This article is satire.

Dr. Donovan Trumble was not your average internist.

In fact, if you asked him, he wasn’t your average anything.

He called himself “the most successful physician-researcher in America—maybe ever,” and once declared during grand rounds, “If Sir William Osler were alive today, he’d be my opening act.”

To the faculty at the Ivy League medical school where Trumble had once chaired the Department of Clinical Egotism (officially “Translational Medicine,” but …

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Why ruling out sepsis in emergency departments can be lifesaving

Conditions
May 15, 2025

It’s a common scenario in the emergency department (ED). Peak cold and flu season brings in patients complaining of fever and chills, with increased heart rates and elevated white blood cell counts. Too many patients, not enough beds. As emergency medicine providers, we have to make quick, challenging decisions at triage, prioritizing the sickest patients based on their vitals and symptoms and getting them on the right care pathway.

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The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

Conditions
May 15, 2025

Spinal surgery patients frequently present to me after multiple years of managing their chronic back pain through physical therapy, injections, medications, and alternative treatment methods. Patients arrive at my office already worn out physically and emotionally drained from frustration about their chronic condition. What increases my concern is that irreversible damage has already resulted in many cases, which could have been reduced or prevented through earlier surgical treatment.

I recommend starting …

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Precision and personalization: Charting the future of cancer care [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 14, 2025
YouTube video

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Hematology-oncology physician Yousuf Zafar discusses his article, “The personalization of cancer care in 2025.” He traces the evolution of cancer treatment over the past two decades, moving through waves of cytotoxic chemotherapy, …

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Expert Q&A: Dr. Jared Pelo, ambient clinical pioneer, explains how Dragon Copilot helps clinicians deliver better care

Sponsored
May 14, 2025

This article is sponsored by Microsoft Dragon Copilot.

Microsoft Dragon Copilot, part of Microsoft Cloud for Health Care, provides an AI assistant for clinical workflow. It combines ambient conversation capture, natural language understanding, and advanced generative AI to streamline documentation, surface information, and automate …

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The lab behind the lens: Equity begins with diagnosis

Policy
May 14, 2025

Another day, more slides pass under my lens. Each represents a patient, a family, friends, uncertainty—maybe the beginning of a journey they are soon to realize, maybe it is the end of a journey. Each is unique.

These are turbulent times we live in. Deep divides separate our country. However, under the microscope there are no politics, no labels or preconceptions. The rainbow of colors the cells illuminate shines bright for …

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Rethinking patient payments: Why billing is the new frontline of patient care [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 13, 2025
YouTube video


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Health care executive Blake Walker discusses his article, “From caregivers to collectors: Navigating the new landscape of patient payments.” He describes a perfect storm impacting provider groups: the significant rise in patient …

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The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

Physician
May 13, 2025

Like many parents, I love to talk about my children. A conversation with someone to whom I’m newly introduced often begins: “Do you have children?” (Yes). “How many?” (Two). Their natural and understandable follow-up question usually is: “Boys or girls?”

Usually, I revel in the possibilities inherent in meeting someone new. However, at this moment I pause and silently protest. Ugg!! This is a question that one should NEVER ask someone …

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Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

Conditions
May 13, 2025

Since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), when civil service exams evaluated intellectual abilities, people have used cognitive assessments to identify special talents or, more commonly, to detect problems.

We’ve come a long way in 2,000 years! Today, neuropsychological batteries—combinations of assessments to detect dementia, learning disabilities, and cognitive impairments from chronic conditions or acute events—are widely used. Yet, far too often, these assessments are administered reactively, only after severe deficits …

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