“We do not have the money! You took it all!”
Startled, I moved the phone away from my ear to dampen the screaming voice on the other end. I had just explained to my patient’s son that his 95-year-old mother could walk again; she just needed surgery to repair her hip fracture. This was good news, or so I thought. His mother had insurance, “good” insurance, and needed a fairly routine …
Why doctors must fight for a just health care system
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Maternal-fetal medicine fellow Frank I. Jackson discusses his article “Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know.” Frank explains how postpartum hemorrhage remains a leading cause of maternal mortality, especially in low-resource …
Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN can use worldwide [PODCAST]
Cancer care has long been associated with physical, emotional, and psychological hardship. But for many patients, a quieter burden (the financial strain of treatment) shapes their experience in equally profound ways. Increasingly referred to as financial toxicity, this form of distress is emerging as a key determinant of cancer outcomes. Yet it remains under-recognized in day-to-day clinical care.
The high price of staying alive
Financial toxicity describes the economic hardship caused by …
When cancer costs too much: Why financial toxicity deserves a place in clinical conversations
When I was in my studies as a psychiatry resident, I learned about an interesting field called metabolic psychiatry, which focuses specifically on ketogenic therapies to treat psychiatric conditions. This is a nascent field at this time, with no extensive clinical trials like we have for medications, though some small trials exist. I even have some patients who have been on ketogenic diets (not prescribed by me) …
Psychiatrist tests ketogenic diet for mental health benefits
The overlooked treasure of primary care: Why this field is more rewarding than most realize
Primary care often carries a reputation: long hours, too much paperwork, and not enough pay. Many providers see it as a burden, a stepping stone, or simply “less glamorous” than other specialties.
But here is the truth most clinicians overlook: Primary care holds hidden rewards, both financial and emotional, that can transform not just your practice, but …
The hidden rewards of a primary care career
You spent years learning how to save lives, diagnose complex cases, and manage high-pressure situations. But nowhere in medical school did they teach you how to create a retirement plan, minimize taxes, or structure an investment portfolio.
Yet many doctors try to manage their own finances, thinking, “I am smart and disciplined; I can figure this out.” The truth? Being your own certified financial planner (CFP) often ends up costing more …
Why physicians should not be their own financial planner
One thing I know for sure is that, as a whole, our medical training system has gotten it all wrong when it comes to helping students correctly identify which specialty they want to apply to.
Coming from undergraduate school to medical school, I spent four years learning about myself. I went to graduate school, worked for a few years in the real world, and gained real-life experiences. During that time, I …
Why doctors regret specialty choices in their 30s
I offer these ten points in the hope that you will surpass my generation of physicians, myself included, and learn from our mistakes. God help us all if you do not.
Congratulations on your hard work, academic achievements, and the persistence and sacrifice that brought you to this moment in your medical careers. Good for you. And now, reality.
1. Although you have memorized many facts, you know nothing. Truth does not …
10 hard truths about practicing medicine they don’t teach in school
In my practice, I care for many patients obsessed with longevity. They fast, they microdose, they meditate, they cold plunge, they gulp down supplements by the handful. They optimize their labs with the fervor of a hedge fund manager optimizing a portfolio. They read Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman like scripture.
And yet, they still die.
This is not cynicism; it is reality. Over the years, I have watched patients do everything …
The myth of biohacking your way past death
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Family physician Amir Atabeygi discusses his article “Building trust in dyad leadership partnerships.” Amir explains why trust is the foundation of successful dyads, highlighting how implicit follow-through and consistent communication turn a …
How trust and communication power successful dyad leadership in health care [PODCAST]
For twenty years I have been the mother of a child with a life-threatening food allergy. I know what it is to watch my son’s throat close, to see terror in his eyes, to hear him beg not to die. It felt like time slowed down as we waited for epinephrine to work. Those moments are seared into me. They are not, and never will be, a joke.
That is why …
Why Hollywood’s allergy jokes are dangerous
Born a son to immigrant parents, one of whom did not speak any English early on in my youth, I struggled to assimilate to American culture, to friends, and to the everyday language and vernacular during my formative years in grade school, middle school, and even high school. My mother raised my brother, sister, and me while my father worked two, and sometimes three, jobs to make ends meet. Mom …
How I learned to love my unique name as a doctor
I had heard about night float: a daunting rotation for interns as they cared for patients they often were not well acquainted with, putting out fires until their usual team could take over in the morning. Given this reputation, I was surprised to find a night float week on my schedule as part of my internal medicine clerkship, a core rotation as a third-year medical student.
My first patient was a …
My first week on night float as a medical student
What do you remember most about the movie and musical Beauty and the Beast? For some, it is the powerful theme of inner beauty versus outward appearance. Others might resonate more with the music (“Be our guest, be our guest …”). For me, it is the vision of Belle’s inventor father, Maurice, and the townspeople laughing at his follies that has left a lasting mark and continues to trigger me …
What Beauty and the Beast taught me about risk
I recently attended a three-day workshop on how to lead transformational workshops. The experience was both meta and genuinely transformational, and a number of the lessons I took away continue to stand out for me.
Safety comes first. The workshop leaders highlighted over and over again that psychological safety comes first. You cannot belong to a group if you do not feel safe. They created the prerequisites for safety and then …
Creating safe, authentic group experiences
Why Indian pharmaceutical companies run the risk of driving up U.S. consumer drug prices when scaling too quickly: the diseconomics of scale.
Why the U.S. looks to India as a global supply chain hub for medications
India’s pharmaceutical industry saves U.S. consumers billions, but scaling too fast is a mistake. Premature scaling through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is not just unsustainable, it is reckless and a recipe for inefficiency, error, and rising …
The diseconomics of scale: How Indian pharma’s race to scale backfires on U.S. patients
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Physician Jessie Mahoney discusses her article “Learning to trust your body again: Healing the hidden wounds of medical training,” exploring how the culture of medicine conditions physicians to ignore their basic bodily …
Healing from medical training by learning to trust your body again [PODCAST]
The desegregation bus crash
I was nearly killed in a desegregation bus crash. They called it progress, but it felt like degradation. We were children, packed into metal boxes and sent across neighborhoods like test subjects. The crash was more than metal and blood, it was a system shattering itself. I survived, and I have spent the rest of my life making sure no child has to survive reform just to …
How tragedy shaped a medical career
Let us get this straight: Enjoying life is amazing. You should do more of it. Every day, if you can. But if you are truly committed to living well, you also need to get comfortable with something most people avoid like mystery meat at a buffet: preparing for your death.
Not obsessing over it. Not fearing it. Just preparing, so your loved ones are not left trying to solve your digital, …
A doctor’s guide to preparing for your death
There is evidence that coconut oil may be a potent weapon in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia and, perhaps, psychological problems such as depression.
Not just any coconut oil will do the trick, though. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is extracted from fresh coconut meat without the use of high heat or chemicals, preserving its natural nutrients, flavor, and aroma. VCO is typically pressed from fresh, moist …
Coconut oil’s role in Alzheimer’s and depression
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