“Are you going to be wearing a white skirt and a hat from now?”
That was one of the first things I heard when I told relatives I had been accepted into nursing school. It was a joke — at least that’s how it was delivered. But the meaning behind it wasn’t funny.
In my South Asian community, nursing is seen as women’s work — important, but low-status. For a man to …
How a South Asian nurse challenged stereotypes in health care
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Physician advocates Alae Kawam, Kim Downey, and Nicole Solomos discuss their article “True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it,” sharing firsthand accounts of the cultural rift …
Doctors reclaiming their humanity in a broken system [PODCAST]
When I found out about the summary suspension of my medical license in February, I was terrified and shocked, but I knew it was a mistake. There had not been any hearing. I was not even aware they were charging me until I got the letter.
The allegations involved three patients. I had the cases reviewed by four independent spine surgeons, leaders in the field from stellar institutions; all agreed that …
Guilty until proven innocent? My experience with a state medical board.
I’m often asked about how to pursue a physician entrepreneurial career pathway. Like Peter Medawar opined in his “Advice to a young scientist”, allow me to offer some advice:
You will not learn about innovation or entrepreneurship in medical school or residency. Medical education is designed to teach students clinical care and research methods. If you have an entrepreneurial interest, you will have to pursue it using alternative …
How to balance clinical duties with building a startup
At any given time, about five percent of men and nine percent of women, just like you and me, suffer from incontinence. This means that they cannot hold their urine or feces until they reach a bathroom. In other words, that affects one in twenty men and one in ten women. Incontinence in adults can be caused by old age, injury, neuromuscular disorders, and cancer, to name some of …
When life makes you depend on Depends
The question is not where one is born, because birthplace—whether a country or continent—is never chosen by oneself, but always determined by others and the surrounding environment.
Nor is the question where one lives, because even though the place, country, or continent may seem self-chosen, it is often influenced or guided by others and external circumstances.
The real question is where one belongs, because the feeling of belonging—to a place, country, or …
Could ECMO change where we die and how our organs are donated?
Every 24 hours, at least one person dies from a preventable medication error. Every hour, countless others suffer complications that could have been avoided with better systems. Yet despite billions invested in health care technology and training, these numbers are not improving.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: We have been solving the wrong problem.
For decades, health care has treated medication errors like individual failures — a tired nurse, a distracted doctor, a …
Every medication error is a system failure, not a personal flaw
We are informed by the Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, and poet George Santayana, that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
That has never been my problem.
I grew up immersed in family stories from both parents — some of them true, and some not so accurately remembered. Starting at about age three with Little Golden Books that my mom bought for a nickel each at local thrift stores, …
From Civil War tales to iPhones: a family history in contrast
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Board-certified pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article, “Why self-care must become medicine’s new standard.” She challenges the long-held belief in medical culture that self-sacrifice is noble and that self-care …
Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]
In July 2017, 24-year-old mother Lucero Garza sought a natural diet pill to aid in her journey to lose weight gained after pregnancy. Without consulting a doctor, Garza bought the supplement’ Avitia Cobrax’ via Facebook. While the supplement was marketed as a natural remedy, its effects were anything but remedial. After consuming the product, Garza began experiencing severe headaches and ultimately fell into a coma. Tragically, she passed six …
The hidden dangers of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements
The overlapping challenges of chronic pain and substance misuse overwhelm health care systems. Many people live with persistent pain, while others struggle with substance misuse, and some face both conditions simultaneously. This complex public health crisis is marked by rising opioid-related deaths, widespread under-treatment, and significant barriers to accessing care. Implementing a telehealth-based pain and substance misuse service represents a transformative response, bringing evidence-based, patient-centered treatment directly to individuals wherever …
Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service
Today I helped a family friend in a medical crisis. My friend’s elderly mom had been admitted to the hospital after a series of falls. In hospital medicine, this is a tale as old as time. Falls often herald the beginning of a downhill trajectory.
Experienced docs know to look for urinary tract infections, electrolyte abnormalities, dehydration, constipation, over-medication and more. We know that delirium (an alteration in mental status that …
How an insider advocate can save a loved one
We tell ourselves documentation is for patient safety. For continuity. For protection. But let’s be honest. It’s for billing. And once you see that clearly, it is hard to unsee.
In training, I was taught that the note reflects the thinking of the physician. That it should tell the story of the patient and the rationale for each decision. But in practice, it does not. It is a tool for revenue …
Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories
Tough and tender at the same time, Linda is a woman with a broad smile, the kind who likes to “fish all weekend at the lake, a place where I don’t think about anything. Or, anyone.” I often smelled cigarette smoke on her, and she has the raspy voice that comes from a lifetime of stepping outside on the porch to light up. She embodies the physical strength that comes …
A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption
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Professional development practitioner and veteran emergency nurse Kristen Cline discusses her article, “America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within.” Using the TV drama “The Pitt” as …
An ER nurse explains why the system is collapsing [PODCAST]
Imagine a dedicated physician, after years of rigorous training and countless lives saved, facing a medical board complaint over a minor issue—perhaps a clerical error in documentation or a subjective interpretation of a clinical decision. What should be a straightforward matter escalates into a career-threatening ordeal. State medical boards, endowed with significant authority, often wield it with little accountability. Armed with prosecutors who prioritize winning over truth, boards can distort …
Why reforming medical boards is critical to saving patient care
“Doctor, it’s not my portion. I don’t have hypertension,” she said confidently, shifting her wrapper and returning my gaze like I had just accused her of something terrible.
The blood pressure monitor read 170/120 mmHg. I had just measured it myself twice, yet here I was, facing a patient who flat-out refused to believe her numbers.
She was a middle-aged woman who came in complaining of a headache and body weakness. She …
How denial of hypertension endangers lives and what doctors can do
Health care is in the middle of a technological reckoning. AI and IT innovations promise efficiency, predictive analytics, and system-wide transformation. Yet inside hospitals, clinics, and virtual care platforms, the psychological fallout tells a different story, one that leadership must reckon with before the cost becomes irreversible.
The silent resistance: Psychological transition vs. technical adoption
Most health care executives measure success by how fast they implement new systems. But psychological readiness is …
AI in health care is moving too fast for the human heart
Imagine a family physician who works 12-hour days packed with complex cases and endless paperwork. They may skip meals, miss their child’s recital, and stay late to finish charting. Patient care feels rushed, and the physician begins to feel emotionally numb and irritable. Driving home exhausted, the doctor wonders if medicine was the right career choice! A physician’s role is considered a calling, and when it starts to feel like …
How physicians can reclaim resilience through better sleep, nutrition, and exercise
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Family physician Jonathan Bushman discusses his article, “The hidden moral injury behind value-based health care.” He shares the story of a young physician who was told to remove her most complex patients …
This isn’t burnout, it’s moral injury [PODCAST]
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