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When doctors forget how to examine: the danger of lost clinical skills

Physician

June 20, 2025

An older woman with osteoporosis fell at home, developed back pain, then went to urgent care and was diagnosed with a “muscle strain.” During a follow-up visit in my office, she told me she’d had transient urinary incontinence after her fall, and on exam she had midline back tenderness, hip flexor weakness, and hyper-reflexive knee jerks. This woman had suffered a vertebral fracture, not a pulled muscle.

One of my patients …

When your dream job becomes a nightmare [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 19, 2025

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Pediatrician Sarah Webber discusses her article, “Why it’s so hard to admit when we don’t like our jobs.” The conversation is a vulnerable look into her personal experience with burnout just nine …

Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

Maire Daugharty, MD

Conditions

June 19, 2025

Professional coaching can contribute to personal growth and development by providing encouragement and support using a handful of simple techniques designed for deepening exploration in a co-created working relationship. Focuses can be wide ranging and include development and clarification of goals, refining communication, boundary setting, and conflict management skills. A coaching stance typically seeks improved performance, for example increased efficiencies at work or navigating executive function more effectively. It can …

When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

Anonymous

Physician

June 19, 2025

A nation that can map the human genome, transplant a face, and land rovers on Mars somehow cannot guarantee its citizens a timely doctor’s appointment. The official story blames “complex market forces,” “geographic maldistribution,” or the ever-handy “burnout.” But beneath the diagnostic babble lies a simpler, more uncomfortable truth: A powerful medical guild has learned that scarcity pays—and it intends to keep the spigot only half-open.

A cloister in white

Walk the …

Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

Jenny Shields, PhD

Conditions

June 19, 2025

The first rule of being a doctor is not “do no harm.” It’s “mind your own business.”

You won’t find it in the ethics textbooks. It’s not part of any formal curriculum. But ask around—quietly, privately—and most seasoned clinicians will tell you the same thing: the people who ask too many questions don’t last long.

You learn this not from lectures, but from observation. A colleague flags a safety concern. A note …

Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

Steven Lane, MD

Tech

June 19, 2025

The vast majority of my physician colleagues understand the value of interoperability for their patients and their ability to deliver high-quality care.

In the rare cases that I encounter a clinician who is unsure of interoperability’s benefits, I simply tell them that it creates a situation where everyone wins: Providers deliver better, safer, less expensive care, and patients get more coordinated experiences.

Interoperability makes a strong, positive difference in the care I …

Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 18, 2025

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LGBTQ+ journalist BJ Ferguson discusses the article, “Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws.” The conversation serves as a call to action for medical professionals, arguing that their duty …

The man in seat 11A survived, but why don’t our patients?

Dr. Vivek Podder

Physician

June 18, 2025

On June 12, 2025, Air India flight crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad in India. Among the 242 people on board, only one survived: a man seated in 11A.

That image has stayed with me—not just because of the miraculous survival, but because of what it reveals about systems. Seat 11A was located near the plane’s wing box, the structurally strongest part of the aircraft, and beside an emergency exit. Experts …

Why gambling addiction is America’s next health crisis

Safina Adatia, MD

Conditions

June 18, 2025

The next major health epidemic in the U.S. will not come from a pathogen. This plague has a potential patient population in the tens of millions, limited effective treatments, and is not widely studied in the medical community.

I’m referring to sports gambling, an activity that deeply alarms me as a physician who specializes in addiction. Problem gambling can increase the incidence of depression and anxiety and can lead to bankruptcy, …

When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

Maureen Gibbons, MD

Physician

June 18, 2025

When I was working full time in emergency medicine, I didn’t think much about the systems in my personal life. I had just enough clarity to show up for the next shift, keep my kid fed, work out, stay married, and try to remember where I parked the car. I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t lazy. I was underwater. So I did what a lot of physicians do when they’re trying …

How robotics are reshaping the future of vascular procedures

David Fischel

Conditions

June 18, 2025

Medicine has always evolved through a blend of scientific rigor and bold innovation. Over the last century, surgical practice has progressed from risky open procedures to highly controlled, minimally invasive interventions. Laparoscopic surgery marked one such revolution, dramatically enhancing patient outcomes by enabling precision through small incisions. By the 1990s, it had become an essential part of modern surgery.

A similar, albeit slower, evolution has taken place in endovascular care. …

Medicalizing burnout misses the real problem

Jessie Mahoney, MD

Physician

June 18, 2025

The solution to the physician burnout crisis isn’t more diagnoses or interventions. The antidote isn’t more modules, surveys, screenings, or questionnaires. What’s needed is cultural healing: One that we have so far been unwilling and/or too depleted to attempt.

Over the past decade, physician wellness has been medicalized. We’ve absorbed it into the very system that made us unwell. We’ve labeled it as pathology—when in fact, it’s a predictable outcome of …

How the shingles vaccine could help prevent dementia

Marc Arginteanu, MD

Conditions

June 18, 2025

Did you have chickenpox as a kid?

If the answer is yes (which it is for most of us), you’re at risk of getting shingles. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After one recovers from chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in one’s nerve cells. Later in life, if the virus reactivates (which depends on factors like age, stress, or a weakened immune system), it …

How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 17, 2025

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Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article “The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you.” Jessie discusses the profound changes in the practice of medicine that no longer …

Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

Patrick Hudson, MD

Physician

June 17, 2025

“Some people learn. Some don’t.
For the former, growing old is a joy.
For the latter, it is hell.”

I’ve seen both.

In exam rooms, break rooms, ORs, and coaching sessions. One physician softens—more present, less defended. Another hardens—brittle, often angry.

The difference isn’t intelligence, training, or temperament.

It’s whether they’re willing to learn—not just from books or trials, but from life itself.

What happens when physicians refuse to learn

Medicine does not require emotional growth to function. …

Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

Steven J. Katz, DDS

Conditions

June 17, 2025

As an endodontist who specializes in saving natural teeth, I have a front-row seat when it comes to observing the nuances of oral health. I can tell who is a flosser, a fan of tooth whiteners, and the sweet tooths among us. Occasionally, and particularly in younger adults, I see signs of severe tooth decay. That usually means one thing—they have lived in a town that lacks fluoride in their …

What the research really says about infrared saunas

Khushali Jhaveri, MD

Conditions

June 17, 2025

As someone who believes in a healthy amount of social media consumerism — just enough to stay inspired without drowning in every new trend — I recently found myself intrigued by a wellness practice that kept resurfacing on my feed: infrared sauna. Beyond the polished posts and glowing endorsements, my curiosity was also fueled by my background. As a cancer doctor, and someone who genuinely believes in the impact of …

How the cycle of rage is affecting physicians—and how to break free

Alexandra M.P. Brito, MD and Jennifer L. Hartwell, MD

Conditions

June 17, 2025

Disclosure: This should not be considered as evidence-based mental health literature. These are the observations of a surgeon with extensive experience being angry.

Introduction

Many physicians are finding themselves strained from ongoing sociopolitical crises. Dealing with the frequent or continuous consequences of unsustainable practices in health care systems, global systems issues like racism or sexism, or other large problems that are difficult to impossible …

Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

June 16, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Anesthesiologist Maire Daugharty, who expanded her expertise by earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, discusses her article “Why ADHD isn’t just a childhood disorder and what that means for …

Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

Katharina Schwan, MPH

Conditions

June 16, 2025

Every week, I speak with patients who have spent years—sometimes decades—searching for answers. They’ve seen rheumatologists, neurologists, cardiologists, physical therapists, and more, trying to piece together a puzzle that no one provider seems to fully understand. Their symptoms are dismissed as anxiety, growing pains, or “just part of being flexible.” But the truth is often something far more complex: A connective tissue disorder like hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) or Hypermobility …

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