Like many of us in health care, I recently became engrossed in The Pitt. If you’re still watching—or plan to—consider this your spoiler alert. HBO’s new medical drama immerses viewers in a grueling 14-hour shift in the ER of a trauma center. I initially tuned in for Noah Wyle, my teenage crush, but I stayed for the catharsis. Never have I related on such a visceral level to the portrayal …
How a TV drama exposed the hidden grief of doctors
Have you been encouraged to play more by your medical providers recently?
Most likely, the answer is “no.”
However, as a family medicine physician myself, I have begun to see the importance of play for many aspects of our health.
When scholars define playfulness, curiosity, spontaneity, and the freedom to suspend reality are some of the ways it is described.
I might ask right here for you to consider how those elements are important …
Why adults need to rediscover the power of play
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Patient advocate Tami Burdick discusses her article, “How collaboration saved my life from a rare disease doctors couldn’t diagnose.” Tami shares her personal and arduous journey with granulomatous mastitis (GM), a rare …
How collaboration across medical disciplines and patient advocacy cured a rare disease [PODCAST]
Having worked with patients for more than 25 years, I’ve witnessed the courage, determination, and unbreakable spirit of those facing a cancer diagnosis. But I’ve also seen the questions, uncertainties, and misinformation they and their families face throughout the cancer journey.
Cancer is one of the most challenging health issues of our time, affecting the lives of millions of people worldwide. More than 20 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed …
5 cancer myths that could delay your diagnosis or treatment
Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common inherited bleeding disorder, affecting approximately 1 percent of the population, though clinically significant symptoms occur in about 1 in 10,000 individuals. It is caused by a deficiency or dysfunction of von Willebrand factor (VWF), a protein critical for blood clotting. For women, VWD poses unique challenges during reproductive years, particularly in the context of fertility and assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro …
When bleeding disorders meet IVF: Navigating von Willebrand disease in fertility treatment
Everyone talks about the pride of earning that “Dr.” title. But few speak about the ugly journey of medical school: the isolation, exhaustion, and invisible battles.
There’s never a shortage of people telling you to work hard. What they don’t tell you is that sometimes, hard work still won’t be enough. In Pakistan, over 180,000 students sit for the MDCAT each year, competing for limited seats. Globally, 70,000 take the MCAT. …
The hidden cost of becoming a doctor: a South Asian perspective
In a few weeks, we will be celebrating our 249th Independence Day, which brings celebratory vibes but concerns about how the Constitution is being ignored. Who will stand to defend it? In today’s America—where civil liberties are too often dismissed as inconvenient and the Constitution is treated like a museum piece rather than a living covenant—we are called to remember the physician patriots who helped birth this nation. Not only with …
Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty
As a child, I was an introvert. Due to various circumstances, I didn’t have the opportunity to play any sports.
On many days, I see young children playing football or cricket in the large cricket park in front of my home. Various trainers from different sports clubs bring their teams of girls and boys to play football. They do stretches and warm-up runs, and I watch them from a distance.
I stop …
The child within: a grown woman’s quiet grief
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Patient advocate Lianne Mandelbaum discusses her article, “What Avarie’s death in Rome teaches us about the gaps in food allergy education.” Lianne reflects on the tragic death of Avarie, a young American …
In an age where medicine is increasingly shaped by administrators, algorithms, and corporate cost-cutting, physicians find themselves stripped of many of the economic tools that once defined their professional autonomy.
The days when physicians—especially in fields like internal medicine, pediatrics, and even general surgery—could rely on billing, collections, and the straightforward logic of fee-for-service income are largely over. Reimbursement has stagnated or declined in real terms, overhead costs rise yearly, and …
Why the physician shortage may be our last line of defense
An excerpt from Real Medicine, Unreal Stories: Lessons and Insights from Clinical Practice.
The magnolias were blooming early this spring, their pale pink petals fluttering down onto the worn brick pathway outside the hospital courtyard. Dr. Eva Cardenas wrapped her thin white coat tighter as she waited on a bench, the same one she used to eat lunch on during the worst months of 2020, six feet apart from everyone …
5 years later: Doctors reveal the untold truths of COVID-19
An excerpt from Doctor Slave: Reflections on the Future of Medicine.
The distance from clinical practice provided a clarity that was impossible to achieve while embedded within the system. From outside, I could see patterns, pressures, and paradoxes that had been invisible when I was caught in the daily grind.
I recognized that many aspects of modern health care that are presented as inevitable or necessary are actually artificial constructs designed …
The hidden cost of health care: burnout, disillusionment, and systemic betrayal
Some people eat to live, but most of us live to eat. Meals are more than sustenance; they are how we celebrate milestones, connect with loved ones, and mark the passage of time. But for people living with food allergies, dining out can feel less like a joy and more like an exercise in survival.
Trust becomes the most important ingredient on the plate. Trust that an unfamiliar chef has taken …
What one diagnosis can change: the movement to make dining safer
I’ve had a few moments in my life where time seems to stand still.
I’m not talking about being in the flow of creativity or about a near-death experience. I’m referring to those times where a sudden realization makes you reconsider how you’ve viewed yourself or your life in fundamental ways.
After leaving clinical practice, I was dogged by guilt and shame for at least a decade. I viewed my choice as …
Why this doctor hid her story for a decade
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Endocrinologist William Hsu discusses his article, “Reimagining diabetes care with nutrition, not prescriptions.” William argues for a paradigm shift in treating Type 2 diabetes, moving away from a primary reliance on medications …
Reimagining Type 2 diabetes care with nutrition for remission [PODCAST]
Turning real world data into insights
A lot has been said and written about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to advance and improve health care. And while there are still many challenges to overcome and questions to answer, one area in particular shows dramatic positive results.
The use of AI to unscramble the unstructured data from electronic health care records (EHR) is uncovering previously hidden insights and bringing significant advances to …
How AI is revolutionizing health care through real-world data
A quiet revolution is taking place in health care technology. AI is shedding its screen-bound constraints and stepping into forms that blend seamlessly into our lives—rings, glasses, pendants, earbuds. These “ambient” devices collect real-time insights from sound, motion, and physiology, surfacing only when needed. For clinicians, this shift means more than convenience: It reimagines how we gather data at the bedside …
Ambient AI: When health monitoring leaves the screen behind
Sexism in the workplace is often associated with overt hostility, harassment, insults, discrimination, or intimidation. But what about the subtler, seemingly well-intentioned behaviors that can still hinder women’s advancement? Our study explores benevolent sexism (BvS) in academic medicine and how it may quietly limit women’s careers, even in environments committed to gender equity.
What is benevolent sexism?
Coined by Glick and Fiske in 1996, benevolent sexism refers to attitudes that appear …
How kindness in disguise is holding women back in academic medicine
In a time when anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is proliferating across the United States, targeting everything from gender-affirming care to inclusive science education, many physicians are facing a new ethical frontier. More than ever, the duty to protect patient health extends beyond the clinic walls. When policy threatens the well-being of entire communities, an inclusive and affirming exam room is no longer enough. It is time for doctors to speak up and …
Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws
Last fall, more than 20,000 first-year medical students donned white coats, pushing total U.S. medical school enrollment to nearly 100,000. Yet despite this surge of new trainees, the American Association of Medical Colleges projects a shortage of up to 86,000 doctors by 2036.
The strain is already evident. Each year, tens of thousands of American physicians pack up their stethoscopes and scalpels …
From burnout to balance: a lesson in self-care for future doctors
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