The Podcast by KevinMD in 2021: every episode and take-home message

This page lists every episode of The Podcast by KevinMD published in 2021, 368 in all from January to December, with the guests and, for each episode, one sentence from the guest’s answer to the show’s closing question, in their own words. Each title links to the episode, where the full conversation is transcribed. Sponsored episodes are listed without a quotation.

It is part of Take-home messages: what physicians say when asked to leave one, the record that reads every closing answer together, one of the KevinMD records collected at What physicians say.

Every year: 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026

January 2021

• COVID-19 vaccines: Channeling the 7 habits to get from vaccines to vaccinations

  January 1 · Toyin M. Falusi

  “My take-home message is that as physicians, we have a lot of credibility that sometimes we kind of take for granted.”

• Climate change, cardiac arrest, and the price of inaction

  January 2 · Erika Maria Moseson

  “But I think we need to remember to turn away from just talking to each other, become advocates, and speak to other people in our community about these things.”

• Why flu vaccines are more important than ever in this pandemic

  January 3 · Marina Lentskevich

  “Critically analyzing your actions and your beliefs is what makes you a better person, and you should never be afraid to unlearn, relearn, and learn something new.”

• A medical student’s 100 days of COVID

  January 4 · Priyanka Shindgikar

  “My take-home message is to focus on what we have and stay in the present moment, constantly.”

• Care is no longer personal. Care is political.

  January 5 · Eva Kittay

  “We are all indispensable, and we need to treat each other as indispensable.”

• Beyond the medical lessons learned from COVID

  January 6 · Annie Nawab

  “It’s teaching us something, that sometimes it’s OK to be away from each other.”

• Medicine must create inclusive clinical trials

  January 7 · Amelia Trant and Andrea Silber

  “To do that, we need to create inclusive trials, and that will be more work for us, but it’s the right thing to do.” (Amelia Trant)

• When your institution has a less than 1% hiring rate for Black residents

  January 8 · Karen Tran-Harding

  “Again, it was just a pleasure meeting you.”

• When an epidemic of violence against health care workers meets a pandemic

  January 9 · Mercy Udoji

  “Recognize the environment that you’re in, recognize this scenario, and record.”

• How this surgeon beat a medical staff disciplinary action

  January 10 · Barney Cohen

  “Each matter, each physician, each engagement presents new legal issues.”

• Women physicians and pivoting from medicine

  January 11 · Archana Reddy Shrestha

  “It’s your degree, and you can do with it what you want.”

• Dear medical community, it’s time to engage in the climate movement

  January 12 · Derek Wolfe

• A crisis of physician intra-professional respect

  January 13 · Corina Fratila

  “It’s up to every single one of us to remember why we became physicians, and that we are not providers.”

• Do doctors make great entrepreneurs?

  January 14 · Pranay Parikh

  “You can be an entrepreneur starting wherever you are.”

• Tips for medical students starting their clinical rotations

  January 15 · Netana Markovitz

  “Acknowledge that, let yourself off the hook, don’t be afraid to advocate for yourselves, and kind of trust the process and know that competency and confidence will come.”

• This physician is overwhelmed. She is not alone.

  January 16 · Diana R. Twiggs

  “You know, it’s OK to be vulnerable.”

• How ocean plastic picking made me a better pediatrician

  January 17 · Vi Thuy Nguyen

  “Since the KevinMD audience is so large and diverse, and there are some who are into the environmental movement or not, my message would be just take care of yourself.”

• COVID vaccines, overcoming skepticism, and pandemic theater

  January 18 · Clayton Foster

  “Let’s all be rational about our COVID precautions.”

• How shame almost ruined a physician’s life

  January 19 · Robyn Alley-Hay

  “We’re going to be in this period of time, once this pandemic is hopefully over, when there are going to be a lot of traumatized physicians.”

• General surgery, palliative care and the new meaning of the phrase, "going viral"

  January 20 · Pringl Miller

  “I’d like people to just protect themselves and to recognize that we’re all in this together.”

• Unmasking inequality: the power of community organization during COVID-19

  January 21 · Aishwarya Raja and Inginia Genao

  “It’s not enough to work in isolation.” (Aishwarya Raja)

• How to (almost) never have a bad shift

  January 22 · Christina Shenvi

  “I would leave with a challenge, and that is to maintain ownership over those things that you’re in control of.”

• How health care organizations can tackle racism in patient care

  January 23 · Nikki Hopewell

  “Make sure that they’re doing OK, because this time is really difficult for them.”

• Lessons learned from a combat doctor in Iraq

  January 24 · Reagan Anderson

  “Do the best you can, and then live your life.”

• A medical student’s story of racism and bias

  January 25 · Akosua Y. Oppong

  “You were meant to be there, and so just keep pushing forward and you’ll get to where you need to be, and you will feel strong and validated, and you will excel where you are.”

• Why medical students should not let medicine define them

  January 26 · King Pascual

  “There’s more to life than just your Anki decks and your PowerPoints and your lectures.”

• Peer-to-peer support and the second victim syndrome

  January 27 · Susan Wilson

  “I think that the vast majority of people in medicine have experienced this one way or another and maybe just don’t even know it.”

• Zoom is foie gras of the brain

  January 28 · Lester Gottesman

  “My take-home message is the same one that I give my residents.”

• Health care’s tech renaissance during the pandemic

  January 29 · Eric Gantwerker

  “Try to be on the edge, trying to force technology and adoption in the future, and trying to think creatively about how we can solve some of these problems, and be a solutions expert.”

• How doctors are losing money every time a patient pays a bill

  January 30 · Jennifer Mogan

  “Be informed, and learn something new every day, I think.”

• Death is personal for this physician

  January 31 · Jeff Spiess

  “I think the take-home message that I would like to leave is: Recognize that you’re mortal, be OK with that, and let it then inform your practice.”

February 2021

• Nisha Mehta, MD on why physicians should consider side gigs

  February 1 · Nisha Mehta

  “The one that I really stick with to tell everyone is, I believe very strongly in creating the life in medicine that you want.”

• Stuck between a virus and a cold place: A choice for homeless Americans

  February 2 · Miracle Diala

  “My take-home message is just to definitely be more mindful.”

• Prison medicine during the pandemic

  February 3 · Edna Wong McKinstry

  “It was just, you know, I’d rather cook, because cooking, you can put stuff in and you can make it right, but baking, if you mess up, you mess up.”

• Thank you pediatric medical professionals

  February 4 · Wendy Hind

• Being a neonatologist and a mother

  February 5 · Diana Montoya-Williams

  “And so we’re just learning to grapple with that as we take care of patients.”

• Why the preservation of the Affordable Care Act should matter to you

  February 6 · Susan G. Bornstein

  “I just want everybody to think about the fact that all we have is now, and if we want there to be a difference, we have to work to make that difference.”

• Doctors are killing themselves, and who is taking notice?

  February 7 · Courtney Markham-Abedi

  “Reach out to people in the profession.”

• Reforming the peer review process

  February 8 · Andrew Spector

  “This is your profession, and we can’t keep giving away our expertise for free.”

• Nephrology and kidney care during the pandemic

  February 9 · Maria DeVita

  “Chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injuries are very common, and if we’re aware of them, I think we can have better outcomes.”

• #ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic

  February 10 · Anupama Verma

  “Take the shot, trust the experts, and everything will be OK.”

• Positive growth from the COVID-19 pandemic

  February 11 · Jasmine Toor

  “We need to just acknowledge that it’s there and do something about it.”

• Empty chairs at the table this pandemic holiday season

  February 12 · Anjani Amladi

  “I think that the biggest thing that I want to emphasize is that we’ve been through difficult situations before.”

• Train in the United States. Practice medicine abroad.

  February 13 · Ashwini Bapat

  “The worst feeling for me has to have been being on a path that I didn’t want to be on and then feeling powerless to change it.”

• Infertility and the physician journey

  February 14 · Kate Hoppock

  “And that’ll speak volumes, when we can make this, you know, something that everybody is aware of.”

• Suicide in veterinary medicine is a huge problem right now

  February 15 · Garret Pachtinger

  “And I think that we have to understand that we have put ourselves in a position of high regard and high esteem.”

• To MBA or not to MBA as an MD

  February 16 · Manpreet Samra

  “If your love is to continue lifelong learning, and that is one of your reasons for doing an MBA, by all means, have at it.”

• A dermatologist reflects on his career

  February 17 · Marc L. Frost

  “That’s really why most of us went into medicine.”

• Telehealth in underserved populations needs telecommunication expansion

  February 18 · Sammi Wong and Krysti Lan Chi Vo

  “And this will essentially reach a wider, greater patient population, from children to the elderly.” (Sammi Wong)

• Expanding the osteopathic concept for the health of all things

  February 19 · Amelia L. Bueche

  “So see if you can ask yourself that question, even each day, and notice how the answer evolves.”

• How the pain of unexpected and tragic deaths lingers with physicians

  February 20 · Shira Shiloah

  “You can’t take care of others without taking care of yourself first.”

• Everything physicians need to know about Bitcoin

  February 20 · Noah Kaufman

  “We know that we can be wrong.”

• How technology is a weapon in the fight against COVID-19

  February 21 · Amita Kundra

  “We have Zoom meetings, there are places like Clubhouse, there’s social media, where you can connect and network with people.”

• Overcome COVID vaccine hesitancy and boost vaccine confidence: How you can help

  February 22 · Emily O’Brien and Jessica Mega

• Letizia Alto, MD on why to become a semi-retired MD

  February 23 · Letizia Alto

  “I think, again, it’s just reiterating that everyone is capable of doing whatever they want to do.”

• How books influence the medical student experience

  February 24 · Claire Brown

• Interstate licensure for telehealth can fuel medical practice growth

  February 25 · David L. Feldman

  “Dare I say, we’re in the middle of a pandemic.”

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Chadwick Boseman: a tale of two cancers in America

  February 26 · Adeel Khan

  “We can and should have a more equitable system.”

• Is there a role for vitamin D in COVID-19?

  February 27 · Teresa Fuller

  “So because the science research really lags behind our medical practice, I think what we should do is make sure we’re looking out for the science.”

• How residents can create a positive clinical learning environment

  February 28 · Reem Al Shabeeb

  “My take-home message is that in many rotations, students spend most of the time with the residents, and the residents have an important role in teaching and creating a positive learning environment.”

March 2021

• Samuel Shem, MD on how can we put the connection back into medicine

  March 1 · Samuel Shem

  “And this has to do with, let’s drag a little politics in here, because that’s the other thing: You can’t bury your head in the sand if you’re a doctor, because we are not getting what we need or want.”

• Why I trust the COVID vaccine

  March 2 · Alexandra Fairchok

  “And even though you’re in a grocery store with people you don’t know, there’s someone to someone, you know, like, that’s someone’s grandma or someone’s grandpa or someone’s mom who has, like, a heart condition.”

• How physicians can emerge stronger after 2020

  March 2 · Manish Thapar

  “That’s the only way you can say, "OK, this is how change is going to be made." Otherwise, the next time we have a situation such as right now, we will be in the same boat, if not worse.”

• We need to work together to help schools reopen

  March 3 · Lekha M. Rao

  “My take-home message is that I think we need to get these kids back into school.”

• Health care from the trenches: Change must come from us

  March 3 · Alejandro Badia

  “The take-home message is that we must collaborate as clinicians to deliver the best care for patients.”

• An introduction to medical-legal consulting

  March 4 · Armin Feldman

  “You know, I’ve got a conference coming up.”

• Do politics have a place in medicine?

  March 5 · Ariana Witkin

  “I would say the best investment that you can make, whether you’re a clinician, whether you’re a provider, whether you’re a patient listening to this, I think the most important investment you can make is one in yourself.”

• Captions on the COVID vaccine selfie matter as much as the picture

  March 6 · Alicia Billington

  “We need to be our patients’ voice, and that means talking to the patients, listening to them, finding out what their hopes, dreams, and fears are, and then representing them.”

• What are your health goals for the coming year?

  March 7 · Alina Urriola

  “Think about how you can better enhance patients’ lives.”

• Sexual harassment in medicine

  March 8 · Kellie Lease Stecher

  “If we can see each other as just human beings who are trying to get through the world, provide for our families, and survive this kind of chaotic couple of years, we can figure everything out together.”

• High-tech holistic medicine is the future of whole-person care

  March 9 · Trisha Swift

  “They can indeed be the front end of preventing disease and reducing your risk of becoming infected with a virus, or having your comorbidities progress to a point where they’re unmanageable and they lead to unexpected mortality.”

• Using technology for behavioral health integration

  March 10 · Chris Molaro

  “We’re at this kind of precipice when it comes to health care and behavioral health.”

• Addiction medicine during COVID-19

  March 11 · Julie Craig

• What this physician says to vaccine-doubters

  March 12 · Farhan S. Imran

  “This is a very difficult time, this pandemic.”

• End the draconian hospital visitation policies during COVID-19

  March 13 · Taimur Safder

  “The feeling I had was a very powerless feeling, sitting at home with a member sick in the hospital and trying desperately to get a hold of someone.”

• A physician deals with uncertainty during the pandemic

  March 14 · Ni-Cheng Liang

  “Take-home message is to expect the uncertain, and that it’s OK for there to be uncertainty.”

• Medical school interview secrets

  March 15 · Rajani Katta

  “Even though medical school applicants spend a lot, I mean, we know they spend years on their GPA, they spend months on their MCAT, some of them only spend days on interview prep.”

• Weight stigma in children and teens

  March 16 · Karla Lester

  “This is the number one disease that our patients are facing, and the parents need help, and they’re going to look to us.”

• Life in a rural emergency department during COVID

  March 17 · Andrew Tisser

  “I want to make it clear to physicians and everyone else listening out there that you have endless possibilities when it comes to career design.”

• Executive presence for women leaders

  March 18 · Nandita C. Gupta

  “If you’re passionate about certain aspects of your clinical, professional, or personal life, then pursue it with curiosity, humility, perseverance, and self-discipline.”

• How COVID changed this physician forever

  March 19 · Nicole M. King

  “That it’s OK to not be OK.”

• This physician loves primary care. A pandemic isn’t going to change that.

  March 20 · Kelly Lisciandro

  “Let’s do what we have to do and just stop the spread.”

• One physician’s journey from burnout to bliss

  March 21 · Lara Salyer

  “I was around when they started making that mandatory, and now look what happened.”

• Vulnerability is challenging but necessary for health care professionals

  March 22 · Tracey O’Connell

  “And what will help you sustain that well-being in the long term is absolutely where you need to be investing your energy.”

• Solving imposter syndrome in physicians

  March 23 · Diane W. Shannon

  “I think it’s that one thing I wish I’d known in the past was that it’s OK to ask for help, and not only to think it’s OK, but to feel it’s OK to ask for help.”

• Words matter: Definitions ground us in our profession and in our world

  March 24 · Joy Eberhardt De Master

  “I would say the words we use matter.”

• Why this plastic surgeon chose to become a high school science teacher

  March 25 · Timothy Bill

  “Whether this be a career or a side job, I think it can be very rewarding for you as an individual and certainly for the community in which you live.”

• Put nutrition counseling in primary care

  March 26 · Melinda Mesmer

  “I think my take-home message is that primary care in particular, but all of medicine, I think, we have to get really interested in nutrition now.”

• How divorce helped this physician

  March 27 · Trina E. Dorrah

  “You can always DM me on Facebook, and then on Instagram, I’m at Trina Dorrah.”

• You don’t have to drown in the paperwork

  March 28 · Sarah J. Smith

  “Maybe I have to drop patient number.”

• How to protect your resilience

  March 29 · Pennie Sempell

  “If we can be of any help, we are always happy to be talking to individuals about trials, so that you can try out the StressPal Frontline in your approach.”

• Why socialized health care is not right for America

  March 30 · Mary Tipton

  “So I do believe we can fix this, but I really, really believe that we should be extraordinarily cautious about the basically socialized direction that our current administration wants to take things.”

• Self-care is the Rx we were never taught to write

  March 31 · Robyn Tiger

  “You have the innate ability to control how you’re feeling; you just need to learn how, and I’m here to help you.”

April 2021

• Keep insulting doctors, and good luck finding a physician

  April 1 · Karen S. Sibert

  “We are enormously fortunate to be able to do this, but we have to take care of our profession.”

• We need to broaden the definition of what "counts" in careers

  April 2 · Avital O’Glasser

  “I think my take-home message is that creativity and growth mindsets will get us far, as citizens of the world, and in medicine, and in science.”

• An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect

  April 3 · Andrew N. Wilner

  “I’m going to go so far as to say, read KevinMD.”

• We must address glaring disparities in treatment

  April 4 · Jane Gagliardi

  “So in medicine, as in society, we need to actively seek ways to confront and rectify disparities in the care we provide to our patients, which also comes in society.”

• A letter to Black America for those who do not want the COVID-19 vaccine

  April 5 · Erkeda DeRouen

  “My take-home message is that being a part of the medical community comes with great responsibility.”

• Film and television continue to depict psychiatrists as heartless swindlers

  April 6 · Garrett Rossi

  “We can work with our local organizations.”

• End medical school grades

  April 7 · Adam Lieber

  “So I think that a take-home message would be to give yourself a break sometimes.”

• Why medical students should be taught the business side of medicine

  April 8 · Martinus Megalla

  “And I think, ultimately, it’ll be beneficial if we can have some sort of basic understanding of this stuff.”

• What physicians should know before they’re interviewed by the media

  April 9 · Tyeese L. Gaines

  “They’re looking at your reviews, they’re looking at your websites, your social media accounts.”

• How to find sparks of joy

  April 10 · Hedy S. Wald

  “Remember that the sparks start a fire.”

• In gratitude to our nation’s residents

  April 11 · John P. Murray

  “I just don’t think that we can say enough for the work that residents have done.”

• Harness the power of the humanities to counteract burnout

  April 12 · Jacqueline Huntly

  “And to just build a whole web of support for yourself, and just always stay engaged, that your future has possibility.”

• Meet the orthopedic surgeon who stopped taking insurance and does house calls

  April 13 · Daniel Paull

  “I think the take-home message is that if you have thoughts of doing these things, there is a way out of your practice that you don’t enjoy.”

• Patients don’t need quick diagnoses. They need accurate ones.

  April 14 · Denise Reich

  “We’re not trying to be criticizing you.”

• President Biden’s quest for a public option

  April 15 · Jonathan Staloff

  “Really invest in trying to learn as much as you can, whether that’s health care policy or otherwise.”

• Advice to pregnant surgical residents

  April 16 · Lauren A. Umstattd

  “The biggest thing is that you have to be your own advocate.”

• My first end-of-life conversation

  April 17 · Shereen Jeyakumar

  “You know, it might be hard, but just think about what happens with your patients every day, and feel the emotions that you’re supposed to feel, and don’t feel like you have to bottle them inside.”

• PCPs could counter virtual plans by increasing telehealth visits

  April 18 · Ken Terry

  “So that’s something that they should welcome and embrace rather than fear, because I think that it will lead to better care delivery methods and better outcomes for patients.”

• Physician morale and the doctor’s voice

  April 19 · Sheetal Khedkar Rao

  “I wish I had known more about the business of medicine and all the stuff that you have to do outside of the patient visit.”

• How essential workers cope with COVID

  April 20 · Therese Zink

  “You know, find a reason to laugh, find something that gives you joy.”

• Expressing grief through the power of story

  April 21 · Richard Morand and Melissa Fournier

  “Sharing it with your colleagues is not a sign of weakness, but of strength.” (Richard Morand)

• Don’t forget about influenza and the lessons learned from COVID

  April 22 · Joan Naidorf

  “So when everyone gets vaccinated, or at a certain time when we decide it’s safe, we need to be able to go into public places and to send our kids back to school.”

• A nurse shares her story of sexual assault

  April 23 · Guest

  “Rather, as with everything in life, put yourself in their shoes, don’t judge them, and ask how you can help them.”

• Leadership lessons from Dr. Fauci

  April 24 · Michael Miyamoto

  “I think physicians, by and large, are very ambitious, capable people, and so there are a lot of opportunities to do what you’re interested in in medicine.”

• Focus medical education on training the whole person

  April 25 · Tracy Asamoah

  “And then to be able to see and get curious about what it could be the start of.”

• My Klonopin withdrawal story

  April 26 · Bethany Silverman

  “The withdrawal process does take time, but it does get better.”

• Physician suicide: We need safe spaces to talk about it

  April 27 · Ton La

  “We need to have a productive conversation moving forward, and for med schools and residency programs, and even afterward, to show that support to those who invest their own time into learning medicine and treating patients.”

• Our work as physicians and healers is to see the whole patient

  April 28 · Daniel Kinderlehrer

  “Don’t assume that your doctor has all the answers.”

• What medical professionals can do to take climate action

  April 29 · Sarah Hsu

  “These are all steps in the right direction.”

• What role does the science of complexity play in medicine?

  April 30 · Robert Trent

  “You have to understand how DNA specifically interacts with all the other different types of inputs and outputs that go along in the cell.”

May 2021

• An acupuncturist’s take on the doctor-patient relationship

  May 1 · Tedi Zeng

  “My take-home message would be, if you are a patient, believe that there is a doctor in you that’s probably going to be more brilliant than a lot of the doctors you’re going to meet.”

• Falling in love during a pandemic: a medical scribe’s story

  May 2 · Fae Kayarian

  “My take-home message, the first part, is that you are a work in progress.”

• End-of-life conversations: Embrace the responsibility

  May 3 · Caroline DeFilippo

  “Start, build a team, get the resources you need, but start.”

• Rest in peace, primary care

  May 4 · Alexis Gopal

  “My take-home message is that we need to advocate for ourselves, not only as physicians but as patients.”

• How reviewing medical malpractice claims made me a better gastroenterologist

  May 5 · Scott Choi

  “Other than your spouse, always have a plan B.”

• Gender disparities in medicine: How popular literature mirrors society

  May 6 · Theodore Klug

• Responding to the COVID pandemic: a lesson in coalescence

  May 7 · Nate Link

  “In days gone by, in the early part of my career, the M&M conference was something like a trial.”

• How this physician escaped the system

  May 8 · Nithya Natrajan

  “You know, I think it’s that you can really build the life that you want.”

• What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses: A forensic pathologist explains

  May 9 · Judy Melinek

  “You might be surprised at what you can learn.”

• How 5-star reviews generated over $225,000 in practice revenue

  May 10 · Orrin Franko

  “Even though they’re coming to your office, they want to know that they’re going to have a positive experience.”

• Solving major substance use disorder treatment gaps during COVID-19

  May 11 · Nishi Rawat

  “I think number one, hang in there.”

• It’s never too late for physicians to change directions and land new jobs

  May 12 · Paul Pender

  “KevinMD has to address this new phenomenon.”

• Being a pediatrician did not prepare me for parenting

  May 13 · Saba Fatima

  “Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness, and it’s extremely brave.”

• Stress in medicine: lessons learned through my years as a surgeon

  May 14 · Nina Ahuja

  “And we need to be comfortable with the fact that what we’re doing is coming from a place of true intention, and that needs to be good enough for us.”

• How switching to psychiatry made me understand suicide far better

  May 15 · Michael F. Myers

  “The one is, make sure you’ve got a primary care physician.”

• How mentors changed this physician’s life

  May 16 · Tammy Euliano

  “You can have a mentor for being a parent, you can have a mentor for your spiritual life, and you can have a mentor for your work life.”

• How to leverage social media to combat misinformation

  May 17 · Emmanuel Ohuabunwa

  “I have a few lessons that I’ve learned throughout this.”

• Being a private practice pediatrician in a pandemic

  May 18 · Jamie S. Hutton

  “And so, standing together and showing that we are worth something, to make change.”

• How this physician created a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery clinic from scratch

  May 19 · Sandra R. Weitz

  “Take control of your medical practice, and you can control your own destiny.”

• A family physician shares her inspiration

  May 20 · Rebekah Rollston

  “And for those people listening who aren’t family medicine physicians, just partner with the family medicine physicians in your communities or your hospital systems, as you can really partner with family med physicians to help impact patients’ lives even further.”

• A physician hung himself. That could have been me.

  May 21 · Robyn Alley-Hay

  “I just can’t say it enough: You’re not alone.”

• What to consider when recommending yoga to patients

  May 22 · Jaime Lewis

  “Similar to palliative care, I think therapeutic yoga has a wonderful approach to helping patients be able to focus on living well in the midst of illness.”

• Go behind the scenes with a pathologist

  May 23 · Albert Alhatem

  “Van Gogh painted 1,700 portraits but sold only one piece, for 85, in his life, and nowadays his work is worth millions of dollars.”

• A panic attack brought on by the stress of medical school

  May 24 · Anne McTiernan

  “This struggle is going to be experienced especially by women with children, but also men with children that want to be involved with their families’ lives.”

• Social connectedness, volunteerism, and the remedy for COVID fatigue

  May 25 · Ashten Duncan

  “I think the biggest thing is be bold, be brave with yourself.”

• Bridging the political divide

  May 26 · Beck Ballentine

  “Just try to come from a place of love, and maybe we can get out of this mess together.”

• Bridging business principles with emergency medicine

  May 27 · Josh Schwarzbaum

  “My take-home message is: Try and find your values.”

• My patient called me the N-word

  May 28 · Toba Bolaji

  “I mean, I may sound naive and ideal, and come off more as an idealist in that sense, but I think it’s hypocritical to not engage these things as much as we can.”

• Shame and the medical profession

  May 29 · Tracey O’Connell

  “It’s actually when we can get comfortable with the idea of shame and its existence.”

• How I lost sight of my own health care while creating a women’s health care company

  May 30 · Somi Javaid

  “If you want to open your own practice, do it.”

• Reflecting on COVID-19 and combustion

  May 31 · Erika Maria Moseson

  “As always, don’t light things on fire and breathe them into your lungs.”

June 2021

• Medicine’s contribution to my family

  June 1 · Stephanie Wellington

  “My take-home message is, you know, what I think about, my take-home message is going to be that I think medicine is still a great career.”

• Why do physicians fail to focus on their personal finances?

  June 2 · Jordan Frey

• An update on prostate cancer treatment

  June 3 · David A. Silver

  “A million years ago, when I interviewed for fellowships, I went to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.”

• Patient satisfaction through a hospitalist lens

  June 4 · Adedotun Adewusi

  “My take-home message is that when we’re training as future physicians, it’s harped on us, the science, the medicine.”

• Blockchain in health care and in your portfolio

  June 5 · Christopher H. Loo

  “Take mitigated risk, take calculated and strategic, and always challenge the status quo, because the status quo is based on the industrial age, but right now we’re in the information age.”

• Artificial intelligence, COVID-19, and the future of pandemics

  June 6 · Richard E. Anderson

  “We need to make real the potential benefits of AI, and if we do, medical practice will be better for the doctor, and especially for the patient.”

• How AI technologies improve the patient experience

  June 7 · Jared Pelo

• A transplant physician faces facts about his career

  June 8 · David Weill

  “It’s got my writings, my contact information, all about me.”

• Don’t be the patient that says these words

  June 9 · David Meyer

  “It starts with the practitioner, and then we can help others out there, and not by fixing things.”

• What I learned from stepping away from medicine for a year

  June 10 · Jennifer Lycette

  “And it might mean you have to make some big changes, but I think it’s worth it.”

• It’s time to reframe second victim syndrome

  June 11 · Susan Wilson

  “Not only our physical fitness, but our mental fitness is so important, and there are steps that people can take to really change their mindset and really start thinking in a new way.”

• Teaching young children about the existence and acceptance of LGBTQ people

  June 12 · Alexis Smith

  “My take-home message is that I want clinicians to know that marriage equality does not fix everything, and that we still need to really be there for LGBTQ people.”

• Estate planning mistakes for physicians to avoid

  June 13 · Syed Nishat

  “The new tax law that’s about to pass will have a detrimental effect on both estate planning and income planning if it’s not done properly.”

• Why it’s time to split the autism spectrum

  June 14 · Irene Tanzman and Jill Escher

  “If you have a patient with severe autism, urge the family to join the National Council on Severe Autism.” (Irene Tanzman)

• In memory of Bernard Lown

  June 15 · Michael Fine

  “Instead, assert the ethical prerogatives of our profession, which means we need to be about unself-interested advocacy.”

• Advice from graduating medical students to new ones

  June 16 · Kathryn Crofton and Jay Hwang and Catherine Jay

  “I totally agree that we need to normalize making mistakes and being vulnerable and being a supportive community.” (Kathryn Crofton)

• Our extraordinary lungs’ power and fragility

  June 17 · Michael J. Stephen

  “And that’s how you form a really good bond with your patients, and that’s how you really make things happen.”

• Physicians need growth days

  June 18 · Amy Vertrees

  “I think that I want to challenge this concept of scarcity, that we can actually start taking some time off to cultivate our own identity, embracing this sense of worthiness and boundaries and engagement with those around us.”

• Health care leaders’ roles in pandemic recovery: Caring for caregivers

  June 19 · Paul DeChant

  “The problem with burnout is the workplace, not the worker.”

• Why doctors are such bad investors and how real estate can help

  June 20 · Daniel Shin

  “I would say the take-home message is take command of your future.”

• Love is the strongest medicine

  June 21 · Steven Eisenberg

  “But I want you to know that you can turn it around if you’re feeling burnout.”

• Malpractice claims from the COVID-19 pandemic

  June 22 · Robert E. White

  “That we’re very optimistic about our ability to defend the profession against claims coming out of COVID-19.”

• Physicians and the midlife dip

  June 23 · Beverly Joyce

  “You’re living your life, and you should try and enjoy it along the way.”

• Unmasking the faces of COVID: pages from a neurologist’s diary

  June 24 · Ayushi Chugh

  “A lot more goes, sweat, blood, and tears, underneath it.”

• Attention mid-career physicians: Let’s find our ikigai

  June 25 · Anish Sheth

  “Do it once a week, once a day, whatever you can do, because I think in the long run, we’ll look back and we’ll be thankful.”

• How to keep your optimism in medicine

  June 26 · Erika Visser Aragona

  “Our training is amazing, but we need to focus on ourselves.”

• Weight gain during the pandemic: An obesity medicine specialist explains

  June 27 · Rami Bailony

  “And so I think the take-home message is, let’s get together, let’s come together, let’s tackle obesity seriously, let’s destigmatize it.”

• What you need to know about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome patients

  June 28 · Julie Griffis and Linda Bluestein

  “Even just one or two things that you can share is incredibly helpful.” (Linda Bluestein)

• Pediatric patients need appropriate pain management after surgery

  June 29 · Rita Agarwal

  “And then think about other things that you can do.”

• Bloated notes are a huge problem and a time suck

  June 30 · Craig Bowron

  “But in that video, one of the engineers from the University of Virginia quotes the philosopher Lao Tzu, who said that to gain knowledge, you need to add information every day, and to gain wisdom, you have to subtract.”

July 2021

• COVID vaccines’ tragic dance

  July 1 · Dinesh Arab

  “But as things come back to steam and come back to real time, I think we should go back to just practicing medicine as if this is the best treatment; that’s what our patients should get.”

• To the patient who wants to die: a psychologist’s perspective

  July 2 · Melissa Geraghty

  “We have the tendency to pile it up and keep moving forward, because that’s what we’ve always done, and that may have worked before.”

• Let’s talk about vanishing twin syndrome

  July 3 · Nichole Cubbage

  “Grief is a very funny thing, and grief turns into mourning, and I think we have to respect people’s right to mourn differently.”

• Meet the physician who educates patients with cartoons

  July 4 · Emily Watters

  “And when it’s possible, the more we can slow down, it helps the other person slow down and be able to take in information.”

• Dying of loneliness: the COVID-19 epidemic in children and adolescents

  July 5 · Rachel Kowalsky and Shari Platt

  “I think that’s going to be the most important take-home message.” (Shari Platt)

• How to pay for women in medicine programs

  July 6 · Dawn Sears

  “We are the cure to this drainage of women physicians out of health care, and we can stop this now, together.”

• COVID in Pakistan: a physician’s story

  July 7 · Natasha Khalid

  “Whenever you’re working, you know, make sure any word that comes out of your mouth is kind.”

• A plea for help from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic

  July 8 · Kristin Adams Forner

  “It should be OK for us to say that we feel broken.”

• How deep mindset work helped me find the courage to make my career transition

  July 9 · Maiysha Clairborne

  “If it’s a mentor, if it’s a committed listener, find your tribe.”

• Huntington’s disease and a patient’s perspective on genetic testing

  July 10 · Erin Paterson

  “People need support with how to move on with their lives, how to have children, how to support their loved ones, and even how to deal with survivor’s guilt, how to become a caregiver.”

• How to raise tenacious and resilient children

  July 11 · Robert B. Brooks

  “In all of my writings, and even more so now, there’s a concept I use called personal control.”

• Medical facilities: Please keep your immune-deficient patients safe

  July 12 · Denise Reich

  “You might be taking every precaution that you can, but that still might not be enough for somebody who’s especially vulnerable.”

• What clinicians need to know about clinical trials

  July 13 · Kent Thoelke

  “I think the take-home message is that clinical trials and drug development provide patients options that they otherwise wouldn’t have in standard of care, and in many cases that care is better care.”

• Is health care a right or privilege? The economic consequences of that answer.

  July 14 · Tom Robertson

  “I would love to see, or I’d love to believe, that the health care industry has the will to move away from medicine as a business and to move toward healing as a common good.”

• A message to medical doctors who are unhappy with their careers

  July 15 · Elijah Sadaphal

  “That for any provider, any physician who’s contemplating a non-clinical career, it is very doable.”

• What you need to know about the updated benzodiazepine boxed warning

  July 16 · Christy Huff

  “I want you to know that benzodiazepines have some serious risks and harms, and I think patients really need to be receiving informed consent about these medications before they start.”

• Anti-Asian racism and how bystander intervention training can save a life

  July 17 · Michelle Lee

• Winning at parenting without losing yourself

  July 18 · Whitney Casares

  “We can’t control the patients that come in.”

• Hypertension is killing pregnant mothers. Blood pressure monitoring can help.

  July 19 · Lauren Demosthenes

  “So you have to be prepared to know that it’s a slow process to make changes.”

• Using nanoparticles to treat polycystic kidney disease

  July 20 · Eun Ji Chung

  “I would like to leave with the message that there is huge potential for nanomedicine.”

• What this physician learned from medicine in developing countries

  July 21 · Ann Messer

  “This is a great opportunity to do that.”

• How a homeless teen became a physician

  July 22 · Sheryl Recinos

  “Take it from me: Everybody can find their place.”

• How physicians can be better medical leaders

  July 23 · Steve Adelman

  “Stay in touch with what’s inside of yourself, and work on it as best you can along the way, because you can’t take excellent care of patients if you don’t really fine-tune yourself.”

• Marshall Allen on how to contest hospital bills and avoid treatment you don’t need

  July 24 · Marshall Allen

  “My take-home message is that you can fight back and win, in my subtitle.”

• Why doctors can’t rest

  July 25 · Marion McCrary

  “My take-home message is that integrating work and life is, I think, one of the big keys to preventing physician burnout.”

• Why it’s important for physicians to change the system

  July 26 · Nancy Connolly

  “Do what you can to address the incentives and the metrics built into the system, to help change and make more resilient, better systems for the health of all our communities.”

• Doctors beware: There’s a $400,000 target on your back

  July 27 · Tod Stillson

  “And doctors, I encourage you to be empowered to take control of your own life and do things that are not passive but do things that are active.”

• President Biden’s tax proposal and its effects on estate and income tax planning for physicians

  July 28 · Aadil Zaman and Syed Nishat

• Remote patient monitoring: a health IT perspective

  July 29 · Thanh Tran

  “Number two, just to touch on the mobile and daily health, you need to interconnect those things to offer an effective solution.”

• An underutilized way to relieve stress

  July 30 · Jill Wener

  “You can check it all out there.”

• Medical school and the lessons learned from football

  July 31 · Casey Paul Schukow

  “You have to rely on the support of others, because you can never do it alone, and also, to never do it alone.”

August 2021

• How technology in the ER boosts the patient experience

  August 1 · Justin Schrager

  “I would say that I’ve had a great time expanding my practice into an area that I never thought I would go into.”

• How racial microaggressions lead to poor care outcomes

  August 2 · Jerenda Bond

  “My take-home message is that we should realize that we all can make microaggressions.”

• Replaceable thoughts and essential books to help you survive burnout

  August 3 · Dawn Sears

  “That you don’t have to stay dysregulated, you don’t have to stay stuck, and you don’t have to stay frustrated.”

• A daughter’s addiction. A mother’s love.

  August 4 · Christine Naman

  “If you’re a clinician, if you’re in the health care profession, thank you.”

• Addressing racial disparities in health begins upstream with racial equity in society

  August 5 · Stephanie Zaza

  “I think it’s really important for all of us as physicians to understand that we are not going to be perfect in this from the outset.”

• How to convince your health care colleagues to get vaccinated

  August 6 · Dava Gerald

  “My take-home message really is, those of us in health care really need to be an example to the rest of the community, and that we have a responsibility to do that.”

• My child wants to be a doctor

  August 7 · Robin Dickinson

  “That’s a basis for so many other kinds of diversity.”

• A pediatric infectious disease physician shares his pandemic lessons

  August 8 · Nicholas Rister

  “One of the best things about the way my career has gone is that I have this balance of test study prep with my clinical practice.”

• Put yourself in the shoes of a nursing home resident

  August 9 · Gene Uzawa Dorio

  “You know, I think it’s never give up.”

• You have options when it comes to board certification

  August 10 · Emmanuel K. Konstantakos and Jeff Morris

  “One of the most fundamental concepts of life, especially here in America, is freedom of choice.” (Emmanuel K. Konstantakos)

• Unconscious biases against vitamins and supplements

  August 11 · Melinda Ring

• Why it is essential to prioritize universal coverage

  August 12 · Payman Sattar

  “It really costs less, and it covers everyone, so everyone will be covered, and we’re not going to be exposing people to dangerous diseases like we had with COVID.”

• Let’s look at what’s right about nursing homes

  August 13 · Carol Podgorski

  “Let’s look at quality of care versus quality of life.”

• A physician’s journey to walk again and how she learned self-compassion

  August 14 · Olivia Ong

  “Some of them, unfortunately, are self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, relationships are impaired, marriages are breaking down, and in worse cases, suicides arise.”

• Redefining traditional gender roles and the importance of a growth mindset

  August 15 · Christine J. Ko

• Robert Pearl, MD on doctors and the 5 stages of grief

  August 16 · Robert Pearl

  “Don’t make judgments before you’ve read it.”

• Physicians’ sense of powerlessness and being a cog in a wheel

  August 17 · Diane W. Shannon

  “I think it’s really about, you know, self-care is not selfish.”

• A neurosurgeon’s lessons on love, loss, and compassion

  August 18 · Joseph D. Stern

  “My pleasure, and thank you for what you’re doing to improve the world of practicing medicine and doctors.”

• Does Aduhelm mark the return of science-based medicine?

  August 19 · Robert Trent

  “Be skeptical of statistics, and be skeptical of data.”

• How one word may have harmed my patient

  August 20 · Shivana Naidoo

  “My take-home message would be that for physicians, medical professionals, PCAs, and parents, all of us, our words carry weight, and our words carry worth.”

• How doctors think about financial independence is dead wrong

  August 21 · Param Baladandapani

  “Think about what having passive income is going to mean for you and your family.”

• Menopause changes women’s singing voices

  August 22 · Nancy Bos

  “One is that, as you all know, we are always changing.”

• Telemedicine in Nepal during COVID-19

  August 23 · Astha Prasai

  “Together we can overcome this, and we can fight this battle together.”

• Doctors: You can increase voting in the U.S.

  August 24 · Rio Barrere-Cain

  “Consider incorporating talking about registering to vote with patients during the social history.”

• Scholarship tips for medical school

  August 25 · Trisha Chau

  “It’s a privilege to be able to find the scholarships.”

• If Simone Biles were a doctor she would be vilified, not praised

  August 26 · Arthur Lazarus

  “It’s a Maya Angelou quote, where she says, "We are more alike than we are unalike." I want to encourage people to recognize that and realize it, understand it.”

• Can doctors have personalities?

  August 27 · Erika Visser Aragona

  “They’re doing so much good, and you can see how it’s been successful, and you can replicate it in your own voice and your own narrative.”

• Behavioral health opportunities during the pandemic

  August 28 · Erik Vanderlip

  “You can Dr. Google what you’ve got.”

• A data-first strategy to recovering surgical volumes

  August 29 · Michael Woods

  “I think one is that industry is not the enemy.”

• A physician takes action against an expert witness

  August 30 · Howard Smith

  “When you are right, sometimes you stand alone, but not for long.”

• Structural racism in health tech

  August 31 · Matthew Ko

  “The care that the patient perceives is the care that the patient receives.”

September 2021

• You deserve a doctor who’s a good fit for you

  September 1 · Caitlin Bass

  “Even if it’s hard, find a new one.”

• All physicians are leaders

  September 2 · Peter Angood

  “Draw on your altruism, and just redirect, because you, a physician, are a leader in our society, and you can create so much more change.”

• How shame tried to hijack my medical training

  September 3 · Tracy Asamoah

  “And that we can be kind to our past selves and try to see what the lesson can be, even now, from those.”

• Debunking common virtual therapy myths and tips for new patients

  September 4 · Sara Smucker Barnwell

  “My take-home message is, I think, if you have an inclination to do this work, it’s tremendous work.”

• So, are you committed to medicine — or your baby?

  September 5 · Eunice Stallman

  “My take-home message is that you are not alone, and that you belong in medicine whether or not you have kids.”

• How doctors can support medtech innovation

  September 6 · Lena Levin

  “Even if I come to conferences, I value this a lot.”

• Meet the physician who became a medical thriller author

  September 7 · John Bishop

  “When you retire, you’re going to have a lot of free time, and so you need to fill that time up with something.”

• A new paradigm for psychiatric emergencies

  September 8 · Gregg Miller and Seth Thomas

  “And so I think that if we can educate ourselves and equip ourselves to take care of these patients, it’s going to provide a much better experience for us as well.” (Seth Thomas)

• How I used social media to get promoted to professor

  September 9 · David R. Stukus

  “We all have something of value to provide to the general public and our patients.”

• A heart transplant story in a 1-year-old, as told by his mother

  September 10 · Susan May and Miller

  “Transplants save lives and give you quality of life.”

• Words of advice from a chief resident

  September 11 · Marion McCrary

  “You can do different things and have different thoughts.”

• An emergency medicine life

  September 12 · Duane Corsi

  “I would just say to embrace July 1.”

• Why physician-specialized private counseling practices are important

  September 13 · Vickie Mulkerin

  “I’m concerned about people going to their department chairs.”

• Eradicate the disability tax, before it’s too late

  September 14 · Shreya Kumar

  “Never just be content with letting things be the way they are because it’s easier, because it’s more convenient for you.”

• Take back the power and joy of being a doctor

  September 15 · Miriam Zylberglait Lisigurski and Yudith Furman

  “Take that joy back, like we say in the article, but really feel it and go back to the reasons why you chose that career.” (Yudith Furman)

• Dying after leaving against medical advice

  September 16 · Steve Burgess

  “A lot of times, they’re doing that for good reasons, and try to understand those reasons.”

• Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.

  September 17 · Tomi Mitchell

  “I love the world we live in, and that’s the only world we have.”

• Where does the joy and meaning in medicine dwell?

  September 18 · Scott Abramson

  “I think that probably, above all, the one message is to concentrate not so much, or balance it, not just on what’s the matter, but on what matters, what matters.”

• Racial disparities in surgical care

  September 19 · Sanjay Prasad

  “Know what cases you do most commonly, know the success rates and complication measures and volumes, and please access that data and collate that data.”

• 5 myths about compassion and patient rapport building in health care

  September 20 · Katherine Buaron

• Digital health equity is an emerging gap in health

  September 21 · Joshua W. Elder

  “And it has fundamentally shifted my thinking to not a light of despair but a light of hope, that through this great crisis, I saw a great connection emerge.”

• Try this new technique when talking to vaccine skeptics

  September 22 · Alicia DiGiammarino

  “I think my take-home message is that, like I said, I think health care professionals and clinicians are just one of the most trusted sources of information.”

• Primary care: the variety and the intimacy of the problems I see

  September 23 · Melissa Schiffman

  “Take a pause, enjoy where you are, and really feel good about the benefits you have for patients’ lives.”

• Our health care system may be failing, but it isn’t broken

  September 24 · Jeb Dunkelberger

  “Take-home message: Keep fighting the good fight.”

• What do physicians really want in life?

  September 25 · Diana Londoño

  “I think my take-home message is, dare to dream, dare to believe, and that there’s hope.”

• Burnout and bias? Or medical gaslighting?

  September 26 · Kara Wada

  “I just encourage my fellow clinicians to actively listen, to be up front about limitations, and to really be willing to rethink a situation, even if it takes that extra five minutes.”

• Dr. Lorna Breen’s lasting legacy

  September 27 · Corey Feist

  “If you wait, your loved one or your colleague might not be there.”

• When it comes to bias, doctors need to do their homework

  September 28 · Monique Rainford

  “We need to value all our patients regardless of their race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc.”

• An American doctor in Rome

  September 29 · Susan Levenstein

  “It’s very uneven, and they’re very poorly funded.”

• How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19

  September 30 · Rich Parker

  “Get vaccinated, and remember that the life you save might not be your own.”

October 2021

• Humane health care outcomes by creating therapeutic alliances

  October 1 · Summer Knight

  “I guess I would just leave it with a big group hug, and just, it’s tough, and we have to support each other.”

• From a patient to health care workers: Always remember your humanity

  October 2 · Michele Luckenbaugh

  “Listen to their concerns, but more importantly, act upon them, so that when they come into work, they’re feeling energized rather than feeling more or less beleaguered and in despair.”

• Medicine’s science has advanced. Medicine’s art has stalled.

  October 3 · Farhan S. Imran

  “My tip would be that medicine, if practiced on a daily basis, bland encounters, not getting to know the patients on a deeper level, can actually become very boring.”

• Why people diagnosed with cancer should get a second opinion

  October 4 · Miles J. Varn

  “We’re all imperfect, and as a result, not intentionally in any way.”

• Physician identity: who you are vs. what you do

  October 5 · Kristin Yates

  “I encourage you to see that tug, or feeling stuck, as an invitation to explore how else you can show up in this world, or serve, or find fulfillment.”

• Aduhelm and how money and politics supersede science

  October 6 · Wes Campbell

  “Your voice should be powerful, but you have to use it.”

• Stop resisting the imposter

  October 7 · Amy Vertrees

  “I think the more that we share these stories, these worries that we have in our head.”

• Physicians and the importance of servant leadership

  October 8 · Faith A. Coleman

  “There’s a difference in being face-to-face, and you can’t substitute it.”

• Robotic surgery’s impact on training the next generation of surgeons

  October 9 · Barry Greene

• Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains?

  October 10 · Genevieve Silva and Cassandra Thiel

  “Now that we’re kind of not fully recovered from COVID but able to step back and reassess things, now is the time to really work on the supply chains and make them more sustainable, make them more resilient.” (Cassandra Thiel)

• How to recover from a bad electronic health records implementation

  October 11 · Afua Aning

  “As physicians and as clinicians, we need to be our advocates, not only for ourselves but for our colleagues.”

• When clinicians are bullied at a school board meeting

  October 12 · Anusha Viswanathan and Jennifer Bish

  “And while we give everybody a voice, we need to make sure that we stay with facts and not just allow the disinformation to take over.” (Jennifer Bish)

• A nurse’s story of health care workplace violence

  October 13 · June Garen

  “You can look even on IndieBound.org and find it.”

• Why the business school mindset doesn’t mind physician burnout

  October 14 · Patty Fahy

  “There’s a voicemail tab, and I love to hear the voices of listeners.”

• Patient complaints have psychological repercussions

  October 15 · Gina Ambrose

  “I think that working as a physician nowadays can sometimes be very lonely.”

• When celebrities attack children with food allergies

  October 16 · Lianne Mandelbaum

  “Don’t put food allergies in a category where it doesn’t belong.”

• A story of a physician photojournalist

  October 17 · Glenn Mark Losack

  “We have to have what the next person has, the Nikon, the Canon, and the car, or the perfume.”

• What we can learn from an orthopedic surgeon who publishes a novel

  October 18 · Michael J. Collins

  “I think it would be that I hope that all of us in the medical profession are proud of what we do and proud of where we came from.”

• Why physician-owned businesses need our attention and support

  October 19 · Michael Woo-Ming

  “There are lots of ways that you can make money.”

• I was thinking about retiring, and COVID-19 gave me a push

  October 20 · Janet Tamaren

  “It gives you a chance to revisit patients that you may not have seen for a while.”

• A son’s brain cancer. A father’s story.

  October 21 · Alan Pesky

  “I believe the message of "love the child you have, not the child you want" cuts across society.”

• Technology’s impact on dermatology

  October 22 · Peter Lio

  “That’s a really interesting one, and that’s a hot-button topic.”

• Why clinicians can’t keep ignoring care coordination

  October 23 · Curtis Gattis

  “I think it’s just, understand this concept of referral-to-appointment ratios.”

• Physician suicide: Where are the leaders?

  October 24 · Miriam Zylberglait Lisigurski

  “And after you do that, enjoy medicine and take care of the ones who are around you.”

• Carry on, my weary one: Persevering in the aftermath

  October 25 · Elizabeth Sarah Haberl

  “But also respecting yourself and taking the time you need to rest and reflect and do whatever you’re passionate about.”

• Why now is the time to get patients back to in-person routine care

  October 26 · Matt Dickson

  “Certainly understanding that you need to do some A/B testing of communication.”

• I do not want to be resilient

  October 27 · Michelle Owens

  “If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of them.”

• Tomgirl and tomboy: Rethinking gender stereotypes

  October 28 · Craig Pomranz

  “And you can order them for your libraries.”

• I bought into the stigmas about the mentally ill, until I became one of them

  October 29 · Sonja Wasden

  “With any patient that they’re seeing, or if they are struggling themselves, there is hope, there is purpose to be had, your life is worth living, there are things to still experience, and there is joy even amid the pain.”

• Taking care of yourself during medical school

  October 30 · Stephanie Wottrich

  “There are many different ways to do it, and you can, you know, give it a try and just see what may or may not work for you.”

• Family meals’ surprising power

  October 31 · Kristin Saxena

  “My advice would really be to consider the approach that you’re taking when you’re thinking about food, nutrition, and diet-related health issues for your patients, and especially children.”

November 2021

• How to heal and revitalize our beloved profession

  November 1 · Randy Cook

  “You need to surround yourself with like-minded people and stick together, listen to each other, counsel each other, and take encouragement from each other, so that you can really advance on a noble cause.”

• How medical training teaches doctors to be financially unhealthy

  November 2 · Elizabeth Hughes

  “The second piece of advice is: Look at how money is motivating you, all the way through, whether you’re an early-career physician or a late-career physician.”

• Professional gay: Charting a career in LGBTQ health

  November 3 · Carl Streed

  “I think the take-home message is doing right and doing well by marginalized populations will allow us to do better for everyone.”

• Diagnosis: malformation of a health care system

  November 4 · Jeffrey Fraser

  “Number one, at some level, they realize they’re working in a broken system, and they see the frustrated patients.”

• Mitigating risks from care during COVID-19

  November 5 · Richard E. Anderson

  “That’s terrific, but there’s an incredible reservoir of care that’s been delayed or disrupted, and we have to be sure that we turn our attention to that problem.”

• A Black physician’s perfectionism

  November 6 · Frieda Millhouse-Jones

  “You can pave the way for yourself and how you want to do things for the future, and it’s all good.”

• Getting messy in the game of health care

  November 7 · Paul Pender

• A physician’s tribute to nurses

  November 8 · Farhan S. Imran

  “For this one, really, the take-home message is not looking for some sort of an improvement or a correction or a solution.”

• How this physician built a direct specialty care practice

  November 9 · Diana M. Girnita

  “I think that, you know, I remember what Steve Jobs said once, that those of us that are crazy enough to think that we can change the system, we might change it.”

• Surviving medical school with depression

  November 10 · Guest

  “I think too often people forget that medical students are people, that we’re humans first.”

• Pamela Wible, MD on physician suicide and medicine’s culture of betrayal

  November 11 · Pamela Wible

  “It’s OK to say that you have PTSD.”

• Physicians aren’t all hanging in there. And that’s OK.

  November 12 · Luyi Kathy Zhang

  “It’s OK to feel all the things that you’re feeling, normalizing this experience, this wild, unprecedented, what, year and a half that we’ve had.”

• Alternative cryptocurrencies: 5 tips for physicians

  November 13 · John Stillson

  “It’s really easy to get a Coinbase account or a Voyager account, and you can transfer from your bank or your credit card.”

• Doctors are humans, not heroes

  November 14 · Jordana Rothschild

  “I think that there’s a lot of love out there.”

• Physicians have gone from being heroes to villains

  November 15 · Lisa Cronk

  “And so, recognizing that we need to reach out to each other and realize that we are not the only people doing this.”

• Black female physicians and the bias against them

  November 16 · Tomi Mitchell

  “You know, as women, take away the Black, we definitely have a challenging road ahead of us in medicine.”

• A new approach to orthopedic post-operative pain

  November 17 · Mara Schenker

  “My take-home message is that we need to really think about the patient when we’re looking at strategies for pain management and reducing the risk of the opioid epidemic.”

• How can technology innovation save primary care?

  November 18 · Ronald Dixon

  “I firmly believe that we need to modernize and leverage technology and get help from navigator-type personnel to make our jobs easier, but at the heart of it, it’s this relationship-based care, and that’s not going to go away.”

• How to preserve empathy in medicine

  November 19 · Helen Riess

  “So if you think, "I just don’t have it," or "I lost it," you can get it back, and you can improve.”

• Medical gaslighting due to weight stigma and bias: a viral TikTok study

  November 20 · Karla Lester

  “I just keep learning, and it’s OK to challenge the status quo of what we’ve been taught.”

• Why economics is the best pre-med major

  November 21 · Dan Donoho

  “It’s a phenomenal tool that more physicians can use to answer and understand situations where they may feel stymied or frustrated by the behavior of another.”

• Should you stay or leave medicine?

  November 22 · Cindy Tsai

  “Remember that you are enough right now, and you’re doing great.”

• A doctor turned Hollywood actor on physicians who struggle with suicidal ideation

  November 23 · Eliza Shin

  “There’s no honor in that anymore, and we live too long to chain ourselves to that sort of outdated, unhealthy view of ourselves.”

• Ignoring jaw pain comes at too high a price

  November 24 · Soumya Padala

  “These patients are going through a lot of pain, and nobody’s ever able to give them the effective analgesic effect that they want, to get rid of this pain.”

• To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan

  November 25 · Allison Neitzel

  “I mean, this isn’t just about Aaron Rodgers.”

• Grieving our collective loss with compassion

  November 26 · Diana Londoño

  “Right, that’s obvious, but we’re not taught that we should be doing that consciously.”

• Will the COVID Omicron variant change the world again?

  November 27 · Eric Feigl-Ding

  “We should have upper-air UV to disinfect the air if you can’t open the windows or you can’t install enough HEPA filters.”

• Fear of vaccines grows with the need for medical ethics

  November 27 · Mallika Sekhar and K. Mallika Sekhar

  “For four years, people didn’t understand what was going on.”

• Physician communication using the tools of a trial attorney

  November 29 · Heather Hansen

  “I think that the message for everyone, but especially doctors, is that you are your own best advocate.”

• What you don’t know about pain will hurt you

  November 30 · Rachel Zoffness

  “My take-home message is that chronic pain is absolutely treatable.”

December 2021

• Bonnie Koo, MD on taking control of your finances and pursuing financial independence

  December 1 · Bonnie Koo

• A physician’s guide to the best way to invest in real estate

  December 2 · Alan Donenfeld

• Stories of surgery, clarity, and grace

  December 3 · Bruce Campbell

  “It’s a wonderful community, and I’ve been pleased to be part of it.”

• Instead of focusing on your time, focus on your energy

  December 4 · Laura Huete

  “It’s not only going to impact you and the way you practice and the way you lead, but it’s going to have an impact on your patients.”

• Amid powerlessness, reclaim your personal power

  December 5 · Cathy Woodhouse

  “If you are stressed out and you are burning out, do something.”

• To achieve health equity, culturally relevant care must be the standard of care

  December 6 · Vik Bakhru

  “Find a way to be impactful, and commit to health equity.”

• A medical student shares a story about language

  December 7 · Sarah Fashakin

  “What I’m trying to say is, make sure that when all is said and done, you can live with a clear conscience that you did right by the family of your patients.”

• Personal attacks and sexual harassment of physicians on social media

  December 8 · Shikha Jain

  “There are so many good things you can do by engaging in this space.”

• How the residency application process has changed forever

  December 8 · Jason Reminick

  “And so I think the more we can bring it to light, and the more we can innovate and make it better for ourselves and our practice, it will ultimately affect our patients.”

• An obstetrician recommends midwifery care

  December 9 · Leslie Farrington

  “Listen, listen to your patients as individuals.”

• "Take it or leave it" is not negotiation but coercion

  December 11 · Paul Pender

  “They are looking for solutions, and they want to represent their patients’ best interests, which they feel is part of their mission.”

• A satirical letter to radiologists from a jilted orthopedic surgeon

  December 12 · Samara Friedman

  “We’re all in the same boat, and we should be celebrating everybody’s successes in medicine and not just looking at the failures.”

• If you’re a nurse or an abuse survivor, you don’t have to be brave

  December 13 · Traci Powell

  “Nurses Healing Nurses is a Facebook group; you can search that on there, and we’ll take all the nurses who want to join.”

• Genetic testing’s emotional impact

  December 14 · Erin Paterson

  “My take-home message would be that whatever you’re going through and however you’re feeling isn’t wrong.”

• Changes in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver and its impact on physicians

  December 15 · Will Koster

  “To the KevinMD audience, I’d say don’t be discouraged by your student loan debt.”

• How this pediatrician handles a distorted concept of reality

  December 16 · Jason V. Terk

  “If more do that, then we have an outsized influence than what we can do individually.”

• Don’t let the holidays sabotage your weight loss goals

  December 17 · Angelice Alexander-Martin

  “Just by helping someone lose weight, you can greatly improve their quality of life: feeling better, having more energy, being able to play with the kids, running, jumping.”

• Innovation insight and poetry from a physician-technologist

  December 18 · Drea Burbank

  “This way, they kind of know where they fit in the ecosystem.”

• Listening to patients with our eyes

  December 19 · Jennifer Ribar

  “I think, find the things that can help you find that spark again.”

• Women physicians with infertility

  December 20 · Dawn Baker

  “Take some self-assessments, read books about mindfulness, read books about self-care, figure out what works for you, and figure out your unique set of values.”

• How digital therapeutics can improve behavioral health

  December 21 · Benjamin Alouf

  “A lot of these digital companies have advisory boards that you can ask to be on.”

• Protein calorie malnutrition is devastating for patients

  December 22 · Steve Snodgrass

  “Obesity is associated with like 13 forms of cancer, so we must develop healthier lifestyles to prevent.”

• Medical debt is the enemy of everyone

  December 23 · Robert E. Goff

  “That’s a terrible position to put a person in, and we have to realize that they shouldn’t be put in those positions.”

• A shift from the medical perspective of disability to a mother’s perspective

  December 24 · K. Jane Lee

  “Take-home messages are to really look beyond the disability.”

• Why storytelling is critical in medicine

  December 25 · John F. McGeehan

  “Everybody has stories to tell, and if you’re in medicine, everybody realizes the real rewards aren’t financial.”

• How to navigate residency probation

  December 26 · Guest

  “There are two things I really think of.”

• Don’t pay off your student loans early

  December 27 · Khaled A. Dajani

  “Focus on what you want to do in your life, and how the higher income of a physician can bring you to that happiness.”

• Climate change through the lens of an emergency physician

  December 28 · Elizabeth M. Barreras-Rivest

  “There are only two options: You’re either part of the problem, or you have to be part of the solution.”

• How writing fiction can free physicians

  December 29 · Sandra Miller

  “Never hesitate to try something that appeals to you.”

• You are what you click: Transform your social media experience

  December 30 · Brian A. Primack

  “People in the young adult age group, for example, are using these technologies and media three to five hours a day.”

• I will keep my advocacy sword polished and ready

  December 31 · Bonnie Friedman

  “That could have all been done, better for myself and better for them, in advance.”

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