Abigail Schildcrout is founder, Practical Medical Insights, and blogs at DocThoughts.

We have the same end-goals, but disagree on how to reach them

Policy
September 24, 2017

Early yesterday morning, a 16-year-old child went missing. Early yesterday morning, a woman, in desperate anguish, put out a Facebook post with pictures of her child and asked for help. By late this morning, through the power of social media, the child was found safe.

Two days ago, a Big Ten university football team played a national military academy’s football team. There was an amazing pre-game military tribute, and the half-time …

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We have the same end-goals, but disagree on how to reach them

A physician’s poignant election thoughts

Physician
November 12, 2016

I took a long walk with my dog today, and then I took a shower.

I like showers. I’ve always found them soothing and comforting. I can think in there. I can relax. I can’t hear the phone ring. I can’t see a television. Generally, no one bugs me while I’m in there.  I come out clean, refreshed, and smelling and feeling good.

A shower can relieve aching muscles while removing the …

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A physician’s poignant election thoughts

My job as a doctor is to take data and apply it to real people

Physician
April 12, 2016

A friend posted an article on her Facebook page discussing a recent research study out of Sweden showing that people on the autism spectrum have a decreased life expectancy. This friend has a child with autism. Autism coupled with learning disability, according to this study, is associated with the largest decrease in life expectancy. This friend’s child has learning disabilities along with autism.

My friend is scared.

On top of her worries …

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My job as a doctor is to take data and apply it to real people

End-of-life care: What I learned from a pet’s death

Physician
April 30, 2015

It has taken me almost two years to be able to write this. We said goodbye to our beloved dog in early May of 2013. I grieved for well over a year.

About a month-and-a-half prior to his death, we had a big medical scare with him. I wrote at that time about how dealing with a veterinary emergency can provide us with some insights and practice parallels to dealing with …

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End-of-life care: What I learned from a pet’s death

Change the culture of uneven power dynamics

Physician
April 14, 2015

My career is based on communication and empowerment within the medical world. I educate on the patient/family side and the medical professional side. It takes understanding and empathy from both sides of the stethoscope to optimize communication. It takes communication between both sides to bridge perceived power differentials. It takes work on both sides to change a culture of uneven power dynamics.

I read two Facebook posts within the past few days dealing with a …

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Change the culture of uneven power dynamics

Available without a prescription does not mean there are no consequences

Conditions
April 8, 2015

Spring is here. The days are getting longer. The temperature is slowly getting warmer. Green stuff will start poking through the ground and popping out on trees. We’ll see more of our neighbors, since they won’t be trying to get from their cars into their houses (and vice versa) as quickly as possible before they freeze.

Pollen allergies will start up again. And grass allergies.

So many people suffer from the watery, itchy eyes, itchy, …

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Available without a prescription does not mean there are no consequences

Like hikers, patients also need guides

Physician
February 23, 2015

Our family loves to hike. Traveling the trails is a deeply happy place for us. In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been a time when one of us suggested taking a hike, and everyone didn’t unanimously and enthusiastically agree. A few weeks ago, my family took a lovely hike in a state park in Massachusetts. It was a gorgeous day: temperature in the upper 40s, blue skies, no wind. The …

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Like hikers, patients also need guides

Don’t let our desire to be respected get in the way of our oaths

Physician
December 18, 2014

We all have prejudices. We have racial prejudices. Religious prejudices. Gender prejudices. Occupational prejudices. Age prejudices. Weight prejudices. Height prejudices. We prejudge based on hair style. Language. Accent. Clothing. Shoes. Attractiveness. Tattoos. Names. Jewelry. Family. Hobbies. Cars. Schools. Type of home. Music. Where a person lives. What type of work a person does. What a person reads. Talents. Disabilities. Physique. Medical history. Injuries. Opinions or assessments by others.

No one is …

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Don’t let our desire to be respected get in the way of our oaths

A doctor goes networking, and is horrified by what she finds

Physician
December 11, 2014

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I was invited to a “networking party.” I went. I was horrified by what transpired there. And disgusted. And felt blindsided. And angry. And blown away by the prevalence of what I couldn’t decide was greed, ignorance, or an unseemly combination of the two. And what magnified the intensity of my repulsion was the fact that a large proportion of the people involved have the …

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A doctor goes networking, and is horrified by what she finds

What a messy house has to do with medicine today

Physician
November 25, 2014

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I spent this past week worrying that my in-laws were going to divorce me. For sure. No getting out of it this time.

I do not keep a neat house. There are piles everywhere. Piles of books. Piles of papers. Piles of clean-but-unfolded laundry. Piles of mail. Piles of music. Piles (believe it or not) of instruments. Piles of shoes. Piles of …

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What a messy house has to do with medicine today

When you can’t share experience: The power of listening

Physician
November 11, 2014

I just recently attended a meeting where there was a panel discussion on caring for Holocaust survivors. The person who opened the meeting spoke about how she felt inadequate when dealing with this population because she had no personal place of reference — she had no family members who died during the Holocaust, and so she couldn’t truly understand what the survivors went through.

I have a different thought.

Although every experience …

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When you can’t share experience: The power of listening

After a child leaves for college, the music changes

Physician
October 22, 2014

Recently, my eldest son came home from college for a couple of days. Our home was in perfect harmony and rhythm. The duets (and quartets, if you count us parents) that had played over the prior month-and-a-half were once again trios and quintets. Five or six hands on the piano at a time. The clear brass joining in again with the bright woodwind and the deep bass. The voices in …

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After a child leaves for college, the music changes

Docs versus Glocks: Why doesn’t the public trust physicians?

Policy
September 11, 2014

Doctors talk with their patients about many things that might make some people uncomfortable — sexual issues, abuse (physical or emotional), anxiety, depression, sleep habits, bowel habits, and fears about health-related topics — things that many people might not talk about in casual conversation at the coffee shop or at work. Doctors talk with their patients about smoking, weight, eating habits, exercise, seat belt use, helmet use, and a myriad …

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Docs versus Glocks: Why doesn’t the public trust physicians?

Remember that our patients frequently feel a lack of control

Physician
May 15, 2014

I recently went to an “admitted student day” with my eldest son at the university he plans to attend in the fall.  On our campus tour, our guide pointed out a block on the ground in the center of campus (which incorporates a symbol of the university) that no one steps on because “stepping on it will cause you to fail your first exam.”  In the winter, it is the …

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Remember that our patients frequently feel a lack of control

An erosion of privacy in health care settings

Physician
April 7, 2014

Our privacy is eroding. Some of this erosion is our own fault — we post to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media with reckless abandon. Some is the nature of modern communication — electronic trails are just as easy to find as paper trails (if not easier). Some of the privacy erosion really doesn’t bother me so much — if Target knows that I buy a lot of Cheerios, I’m …

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An erosion of privacy in health care settings

A doctor’s visit is not a social media situation

Social media
March 24, 2014

I like a lot of things about Facebook. It allows me to see pictures and video of my nephews and niece and of friends’ children, it quickly lets me know when something big (either happy or sad) is going on in people’s lives, it lets me know what people are thinking about, and it gives me the opportunity to share my own news, thoughts, pictures, or occasional videos with others.

But as much as …

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A doctor’s visit is not a social media situation

A physician approach to a missing child

Physician
March 11, 2014

There was a brief scare in our neighborhood this past weekend. Our phone rang. Our friend, who lives nearby, asked if her 12-year-old son was at our house. He wasn’t.

The child had been gone for about 15 minutes. Their family had just returned from a shopping trip with a family friend, and that family friend had forgotten one of his items at our neighbors’ house. The child said, “I’ll run …

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A physician approach to a missing child

The art of medicine lies in knowing when a little time is needed

Physician
February 21, 2014

Our 13-year-old woke up feeling lousy two days ago. He had a sore throat and sinus pressure, and felt really tired and generally icky. He didn’t look toxic — just a little tired. I gave him a zinc lozenge and told him to get ready for school — a method that generally can tease out exactly how bad one of my kids feels. He just sat at the table.

We generally …

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The art of medicine lies in knowing when a little time is needed

Everyone should have a pleasant mammogram experience

Physician
February 12, 2014

This morning I went for my annual mammogram. It’s not something I generally look forward to. In fact, I mildly dread it.

In my personal experience, mammograms have ranged from quite uncomfortable to downright painful. And then there’s the general unpleasantness of standing topless in a cold room. The first time I had this screening imaging study done, the plate pressed so hard into my sternum that I was almost in …

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Everyone should have a pleasant mammogram experience

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