These articles are written by anonymous clinicians. They have been selected and edited by Kevin Pho, MD.
Why is a trip to the doctor’s office more like going to the DMV than to Disney World? Both the DMV and Disney World involve waiting in long lines, but Disney has made the entire experience fun and exciting, while the DMV has made it cold and frustrating.
“But medicine is different,” you may say. After all, seeing the doctor was never meant to be a fun or exciting experience. When …
Being a physician certainly biases how I view the world around me. I can’t help but think in terms of problem-solving and healing. But have you noticed how medicalized our society has become? The other night watching television, we watched at least four drug commercials and one health insurance commercial — during a half-hour show! I believe we are in the middle of the medicalization of America, and I don’t …
All medical students and residents, those with any sense of introspection anyway, wonder if we (they) should be on the front lines. We wonder if we should be meeting, examining, trying to diagnose and treat families and children when we know that an experienced clinician just around the corner or in the next room could see the patient, perform the procedure faster and with more panache than our feeble …
Always covered by an employer health plan, I had never given a thought to prescription costs – my medications had been covered by moderate copays. This changed when I retired and enrolled in Medicare (and a Medicare Part D plan).
Just prior to retirement, my eyes suddenly began tear and swell so much that it impacted my vision. The eye doctor diagnosed an allergic reaction and prescribed prednisone drops to …
con·nect (from dictionary.com)
verb (used with object)
1. to join, link, or fasten together; unite or bind: to connect the two cities by a bridge; Communication satellites connect the local stations into a network.
2. to establish communication between; put in communication: Operator, will you please connect me with Mr. Jones?
To connect with your patients is truly the key solution.
Connect takes on two meanings:
I am an enigma. I always have been. Some doctors think of me as a challenge while others make it clear they dislike dealing with my case. I’ve had gastroparesis since I was born. Idiopathic gastroparesis. I’ve had debilitating migraines since I was 3. Idiopathic migraines. I’ve had several-month bouts of low grade fevers for years. Idiopathic fevers. Over the past 6 months I’ve started going into anaphylaxis. Idiopathic anaphylaxis.
Every …
The scene was picture perfect, an absolute characterization of a tropical island paradise. White deserted beach, overhanging palm trees, crystal clear, gentle lapping waters, and a blood red sun sinking slowly into a Fijian ocean.
I found no pleasure in it. Perhaps it was the heat, or that my new wife and I had been travelling for six months? Or that we had been on many other tropical islands and amazing places in …
I was paged by labor and delivery three times during the 10-minute drive from my house. I headed straight from the parking lot to the labor ward expecting a patient of mine to be close to delivery. I was wrong.
The chief resident and attending obstetrician were waiting. They looked tired and worried.
A woman had arrived on Friday with ruptured membranes. She was 21 weeks along in her pregnancy, and now …
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