These articles are written by anonymous clinicians. They have been selected and edited by Kevin Pho, MD.

The $6 soup that saved a pregnant patient $20,000

Physician
January 29, 2023

A good cup of soup can be comforting during illness. It’s like a form of medicine. Soups have many vitamins and minerals, protein and carbohydrates, and of course, water or cream to help stay hydrated. Salt makes a sore throat feel better (like warm salt water gargling) and heat clears nasal congestion (which relieves pain and sinus pressure). As such, a typical cup of restaurant soup costing $5 or $10 …

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The $6 soup that saved a pregnant patient $20,000

Why every doctor should have a side gig

Finance
January 28, 2023

Why is it that physicians are seeking alternative avenues to boost their income? It may seem counterintuitive for busy clinical doctors to pursue a side gig, why? In a post-pandemic era, physicians are plagued by colossal debt and increasing rates of burnout. More than 100,000 physicians have left the profession since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. My peers are frustrated, tired, and seeking a way out. For many, …

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Why every doctor should have a side gig

Cancer as a model of diversity: To be an ally, ask

Physician
January 22, 2023

I was brought to tears today, suddenly, unexpectedly, by the ringing of a bell. I had passed a small sign earlier, and I knew that the ringing signified the completion of someone’s chemotherapy. As I heard cheers, I thought how amazing this group of individuals (who I could not see, closeted as I was behind a curtained space) had a shared experience of crossing the finish line.

There is a lot …

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Cancer as a model of diversity: To be an ally, ask

Breast cancer surgery: Liking my doctor mitigates the feeling of violation

Conditions
January 15, 2023

On waking up from anesthesia-induced unconsciousness, I was dressed in an unfamiliar pink surgical bra with multiple Velcro straps. As if I were a doll, someone had clothed my limp body without my knowledge, and I had no idea who. Even then, I had a vague sense, groggy and feeling an odd lack of sensation on the right side of my chest that I had been violated.

“Violation” is an …

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Breast cancer surgery: Liking my doctor mitigates the feeling of violation

Physician speaks out about being threatened by a patient and betrayed by an organization

Physician
January 13, 2023

I’ve been practicing internal medicine for over a decade now. I was drawn to this field because of my admiration for Dr. William Osler and the superb physicians I have met who embody his qualities. As an internal medicine physician, I am expected to be a critical thinker and a “doctor’s doctor,” specializing in complexity and solving problems with multiple layers, like peeling an onion. However, I never imagined that …

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Physician speaks out about being threatened by a patient and betrayed by an organization

Working through a pandemic and watching the health care system crumble around me

Physician
December 27, 2022

The first dying patient I saw as a medical student was a man newly diagnosed with lung cancer, a chronic smoker with now oxygen-dependent COPD. In rounds, our medical team stopped outside his room, and the learned men and women pontificated about what to do next with the man. Chemo? Radiation? Both? I pretended to listen and rubbed my chin with feigned discernment, trying to understand the conversation like any …

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Working through a pandemic and watching the health care system crumble around me

Sweet bitter: a doctor’s cancer diagnosis

Physician
December 14, 2022

I screen patients for skin cancer on a regular basis, and one of my research interests is to find new biomarkers of cancer prognosis – to be able to separate out cancers that won’t actually do someone any harm versus cancers that could very well spread, grow unchecked and uncontrolled, and potentially end a life. I know that cancer treatments have advanced beyond my imagination in recent years, with …

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Sweet bitter: a doctor’s cancer diagnosis

Cancer: Why silence and anonymity are also courageous

Conditions
December 10, 2022

Recently, I found a lump that was diagnosed as breast cancer. It is Stage IA, with a high chance of cure, but of course, more information might change that sooner or later. I have entered the uncertain world of being a patient – before this, as a physician myself, I happily avoided seeing the doctor.

While my cancer should be curable, and this will just be a …

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Cancer: Why silence and anonymity are also courageous

For me, COVID has a face

Conditions
November 28, 2022

I’ve moved recently, and in the process of moving, invariably, one discovers old items. This had gotten shelved in the fracas of those years, work changed overnight, changing employers, moving. However, in a discussion with a close friend today, this resurfaced as she’s grappling with patients and family who are not seeing what she’s seeing.

Summer 2020

It’s another Sunday night family dinner. Conversation centers around catching up on the latest family …

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For me, COVID has a face

It is time that medical societies acknowledge that pro-life views are legitimate

Policy
November 19, 2022

The recent Dobbs decision has led to strong reactions from many major medical associations arguing that limiting abortion options will significantly harm women with unexpected pregnancies. This needs to be acknowledged, and the desire to do what is best for women is to be commended and shows a true passion for providing what these organizations deem to be the best possible care.

However, there are many medical providers who are as …

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It is time that medical societies acknowledge that pro-life views are legitimate

It is time for non-confrontational discussions of the unborn child’s humanity

Physician
November 2, 2022

The field of pediatrics has always been known for advocating and caring for the most forgotten and disadvantaged in our communities. The American Academy of Pediatrics was founded at a time when children were seen as lesser members of society.

Through the efforts of this organization and tens of thousands of dedicated pediatricians, we have changed the narrative. Several examples include:

1. Care of abused and neglected children. One of the first …

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It is time for non-confrontational discussions of the unborn child’s humanity

Health care’s dirty secret

Conditions
October 9, 2022

Health care has a dirty little secret. And if you aren’t part of the club, chances are that you don’t know anything about it. Aside from COVID-19, short staffing, and the lack of hospital beds to accommodate those who need them, another crisis has been overshadowed and hidden from public view.

What is the secret? Health care is dangerous.

In fact, so many doctors and nurses are choosing to leave the bedside …

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Health care’s dirty secret

All I ever wanted to be was a nurse

Conditions
October 2, 2022

I am a nurse. I am tired and defeated. Thursday, I went to work at 7 a.m. after the strike, only to want to leave as soon as I walked into the hospital. We were short-staffed … again. I made an “aware” which is a hospital forum where anyone can report unsafe staffing, hospital conditions, maintenance, or security issues. My aware went to my unit manager where we had a …

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All I ever wanted to be was a nurse

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Residency almost killed me — literally

Physician
September 5, 2022

One morning, I was sitting in resident lecture. This time was supposedly protected, but we realized fairly quickly that the work still had to be done, and “I had lecture” never really worked out well as an explanation.

By this time in the week, I had already worked 80 hours, and the luxury of sitting down for an hour in a row was the main upside to the lecture. I kept …

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Residency almost killed me — literally

Why I’m leaving emergency medicine

Physician
August 31, 2022

I am hanging up my stethoscope and exiting the ambulance bay doors for the last time. I chose emergency medicine to care for critically ill and injured patients, and I’m leaving because this has become near impossible.

I believe it imperative to share some of the reasons that I, and many like me, are leaving a field we once loved, as their ramifications will sooner or later impact you and those …

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Why I’m leaving emergency medicine

Patients who are openly skeptical of a physician’s science-backed advice

Physician
August 22, 2022

I’ve just passed the 15-year milestone of practicing family medicine in a small farm town in the Midwest. Knowing my patients and their multi-generational families deeply and enjoying their trust is a major part of my job satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the last two years have put a serious dent in both the trust and the satisfaction.

No one ever takes all the advice their physician gives them, at least in my experience. Until …

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Patients who are openly skeptical of a physician’s science-backed advice

Academic medicine on life support: a letter to a newly appointed CEO of a leading academic medical institution

Physician
August 15, 2022

Congratulations on our leading academic medical institution (LAMI) yet again making it to the top ten list of the U.S. News & World Report!

You have taken the reins in perilous times (globally and domestically), and what you do and what you stand for will determine if this great hospital will not just survive but survive with its brand and reputation intact. Getting hired as a physician who grew up in …

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Academic medicine on life support: a letter to a newly appointed CEO of a leading academic medical institution

I received a comprehensive sex education. I still chose abstinence.

Conditions
July 28, 2022

Here’s the story of a girl who got a comprehensive sex education and still chose abstinence. That girl was me.

Did I gain this knowledge from school? Heavens no. I grew up in the South at the turn of the 21st century. Abstinence-only sex education was the name of the game (still is, last I checked), especially in the school district I was in. Ironically (or maybe not so, in light …

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I received a comprehensive sex education. I still chose abstinence.

Corruption in health care: when the mice mind the cheese

Policy
July 17, 2022

That the United States spends the most on health care is unsurprising.

What’s questionable is paying so much for the worst health care system amongst high-income countries and being far behind many countries that could not be considered high-income by any stretch of the imagination.

Other than doing brilliantly at mammograms and seasonal flu vaccines, the U.S. is found appalling. Not just Canada and Mexico, but when the likes of Chile, Saudi …

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Corruption in health care: when the mice mind the cheese

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