Brian J. Secemsky, MD
Brian J. Secemsky is an internal medicine physician and can be reached on Twitter @BrianSecemskyMD and his self-titled site, Brian Secemsky MD.
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Latest articles
Drugs and prescribing
While studying for a certification exam, I came across a question that stayed with me well after taking the practice test. The case discussed a patient who was prescribed antibiotics by his physician for a presumed bacterial illness and then…
While studying for a certification exam, I came across a question that stayed with me well after taking the practice test. The case discussed a patient who was prescribed antibiotics by his physician for a presumed bacterial illness and then returned the following week with an antibiotic-associated diarrheal infection. The test question then asked what could be concluded from this case. The answer: informed consent (i.e., patient permission for a …
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Discussing the side effects of medications: How can doctors do better?
Physician voices
Flying on a return trip from Chicago to San Francisco, I can’t help but feel a little on edge. It’s not the fear of flying that is leaving me a little less relaxed than the pleasant, middle-aged woman peacefully slumbering…
Flying on a return trip from Chicago to San Francisco, I can’t help but feel a little on edge. It’s not the fear of flying that is leaving me a little less relaxed than the pleasant, middle-aged woman peacefully slumbering in the seat next to me. It’s the possibility of hearing the announcement few doctors are comfortable hearing during travel: “Is …
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Why physicians should be trained for in-flight emergencies
Medical education
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been classically described as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” At first look, this well-accepted approach to clinical medicine appears not only completely…
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been classically described as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” At first look, this well-accepted approach to clinical medicine appears not only completely reasonable, but also somewhat obvious given the immense amount of research available for academic consumption.
EBM has been repeatedly preached as the gold standard of clinical care across all medical …
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The challenge of evidence-based medicine to the new physician
Medical education
We don’t even have to ask, and you certainly don’t need to get out your credentials. It’s so obvious that you are a medical student. And it’s not just the short white coat and student identification badge half-hidden in your…
We don’t even have to ask, and you certainly don’t need to get out your credentials.
It’s so obvious that you are a medical student.
And it’s not just the short white coat and student identification badge half-hidden in your linen pocket that says it all.
We’ve seen you at all hours around the hospital during your clinical rotations. You tend to appear a half-hour before everyone else, just in time to commandeer …
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You’re a medical student. And it’s so obvious why.
Physician voices
Experiment 1. Stop five random people on your way to work and ask them to name the top public advocates of health and wellness that come to mind. Do I dare speculate that more than a few would mention Dr.…
Experiment 1. Stop five random people on your way to work and ask them to name the top public advocates of health and wellness that come to mind.
Do I dare speculate that more than a few would mention Dr. Oz. Or Jenny McCarthy?
Experiment 2. Stop five medical colleagues and ask them to list their top physician writers and journalists.
Do I dare speculate that more than a few would only have …
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Older physicians should write. Here’s why.
Medical education
We’ve almost made it. Long gone are the purgatory stints of library study, slaving to solve esoteric problems relating to planks and pulleys. Innumerable several-day exams have been conquered and tucked far away in our memories, hopefully never to haunt…
We’ve almost made it.
Long gone are the purgatory stints of library study, slaving to solve esoteric problems relating to planks and pulleys. Innumerable several-day exams have been conquered and tucked far away in our memories, hopefully never to haunt us again. The last of our forced smiles and faux-eager nods have been displayed toward ambivalent instructors and medical teams during the throes of our student rotations.
Post-graduate training is also nearing …
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Reflecting on the end of residency training
Physician voices
As the youngest member of a family of doctors, it was not uncommon during my childhood to spend summers at my father's private practice. I fondly remember greeting the familiar office staff as I recklessly ran amok among an endless…
As the youngest member of a family of doctors, it was not uncommon during my childhood to spend summers at my father’s private practice. I fondly remember greeting the familiar office staff as I recklessly ran amok among an endless array of rickety cabinets containing an untold amount of aging, yellowed paper charts. My dad’s patients would tousle my hair like family and his partners would always leave an insurmountable …
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The rise of the employed physician: What it means to new doctors
Social media in medicine
You -- a medical student, resident physician or newly-minted medical attending -- are late in the game. Sure, you appropriately hopped onto Facebook during your first few years of college, only to rightly disengage around the advent of newsfeeds and…
You — a medical student, resident physician or newly-minted medical attending — are late in the game. Sure, you appropriately hopped onto Facebook during your first few years of college, only to rightly disengage around the advent of newsfeeds and cover photos. You passively signed up to LinkedIn last winter only to remain passively aware that your profile exists unfettered and …
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Young physicians should be on Twitter. Here’s why.
Medical education
Tech-savvy. Attention-craving. Lazy, good-for-nothings. These are a few of the many traits that have been commonly bestowed upon those born around the last two decades of the 20th century. Commonly known as Generation Y, this demographical cohort of 20- to…
Tech-savvy. Attention-craving. Lazy, good-for-nothings.
These are a few of the many traits that have been commonly bestowed upon those born around the last two decades of the 20th century. Commonly known as Generation Y, this demographical cohort of 20- to 30-somethings has certainly sparked mixed reviews from its Gen X and Baby Boomer elders.
But what defines the particular subgroup of young …
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What can be said about the Generation Y physician?
Medical education
We’ve gone through four dreadful pre-medical years of learning everything from the composition of atoms to how an apple exerts force when falling off a tree. We’ve taken a massive exam full of content mostly unrelated to our future field…
We’ve gone through four dreadful pre-medical years of learning everything from the composition of atoms to how an apple exerts force when falling off a tree. We’ve taken a massive exam full of content mostly unrelated to our future field only to be put through four more years of intense medical education (and several additional massive exams). We’ve managed to receive a medical degree and have gone through at least …
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“Studies show”: It’s time to ban the term
Medical education
You’ve changed. No longer do we see you sluggishly walking en route to work every morning with refillable coffee thermos in one hand, robotically scanning some kind of social media feed with the other. We are concerned that the regular…
You’ve changed.
No longer do we see you sluggishly walking en route to work every morning with refillable coffee thermos in one hand, robotically scanning some kind of social media feed with the other.
We are concerned that the regular and cyclic day time group texts received from you are now occurring at odd hours of the night. Your persistence to move …
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Working the night shift as a resident physician
Conditions and diseases
As a resident of San Francisco (and with Los Angeles just a drive away), I cannot escape the food hate. Whether it be a campaign against cooked provisions, farmed products or anything of solid consistency, I cannot help but wonder…
As a resident of San Francisco (and with Los Angeles just a drive away), I cannot escape the food hate. Whether it be a campaign against cooked provisions, farmed products or anything of solid consistency, I cannot help but wonder if any possible benefit of these diets outweigh the risk of missing out on amazing grub.
But what about gluten-free diets?
Gluten sensitivity
Gluten, a protein found in foodstuffs such as wheat, barley …
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Gluten sensitivity is an elusive concept in clinical medicine
Health policy
As our nation struggles with the mind-boggling algebraic-like task of reigning in on health care expenditures while increasing provider access and high-quality medical care, provider payment structures are in flux between traditional payment methods and relatively new financial structures. While…
As our nation struggles with the mind-boggling algebraic-like task of reigning in on health care expenditures while increasing provider access and high-quality medical care, provider payment structures are in flux between traditional payment methods and relatively new financial structures.
While I am no means an expert of health policy nor medical business and financing, I think it’s important for medical trainees and enthusiasts alike to understand the very general basics of …
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How doctors are paid today
Medical education
Picture this. You walk into your doctor’s office for an urgent visit for new distressing symptoms. He (or she) takes your blood pressure, temperature, heart rate. All within normal limits. He asks you several questions pertaining to your symptoms, does…
Picture this.
You walk into your doctor’s office for an urgent visit for new distressing symptoms. He (or she) takes your blood pressure, temperature, heart rate. All within normal limits. He asks you several questions pertaining to your symptoms, does a thorough exam and perhaps orders a quick in-office lab or two. You ask him what he thinks is going on.
The quandary
If it’s a slam dunk diagnosis, the branch point in …
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Do patients have a right to know their doctor’s uncertainty?
Medical education
Recently, I had the fortune of hearing the tale of Bob and his bum knee. It all started when Bob picked me up at the end of a busy clinic day in his neon orange Subaru. Given that this particular…
Recently, I had the fortune of hearing the tale of Bob and his bum knee.
It all started when Bob picked me up at the end of a busy clinic day in his neon orange Subaru. Given that this particular shared car service promotes friendly conversation, Bob started up the gab by asking me what position I held in the medical center. After describing my work as a …
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Declining care from physicians in training
Physician voices
If you haven’t already, you will someday see a primary care physician (PCP). It’s practically unavoidable. The reason for this self-declared truth is that PCPs are the shape shifters of medicine, assuming various roles at different stages of an adult’s…
If you haven’t already, you will someday see a primary care physician (PCP).
It’s practically unavoidable.
The reason for this self-declared truth is that PCPs are the shape shifters of medicine, assuming various roles at different stages of an adult’s life and wellbeing.
These responsibilities range from treating various health conditions, ushering patients in and out of hospitals, coordinating long-term medical decisions, and consulting with other specialists to better optimize patient care.
Given that …
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What you should know about your primary care physician
Physician voices
I get it. It’s not rocket science. But sometimes everyone in the field of medicine needs a bit of a refresher when it comes to keeping our patients happy. After all, it’s a two-way street with medical providers and patients:…
I get it. It’s not rocket science. But sometimes everyone in the field of medicine needs a bit of a refresher when it comes to keeping our patients happy.
After all, it’s a two-way street with medical providers and patients: we provide and support ways to improve and maintain the personal health of our patients while our patients provide and support the health of our careers and livelihood. We depend on …
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3 tips to keep our patients happy
Medical education
Since the beginning of it all, since that exact moment where I shot up from my friend’s dorm room cot with a revelation to pursue my ancestral calling in medicine, I have been continually questioned by family and friends on…
Since the beginning of it all, since that exact moment where I shot up from my friend’s dorm room cot with a revelation to pursue my ancestral calling in medicine, I have been continually questioned by family and friends on exactly where I sit in the totem pole of physicianhood. And I get it. With terms like sub-intern, intern, senior resident and attending, it must be confusing …
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What does it mean to be a medical intern?
Physician voices
Ms. A was a sweet older lady with a bad heart who was transferred all the way from Montana in order to get expedited workup for cardiac (heart-related) surgery. Her story of her symptoms and disease course was the story…
Ms. A was a sweet older lady with a bad heart who was transferred all the way from Montana in order to get expedited workup for cardiac (heart-related) surgery.
Her story of her symptoms and disease course was the story told by hundreds of patients seen at any given hospital every year. It started with a few weeks of chest discomfort while walking, followed by a day of chest pain, nausea, …
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What to do after you make a medical error
Physician voices
Last month marked the first anniversary of two very important milestones in my career in medicine: I began training as a physician and started writing about medicine. Although perhaps not equally as demanding, both of these new activities in my…
Last month marked the first anniversary of two very important milestones in my career in medicine: I began training as a physician and started writing about medicine. Although perhaps not equally as demanding, both of these new activities in my life required overcoming steep learning curves and involved constant self-reflection and personal change.
Writing medical humanities pieces for different media outlets has been and continues to be a source of personal …
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Medical writing: Tips to avoid burnout when starting out
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