You can’t always expect a miracle, but you can always hope for one

Physician
August 29, 2018

I began practicing as an internist/nephrologist in the early 1960s. Having rented an office in Los Angeles, I introduced myself to the local medical community and set out to build a practice.

With a growing family, a mortgage and an office to support, I was hungry for patients. Hospital emergency rooms were good referral sources, so I took ER call at three different hospitals.

Late one Friday night, I got a call …

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You can’t always expect a miracle, but you can always hope for one

Watch what you say around patients

Physician
April 6, 2018

I always warn my medical students to be careful what they say in front of patients, or patients’ families or friends. “You never know who’s listening!” I add. They may think that I’m exaggerating — but I have my reasons.

Early in my career as an internist/nephrologist, if I had a free moment, I’d head for the emergency room. I might get a referral, and the coffee and conversation were usually …

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Watch what you say around patients

Good clinical care takes more than medical acumen

Physician
August 25, 2017

When I finished my medical training almost sixty years ago, I was like many new graduates: I thought I knew it all.

I opened a private office in Los Angeles and paid courtesy calls on the local physicians to let them know my qualifications and my availability for consultation, as both an internist and a nephrologist. (The treatment of kidney disease was then in its infancy, and I was the area’s …

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Good clinical care takes more than medical acumen