Physicians as innovators: 6 ways we help and hurt ourselves

Physician
June 6, 2016

The U.S. health care system is the world’s top in health care spending per capita, but in terms of performance, we’re dead last among developed countries. As a young physician embarking on a career in this landscape, it’s glaringly obvious that we need disruptive innovation to create better health at a lower cost. Physicians are uniquely positioned to make critical contributions to medical innovation, but even among …

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Physicians as innovators: 6 ways we help and hurt ourselves

Female leaders in medicine: It’s lonely on top

Education
December 28, 2015

I recently recreated a now-famous business school study on a subset of residents in my internal medicine residency program.

In the original study, researchers asked students to read a case of the real-life venture capitalist Heidi Roizen, who expertly leveraged an extensive professional network to forward her career.  Half of the students read the original case; half were given a case in which Heidi’s name was switched to Howard — a …

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Female leaders in medicine: It’s lonely on top

The ethics of trainee-patient encounters: Are we practicing on the poor?

Education
August 1, 2014

I performed my first paracentesis in November of my intern year.  It was 3 a.m., and I was on overnight call in a packed ICU.  The patient, a 45-year-old male with hepatic encephalopathy, was hardly alert enough to remember my name.  He didn’t know I was an intern.  He didn’t know I’d never even attempted a paracentesis before.

After I finished, I added the patient’s name to my procedure card.  I hurried to get an ABG …

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The ethics of trainee-patient encounters: Are we practicing on the poor?