Olapeju Simoyan is an addiction medicine specialist.

Why doctors must fight health misinformation on social media

Social media
January 29, 2025

A tweet on “X” (formerly known as “Twitter”), dated Jan. 2, 2024, and attributed to Elon Musk stated:

“… heavy use of C-sections allows for a larger brain, as brain size has historically been limited by birth canal diameter.”

For some reason, this statement was recently circulating on social media, even though it is a year old. I first came across the statement in a Facebook group for physicians, where a colleague …

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Why doctors must fight health misinformation on social media

Is a full-time job preventing you from fulfilling your potential?

Physician
February 7, 2024

A little over a year ago, unforeseen circumstances led me to walk away from the security of a full-time job and all the benefits that came with it such as employer-based health insurance and retirement contributions.

At the time, I had applied for another position without even realizing that I would be leaving my job. The position seemed to be an ideal next step, being a senior leadership position in academic …

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Is a full-time job preventing you from fulfilling your potential?

Accelerate your career with mentorship

Physician
February 4, 2024

As a lifelong learner who takes pride in self-directed learning, the importance of mentorship has not always been readily obvious to me. When I completed my residency and embarked on a career in academic medicine, little did I realize how important the mentorship of my then department chair, Dr. Janet Townsend, would be in terms of my career progression. In addition to supporting my commitment to staying clinically active while …

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Accelerate your career with mentorship

Confirmation bias can lead to wrong conclusions

Physician
November 16, 2023

I met Dr. David Zylneck through a mutual friend when he was in the final year of his pediatrics residency. Even as a trainee, he was heavily involved in international relief work and had made several trips to Southern Africa. Over time, Dr. Zylneck and I lost contact as our careers took us in different directions. Several years later, as I was about to move to a new location to …

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Confirmation bias can lead to wrong conclusions

Bridging the gap between art and science for better health

Physician
October 11, 2022

The myth that people are either right-brain dominant (creative and artistic) or left-brain dominant (logical, good at math, etc.) is just that – a myth. The truth is, we only have one brain – and the corpus callosum joins the left and right cerebral hemispheres because they are meant to work together. Numerous examples of people have excelled in both the sciences and arts.

Albert Einstein is remembered for being one …

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Bridging the gap between art and science for better health

It’s time to rethink board recertification

Physician
January 18, 2022

Doctors are reporting an alarming rate of dissatisfaction and burnout, with some leaving the practice of medicine altogether. Administrators and insurance companies are often blamed; however, our own professional organizations impose a significant portion of the problem.

Several years ago, Danielle Ofri wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about how doctors’ precious time was being wasted on recertification exams. That year (2014), I took my first …

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It’s time to rethink board recertification