Patrick Hudson, MD

A retired plastic and hand surgeon, former psychotherapist, and author.

24 articles on KevinMD · 1 podcast episode · Listed in Experts by KevinMD

coachingforphysicians.com Connect on LinkedIn

Articles, page 2

Physician voices

If I had to choose: Choosing the patient over the protocol

Patrick Hudson, MD

June 4, 2025Jun 4, 2025

It was after dinner at The Goring, just the three of us—Ulla, David Chipp, and me. The kind of dinner where the wine lingers longer than the food, and the conversation slips into the quietly personal. David, once Reuters' correspondent…

David, once Reuters’ correspondent in Peking during the Mao years and later editor-in-chief of the Press Association, handed me a gift: a copy of E. M. Forster’s What I believe. Inside, he had written a line …

Physician voices

9 proven ways to gain cooperation in health care without commanding

Patrick Hudson, MD

May 29, 2025May 29, 2025

You've probably had this experience. You ask someone—nicely—to do something that clearly needs to be done. And they don't. Or they nod, walk away, and nothing changes. You're not trying to be difficult. You're just trying to keep the team…

You’ve probably had this experience. You ask someone—nicely—to do something that clearly needs to be done. And they don’t. Or they nod, walk away, and nothing changes. You’re not trying to be difficult. You’re just trying to keep the team moving, the patients safe, and the wheels from coming off.

But in medicine, authority doesn’t guarantee compliance. Respect doesn’t guarantee follow-through. And asking once—no matter how reasonable—doesn’t guarantee action.

So the question …

Physician voices

ER threats aren’t rare anymore—they’re routine

Patrick Hudson, MD

May 24, 2025May 24, 2025

I read Dr. Harry Severance's recent piece, "Violence in health care: Why doctors and nurses are leaving," with a sinking feeling of recognition. He's right. Health care is becoming the most dangerous profession in America. Violence is no longer rare…

I read Dr. Harry Severance’s recent piece, “Violence in health care: Why doctors and nurses are leaving,” with a sinking feeling of recognition. He’s right. Health care is becoming the most dangerous profession in America. Violence is no longer rare or shocking—it’s something every physician and nurse now half-expects at some point in their career.

I still remember an early shift in the ER when I was stitching up a …

Physician voices

Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

Patrick Hudson, MD

May 22, 2025May 22, 2025

It's not the easiest question to ask aloud—especially in medicine, where we pronounce death but rarely reflect on it. We chart it. Certify it. Explain it. But what does it mean to die? For most of us, the word carries…

It’s not the easiest question to ask aloud—especially in medicine, where we pronounce death but rarely reflect on it.

We chart it. Certify it. Explain it.
But what does it mean to die?

For most of us, the word carries a double weight. It means to stop biologically. To cease. To end.
But it also means to vanish. To be forgotten. To be no longer seen, needed, or named.

As a surgeon, I saw death …