Death and dying — it is one of the first topics I was taught about in medical school. I was fortunate to attend a medical school that only made us spend half our time falling asleep in lectures. The other half we were in small group sessions, working our way through real patient scenarios, trying to learn to think like a physician.
As part of our first-year curriculum we had to spend time doing …
A physician explains the afterlife to his child
Let’s be honest — what I don’t know about parenting is astounding. I’m a pediatrician and have three kids, and it’s amazing what I still don’t know.
Every so often I hear a parenting idea (or come up with one) that seems perfect. Easy to implement and imparts both clear short and long-term lessons.
Implementing new-age parenting techniques makes me feel good, even if in reality I spend most of my parenting …
How this physician parent teaches his kids about money
This discussion is something I’ve tossed around in my head for awhile. As I have gone back and forth on the topic, I decided to debate myself while I answer the question:
Is work-life balance a real thing? If so, what is it and can it be achieved, specifically in a demanding field such as medicine that often expects your job to be your life?
In this corner: Cynical Rogue Dad
Of course, …
Is work-life balance for physicians a unicorn?
When I meet a new person, and they find out I am a pediatric ER doctor, the most common response is a variation of: “Oh, that must be hard,” accompanied by a sympathetic frown.
The statement is well-intentioned, but I wonder — is their view of medicine closer to “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Scrubs?” (Hint: “Scrubs” is a better show and a more accurately reflects life in medicine.)
I imagine they think my …
A strategy for working in the ER: Serenity now, insanity later
Many people have skills they develop for work that they end up using outside of their job. Some of these skills may be mundane, some may be difficult to master and some may be only tangentially related to their job.
Mechanics are probably asked by family and friends to help all the time with cars making strange noises. Lawyers are asked by to help fix speeding tickets. Accountants are asked if …
When a doctor starts caring for people who aren’t their patients (including their kids)
Recently, our three-year-old wandered into our bedroom around 4 a.m. waking me up, saying he was scared. As I did the previous few nights when he did this, I muttered a curse word to myself and picked him up to carry him back to his room. Upon lifting him, a wrinkle in the routine emerged — he was naked below the waist. At some point, before he entered our room, …
My first mistake could have been fatal
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