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Walter J. O’Donnell, MD

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Walter J. O’Donnell is a pulmonary and critical care physician.

Health care workers get the applause, but our families are essential, too

Walter J. O’Donnell, MD
Physician
March 21, 2021

Leanne, a nurse, sits next to me in the ICU. She says into the phone, “Now, Johnny, you be good for Nana.” We’re only halfway through another 12-hour shift, and she won’t be home until after her 5-year-old son is ready for bed.

Such calls to palliate separation have long been part of the fabric of health care families’ lives. But the pandemic has magnified the frequency and pain of these absences.

Much …

Read more…

Health care workers get the applause, but our families are essential, too

Sharing administrative pain might give us more joy in medicine

Walter J. O’Donnell, MD
Physician
February 28, 2019

I’m still trying to figure out what happened. I don’t want to be put on suicide watch by the wellness office. It definitely began during our weekly noontime mindfulness session. I came in late, furtively signed in (gotta make that metric) and slipped into a back corner seat. I went zero to REM in 10 seconds, thanks to last night’s click-boarding my panel into their patient-centered medical i-homes.

I awoke to …

Read more…

Sharing administrative pain might give us more joy in medicine

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  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Evidence-based medicine vs. clinical judgment: a medical student’s perspective

      Jay Pendyala | Education
    • The controversy over Maintenance of Certification for grandfathered physicians

      Bernard Leo Remakus, MD | Physician
    • How hindsight bias distorts clinical medicine

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How the new DOT ruling on food allergies threatens air travel safety

      Lianne Mandelbaum, PT | Conditions
    • The psychology of hero worship: When admiration overrides reason

      Rao M. Uppu, PhD | Conditions
    • Caregiver end-of-life decisions: Moving beyond advance directives

      Kevin Haselhorst, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The dangers of vertical integration in health care

      Stephanie Waggel, MD | Policy
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      Corina Fratila, MD | Physician
    • The 9 laws of health care quality: Why metrics miss the point

      Constantine Ioannou, MD | Physician
    • Politics and fear have replaced science in U.S. pain management [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From Singapore to Canada: a blueprint for primary care transformation

      Ivy Oandasan, MD | Policy
    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Caregiver end-of-life decisions: Moving beyond advance directives

      Kevin Haselhorst, MD | Physician
    • Why hormonal shifts make traditional dieting ineffective for midlife women [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Physician burnout: a poem on the unseen weight of medicine

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • How Medicare’s MIPS impacts skilled nursing facilities and clinicians

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      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • The truth about Medicare Advantage funding and costs

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