A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
I distinctly recall during residency a much older and well-respected clinical teacher periodically opining that what was needed in a particular patient case was “a dose of the tincture of time.”
For those less familiar with more historic terminology, a tincture is an alcoholic …
The power of the tincture of time
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Those of us who provide clinical care inevitably have patients who simply don’t do what we tell them. And this isn’t limited to only primary care but is encountered in all specialties and by subspecialists and consultants alike.
Not only can this be frustrating …
Why patients don’t do what physicians tell them
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
It can be as blatant as a public argument between a hospitalist and emergency medicine physician about whether a patient requires admission. But most commonly it is more nuanced and subtle. Such as members of one speciality “bad-mouthing” another or a subspecialist criticizing …
When doctors behave badly: a call for civility
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
I’m writing this as both an observation and confession.
The observation is that my professional colleagues are increasingly unwilling or unable to disengage from work-related technology in what would otherwise be considered “personal” time.
It is increasingly common to receive work-related emails or see non-urgent …
We are losing our ability to unplug
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
I recently saw a new patient who came to our practice following a lengthy hospitalization. He is in his 80s with a fairly complex medical history typical of many in this age range. Yet, after carefully sifting through my first introduction to this …
Physicians must reclaim the medical record
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Trust is the belief that another person or entity will act in your best interest, and it serves as the foundation upon which the doctor-patient relationship and our health care system are built.
But we have a significant trust paradox in American medicine. As …
Restoring the trust in the medical profession
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Her name is Wanda Poltawska. She is currently 96 years old and showing the physical signs of advanced aging, but remains mentally sharp and insightful.
What makes her special is that in 1941, at 19 years of age, she was sent to a concentration …
Remember our past in order to protect the future of medicine
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
I recently saw a 74-year-old patient to establish ongoing care. In reviewing her medical history, she presented me with the list of the 15 medications she was taking. I was a bit shocked given her medical history which really consisted of only the …
Undoing what we’ve done: Why deprescribing is so difficult
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
A number of years ago I had an older patient, John, who had just been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. In discussing his diagnosis, he asked me if I thought that his exposure to radiation in the past might be responsible for his …
“I had no idea”: the power of patient stories
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Being a physician is hard. And given the current landscape of medicine, it feels as though practicing medicine may be as difficult as it ever has been as evidenced by extraordinarily high rates of stress and physician burnout.
However, in these times I often …
Achieving aequanimitas and physician well-being
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
I recently saw a 35-year-old patient of mine who came into clinic requesting brain imaging. Although she had no specific symptoms, she had a friend who was diagnosed with a brain tumor several months ago and is concerned about the possibility that she …
The challenge of the worried well
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
I keenly remember the thrill of making my way to the medical bookstore as an early first-year student to buy my first stethoscope.
Although receiving the short white coat at the start of medical school symbolizing the transition into the medical profession was incredibly …
Are physicians losing the healing touch?
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
It was actually a great diagnosis that led me to become an internist.
I distinctly recall a patient admitted to my service during my third-year internal medicine clerkship inpatient rotation. He was extremely sick and what was wrong with him had eluded multiple other …
Getting it right: the challenge and reward of clinical diagnosis
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A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
As part of my role in International Programs at the American College of Physicians (ACP), I have a unique opportunity to travel frequently and engage with internists around the world. In fact, I am writing this while almost 7,000 miles away from home, …
Physicians share same mission across cultures and countries
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