Women now make up over one-third of the physician workforce and more than half of medical school graduates, yet medicine remains shaped by a deeply entrenched culture of inequity. This inequity not only harms the careers and well-being of women physicians, it also jeopardizes patient care and weakens our national health care system.
As a physician and author of the forthcoming book Doctoring While Female: The Personal and National Toll of …
Before making the case for evolving formal fellowships for physician anesthesiologists to conscientiously and systematically object to unnecessary health care, particularly unnecessary procedures, it is worth first exploring what constitutes “necessary.” Only then can we begin to regulate what may be considered “unnecessary.” Can physician anesthesiologists lead such academic and practical regulatory efforts, even amid potential conflicts of interest inherent in their role as anesthesia care providers?
This raises several important …
This first decade of my career as a millennial physician is starting to look as fragmented on my CV as it has felt in reality, chasing even a modicum of the stability that the physicians of my father’s generation took for granted. Meanwhile, the chaos engendered by market forces like vertical and horizontal integration across insurance and hospital systems, private-equity-backed buyouts of physician practices and surgery centers, and now just …
The question is not where one is born, because birthplace—whether a country or continent—is never chosen by oneself, but always determined by others and the surrounding environment.
Nor is the question where one lives, because even though the place, country, or continent may seem self-chosen, it is often influenced or guided by others and external circumstances.
The real question is where one belongs, because the feeling of belonging—to a place, country, or …
My recent experience as a cancer patient has illuminated many things. It has shown me how our health care system is not standardized and how it sometimes makes patient care decisions based on financial incentives or convenience rather than patient preferences or best clinical practice. Take, for example, the topic of sedation.
The question of whether to sedate is common in pain management, which often involves invasive intraspinal procedures such as …
In an age where medicine is increasingly shaped by administrators, algorithms, and corporate cost-cutting, physicians find themselves stripped of many of the economic tools that once defined their professional autonomy.
The days when physicians—especially in fields like internal medicine, pediatrics, and even general surgery—could rely on billing, collections, and the straightforward logic of fee-for-service income are largely over. Reimbursement has stagnated or declined in real terms, overhead costs rise yearly, and …
“Will I be asleep or awake during my procedure?” This is the first question many patients ask before oral surgery. It reveals a common misconception: That anesthesia works like a light switch.
It doesn’t.
Anesthesia exists on a spectrum with multiple options that can be tailored to your specific needs, procedure type, and anxiety level.
Beyond all-or-nothing
As an oral …
Kobe Bryant’s impact on my life and career stretches far beyond the basketball court. The essence of his spirit—his commitment to excellence, his relentless pursuit of mastery, and his unyielding work ethic—has inspired me not only in the game of basketball but in the field of medicine as well.
Kobe came into my life as Michael Jordan was leaving the game. While I was fortunate enough to witness the latter half …
The interplay between generations has become increasingly pronounced in medicine, particularly with the emergence of millennials and Generation Z trainees alongside their older counterparts—the Baby Boomers and Gen X physicians. This generational shift brings to light a myriad of differences in values and perspectives, sparking a nuanced discourse within the medical community. Millennials came of age in an era marked by globalization, technological advancements, and economic prosperity. Their successors, Generation …
A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.
Behind every denial letter, there’s a story. A cancer patient forced to delay life-saving treatment, a parent battling red tape to secure the recommended …
Maternal mortality crisis in the U.S.
The U.S. faces a significant maternal health crisis, with alarmingly high maternal mortality rates compared to other developed nations. As of 2022, the overall maternal mortality rate was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, with a disproportionately high rate of 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births among Black women. These figures starkly contrast with much lower rates in countries like Germany, Australia, Japan, and Sweden.
Maternal …
Agatha Christie was onto something when she stated, “The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.” Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of the United Health Care insurance company, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan on December 4th in broad daylight. His assailant, Luigi Mangione, has become a media-fueled darling, with multiple documentary projects already underway to explore the complexities of his crime. …
The question is whether practicing medicine is like or unlike practicing law. Only those in distress come in search of physicians and lawyers. Thus, their clients need healing as well as protection from the ills in their innate systems or in the systems surrounding them. The absolute dependence or even surrender of those in need during times of need provides their physicians as well as their lawyers the moral high …
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The box office hit Wicked is a modern retelling of the classic Wizard of Oz, where the Wizard labels Elphaba as “wicked” in his pursuit of control and greed. Much like the Wizard, who manipulates society by changing Elphaba’s name and orchestrating a movement to bring about her downfall, today’s health care insurance industry uses similar tactics to portray physicians—particularly anesthesiologists—as the villains. A recent article from Vox echoes …
My work was draining. The joy was no longer there. Sure, I loved caring for patients, but the schedules, the call, and missing my children’s life events were all catching up to me. It all was too much. After two decades at a Level 1 hospital, I was the epitome of a “burned-out” physician. My mind would harken back to the Clash’s famous song from the 1980s—”Should I stay or …
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We sit down with Alopi Patel, an anesthesiologist and interventional pain physician, to explore the gender-based inequities women face in their careers. Inspired by the metaphor of flamingos losing their pink during times …
Continuous quality improvement undoubtedly contributes to the ongoing honing of best practices in medicine. This health care-specific parallel of total quality management programs in business helps us daily inch closer to the ultimate goal of eradicating patient harm. Health care professionals familiar with these variation-reducing processes are likely well-versed in the popular Ishikawa fishbone diagram. While the focus is intended to be spread across materials, processes, equipment, and …
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We explore the evolving dynamics of health care teams with guests Matthew Sherrer, an anesthesiologist, and Brooke Vining, a nurse anesthetist. We discuss the shift from traditional team structures to a “teaming” mindset, …
The term “organ harvesting,” once a misnomer for organ procurement after organ donation, echoes in the phrase “procedure harvesting,” which could be an inadvertent misnomer for procedure procurement following procedure donation. Who knows if some may even suggest preemptive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation when cardiac arrest seems imminent during an elective non-cardiac procedure? Regardless, while pre-procedure optimization is always a goal for elective procedure procurement—and may even be achievable in emergent …
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