Emergency medicine

2,327 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 20

Making a career change for better work-life balance [PODCAST]

August 31, 2020Aug 31, 2020

"Is it possible to have it all? Can you have a job that you love, helping people and using your brain and hands all at the same time; plus, a family, with a spouse and children, that you are always…

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“Is it possible to have it all? Can you have a job that you love, helping people and using your brain and hands all at the same time; plus, a family, with a spouse and children, that you are always there for? Is it possible to have a balance between your work and your family live while working as a medical …

Physician voices

A sober emergency physician returns to work, just in time to face the COVID-19 pandemic

J. D. Remy, MD

August 31, 2020Aug 31, 2020

An excerpt from Ballad of a Sober Man: An ER Doctor's Journey of Recovery. As if I needed more reminders of my imperfections, I had Maggie and the Kidney Stone Lady, forever. Little Maggie, the cute five-year-old from early in…

An excerpt from Ballad of a Sober Man: An ER Doctor’s Journey of Recovery.

As if I needed more reminders of my imperfections, I had Maggie and the Kidney Stone Lady, forever. Little Maggie, the cute five-year-old from early in my career who came in with her croupy cough and low-grade fever. She responded so well to racemic epinephrine, Tylenol, and humidified oxygen. The sweet girl with …

Physician voices

I am tired. But I still love emergency medicine.

Catherine Agustiady-Becker, DO

August 30, 2020Aug 30, 20203

I love being an emergency doctor. I loved my residency, my co-residents, and my attendings. I love my training: watching, learning, treating. I love the emergency department, the vastness, and the variability of emergency medicine. But I am tired. I…

I love being an emergency doctor. I loved my residency, my co-residents, and my attendings.

I love my training: watching, learning, treating.

I love the emergency department, the vastness, and the variability of emergency medicine.

But I am tired.

I am tired of feeling like a workhorse, a production line made to just churn patients in and out.

I am tired of being told that my worth as a doctor is based on my time …

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Conditions and diseases

Nurses are our most valuable resource

Michael Tanner Libsack

August 27, 2020Aug 27, 2020

I am about to express a wildly under-advertised piece of advice: Our nurses are our most valuable resource. This reality has been true for physicians for many years, but with months of lost time on in-person rotations, it will be…

My career in medicine started while working as an ED tech. It was a night shift job to get me through my degree …

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Nurses are our most valuable resource

The Podcast by KevinMD

Do patients addicted to drugs truly have capacity? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

August 20, 2020Aug 20, 2020

"We care for patients suffering from addictions every shift and are often the only care providers they can turn to. Despite our best efforts, we are often forced to watch as these patients continually succumb to their addiction, sacrificing their…

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“We care for patients suffering from addictions every shift and are often the only care providers they can turn to. Despite our best efforts, we are often forced to watch as these patients continually succumb to their addiction, sacrificing their bodies as collateral damage in the battle.

What frustrates me the most is that every time one of these patients leaves against …

Physician voices

Doctors show up. Until they won’t anymore.

Nick Benton, MD

August 12, 2020Aug 12, 20207

There are many jobs where people work long and hard. But I will assert that none train as long and hard, and at so much expense, as doctors/surgeons that manage the emergencies for their specialties and take night call, on…

The key point I am trying to make is that doctors, as a profession, basically agree to “show up.” That is what sets us apart …

Physician voices

A message for health care workers: Be kind to yourself

Annalise Sorrentino, MD

August 11, 2020Aug 11, 2020

I was reading this article in the New York Times about Dr. Lorna Breen, and it literally took my breath away. This awful pandemic has claimed so many lives, in so many different ways. Sadly, it made me think of…

I was reading this article in the New York Times about Dr. Lorna Breen, and it literally took my breath away. This awful pandemic has claimed so many lives, in so many different ways.

Sadly, it made me think of a medical school classmate of mine who took his own life a few years ago. He arranged for this to post to Facebook:

…

The Podcast by KevinMD

Physicians and the psychological trauma of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

July 26, 2020Jul 26, 2020

"As COVID-19 devastates America and the world, I hope that fundamental change to our health care system results from its horrific exposé. Without COVID-19, the pressures placed on physicians are already immense. In the age of COVID-19, these pressures are…

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“As COVID-19 devastates America and the world, I hope that fundamental change to our health care system results from its horrific exposé. Without COVID-19, the pressures placed on physicians are already immense. In the age of COVID-19, these pressures are proving to be insurmountable. Being a physician is difficult, but it does not have to be deadly. Physicians deserve proper stigma- …

Physician voices

The challenge of trauma-informed care in the age of COVID

Andrea Reilly, MD

July 17, 2020Jul 17, 2020

"Doctor, I can't wear a face mask, can you write me a medical excuse?" My first reaction was a resounding No. COVID-19 cases are surging in many parts of the country; we've only just emerged from our own deadly surge…

“Doctor, I can’t wear a face mask, can you write me a medical excuse?”

My first reaction was a resounding No. COVID-19 cases are surging in many parts of the country; we’ve only just emerged from our own deadly surge in Boston. It’s essential that we employ every measure we can to prevent spreading this deadly virus—and that includes universal masking.

But then this patient described how she had …

Physician voices

How the pandemic created an opportunity to support families

Ashlee Murray, MD, MPH & Danielle Cullen, MD, MPH & Lauren A. Houdek VonHoltz, MD, MPH

July 17, 2020Jul 17, 2020

Working within the nation’s poorest large city, our pediatric emergency department (ED) serves as a safety net for the most vulnerable. We are witnesses to parents stretched beyond their limits – juggling raising a family amidst the stress of work, financial strain, community violence, social injustice, and the many other heavy weights they quietly bear when they bring their children to the hospital. These social needs powerfully influence

…

Physician voices

Why it’s so important to look at the big picture

Joy Hallmark, MD

July 11, 2020Jul 11, 2020

One of the last things my dad said to me before he passed was, "remember to always look at the big picture." He said this many times throughout my childhood and teenage years, but it never quite resonated until I…

One of the last things my dad said to me before he passed was, “remember to always look at the big picture.” He said this many times throughout my childhood and teenage years, but it never quite resonated until I was thinking about it in retrospect.

As I near the end of my intern year, my dad’s words hold true. As an emergency medicine resident, I am often running on adrenaline. …

Health policy

Who should be the first responders to mental health crises?

Amira Athanasios, MD

July 2, 2020Jul 2, 2020

First and foremost, a mental health crisis is a medical emergency well within the sector of public health. Therefore, the question of who should respond to mental health emergencies is one in which physicians and all medical providers should have a say. Medical providers should not only be aware of the systems in place to respond to mental health crisis but must advocate for patient safety as a measurable outcome …

The Podcast by KevinMD

An emergency physician explains the importance of being fragile [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

June 26, 2020Jun 26, 2020

"I had been trained to be this way. No panic, just a calm journeyman’s approach to any affliction, like a mathematician working an equation. Years of preparation, acquiring a skill set, building up my vault, had readied me to stand…

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“I had been trained to be this way. No panic, just a calm journeyman’s approach to any affliction, like a mathematician working an equation. Years of preparation, acquiring a skill set, building up my vault, had readied me to stand in the lounge like a zebra.

And so, I stared at my hands to see if I was actually here, to see …

Physician voices

What every clinician needs to know about Pride

Adam Brown, MD, MBA

June 26, 2020Jun 26, 2020

This June has entered without the typical parades, rainbow flags, and jubilee. As the coronavirus lingers and the optimistic case for controlling the spread of COVID-19 casts a long, somber shadow over sections of the country, Pride seems like an afterthought. As a gay emergency physician, and someone who never found particular importance in the Pride events I’ve attended in the past, I wanted to share why Pride matters …

Conditions and diseases

Is COVID-19 contraction risk lower in ER than in routine activities?

Terence Sanger, MD, PhD

June 24, 2020Jun 24, 2020

With COVID-19 continuing to spread, some might assume that the one place to avoid is a hospital emergency room. After all, the space is filled with health care providers who work in close contact with sick people. This assumption could…

This assumption could be harmful to a person in need of emergent medical care, and now, thanks to a study we recently conducted, we also know it’s likely incorrect.

Our study found that health care …

Physician voices

Pediatric emergency care during a time of strict social isolation

Lisa Uherick, MD

June 18, 2020Jun 18, 2020

I am a pediatric trained emergency physician working in a level 1 trauma center. Our region is not an epicenter for COVID-19. Like many pediatric departments, our volumes are returning but were less than half of normal for months. Social distancing has not only flattened the curve for COVID-19, but it has also made our usual summer viruses all but disappear. Where are all the enteroviruses?

In pre-COVID times, after a …

Physician voices

The intricacies of working as a doctor with a spinal cord injury

Dr. Dinesh Palipana

June 11, 2020Jun 11, 20202

I work as a resident in Australia's busiest emergency department. Well, it was the busiest at a recent count anyway. The department is housed in the city of Gold Coast. The city sprawls across a beautiful stretch of beach. When…

I work as a resident in Australia’s busiest emergency department. Well, it was the busiest at a recent count anyway. The department is housed in the city of Gold Coast. The city sprawls across a beautiful stretch of beach. When I wake up, I turn my head to see the sun hanging out over the Pacific ocean. I can’t think of a better way to start my days.

Whether it’s on …

Physician voices

Do patients’ needs come before the needs of our families?

Andy Lamb, MD

June 11, 2020Jun 11, 20202

It was a beautiful Spring day. My wife and I were returning from UNC-Chapel Hill after visiting our oldest son. Driving on Highway 54, I suddenly saw a young woman on the left side of the road frantically waving her arms and screaming. Behind her, a pickup truck had crashed into a tree. I immediately stopped the car. That’s when I saw him. Lying, unmoving, on his back was a …

The Podcast by KevinMD

How this emergency room nurse got diagnosed with PTSD [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

June 1, 2020Jun 1, 2020

"Over a period of about two years, our city experienced a very large influx of seniors. One nearby town grew by over five thousand people. This, in turn, created a surge of patients coming to the hospital. As most were…

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“Over a period of about two years, our city experienced a very large influx of seniors. One nearby town grew by over five thousand people. This, in turn, created a surge of patients coming to the hospital. As most were older, they often had multiple medical conditions. They would almost always require more complex care. The whole system became overloaded because, …

Physician voices

These are the doctors under the PPE

Rachel MacAskill

May 31, 2020May 31, 2020

They are physicians, mentors, partners, mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues - but most evidently, at the moment, they are heroes. I (virtually) sat down with five women physicians, at all points in their medical careers, who are working in several of…

They are physicians, mentors, partners, mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues – but most evidently, at the moment, they are heroes. I (virtually) sat down with five women physicians, at all points in their medical careers, who are working in several of the largest emergency departments in Texas, to talk about their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the themes that I heard from each of these physicians was that the inevitable …

Read more…

These are the doctors under the PPE

Emergency medicine

Articles, page 20

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