“I don’t teach IMGs.”
It was such a simple and concise statement. Four words. But it felt like a bullet that was heated in the depths of hell had pierced through my heart when I heard those words. My ears burned and I felt physically ill. I wondered to myself, “Am I really that bad at medicine? Am I even going to make it? Should I just quit?” I felt lesser …
If you don’t teach IMGs, maybe you should start
If you’re thinking about a career in medicine, there’s a piece of technology you’ll come to know intimately. It’s small and sleek, with excellent battery life and remarkable durability. It’s not an iPhone; it’s not a Pixel. It’s a beeper. You will come to know, and to respect, this tiny black rectangular prism. It will govern your life. You will be at its mercy, yes, but it also offers you a chance at salvation. …
The physician’s relationship with the beeper
Finishing my 38th year of internal medicine ward attending, I wish I knew then what I know now. I estimate the equivalence of at least ten full years of ward attending; I think this meets the magic 10,000-hour number. Hopefully, these notes to myself will help some newly minted ward attendings. The job is quite difficult and multifaceted.
…
Lessons from 38 years of being an internal medicine ward attending
As a first-year medical student, I have the privilege of observing medical practice from two perspectives: as a patient and as a student learning how to think like a doctor. I interview patients with deliberation and overthink every part of the physical exam and every detail of the patient’s history. I attempt to convey the patient’s condition, feelings, and pain as I present to my attending. I also marvel at …
Here’s what it’s like to be a student on a health care team
As I walked into the room, I see my patient lying in bed, eyes closed. His wife of 50-plus years sat in the recliner next to him grasping his right hand. The holiday season was upon us. My patient has spent the better part of the last month in the hospital.
His wife was staring at the pretty scenery outside with her weary, tired eyes. It had started snowing this morning. …
During the holidays, we should take time to be a little kinder
I am honored to be a member of the medical profession. Being a physician is a great job and a highly rewarding thing to do. One of the aspects that I like most, unlike so many other desk or number jobs, is that you can never go home in this line of work thinking that you haven’t done something good with your day (if you do, there’s something seriously wrong).
The …
Fix the broken windows of the medical profession
I often say in my keynotes that KevinMD shares the story of the many who intersect with our health care system, but are rarely heard from.
KevinMD has completed its 14th year as the web’s leading social media platform for these voices. Over 3,000 contributors power the site, and together, we are making our voice heard as our health care world changes around us.
I sincerely appreciate your readership …
10 most popular KevinMD stories of 2017
In a recent article in Annals of Internal Medicine, physicians from the University of Missouri described their experience helping to create a “professionalism charter” for health care organizations. As the authors note, the need for such a charter is heightened by the troubling health climate, with millions of patients at risk of losing insurance coverage, scores of physicians experiencing burnout, and health care organizations grappling with how to preserve …
Professionalism charters for health care organizations are needed now
In case you missed it: Sutter Health, the Northern California health system titan was recently sanctioned for intentionally destroying 192 boxes of material relating to its anticompetitive actions and alleged overcharges. The material, which amounted to 10 years’ worth of evidence, was initially slated to be destroyed in 2035. Sutter’s Vice President, Melissa Brendt, authorized her executive assistant, Sita Santagata, to destroy …
Sutter Health’s antitrust case matters. Here’s why.
In a world where health care is defined by consumerism, positive health care campaigns like “Redefining Possible. The profound and unstoppable power of yes” and “Making Cancer History” have been directly targeting consumers in an effort to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Health care reform is partly responsible for the increase in hospital advertising, as customers now have a greater agency to choose where they seek care. But how …
Are hospital ads just unregulated false hope?
Something was missing as I walked into the house, something was just not right. It took me a moment as I closed the door to realize. My greeter was not present. And then I remembered, she would not be coming to see me any longer. Her time with us had come to an end. And at that moment, the sorrow that had been lurking near the edges of life came …
How this doctor deals with loss
There is a strange and peculiar place in American society. Some say that when one enters this place, there are many odd-looking people walking about wearing white coats and wearing funny looking shoes. This place has a name. It is called Medical Zombie Land.
Entering into Medical Zombie Land for the first time, it is hard not to feel that one has been enveloped in a mysterious dimension of irrationality. Home …
Are we living in a medical Zombie Land?
I consider myself lucky to be the father to three wonderful kids: My oldest is now 15 and my twins are 9. They are indeed the light of my life. I get asked every so often, why did you want kids? It is a fair question, I suppose. After all, my partner and I relied on …
The power of family at the end of life
ADVERTISEMENT
Linda Radach has had six hip replacement operations since 2006, three on each side. Osteoarthritis was the reason she needed surgery in the first place, but replacing her hips in some ways only worsened her troubles.
Following two of the procedures, the implanted metal socket didn’t integrate with the bone of her own hip socket and was loose, causing excruciating pain. Most recently, the titanium metal ball in her hip corroded.
The …
Your plumber offers a money-back guarantee. Should your doctor?
Long continues the debate of what impact hospitalists have on inpatient outcomes. This issue has been playing out in the medical literature for 20 years, since the coining of the term in 1997. In the most recent iteration of the debate, a study was recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine entitled “Comparison of Hospital Resource Use and Outcomes Among Hospitalists, Primary Care Physicians, and Other Generalists.”
The study retrospectively evaluated health care …
Do hospitalists really improve patient outcomes?
In a recent episode of the television series, The Good Doctor, a patient played as Robbie Ato does not tell his doctors he has a history of cancer. You can see his surgeons stare in disbelief as one consulting surgeon recognizes the patient’s name and then alerts the team leader that she treated him three years ago for cancer.
This is one of the very most troubling and dangerous acts of …
The Good Doctor shows us the value of time
There’s currently an image in heavy circulation making its way around the internet of a hospital patient’s chest tattooed with the words “Do **not** resuscitate,” accompanied by what is assumed to be the man’s signature. This 70-year-old patient arrived at an emergency department unconscious with elevated blood alcohol levels. He did not have any form of identification on him, and his health care providers did not have an identifiable means …
Going skin deep: Is a tattoo ethically binding?
I often say that electronic health records (EHRs) is like Skynet in the Terminator. I expect to turn around from my screen someday, and Arnold will lift me by my throat saying, “You haff not been doing yuh meaningful use.”
We practice in a time when EHR confounds us by freezing, crashing and chaining us continuously to our work, as we spend evenings and weekends on documentation. …
Doctors should start watching more science fiction. Here’s why.
I am an Olympian. I am a retired All-American student-athlete. I am a resident. I am burned out.
Let me be clear: I love medicine and the opportunity to have privileged relationships with patients and their families. I thrive on the fast-paced environment, growing to-do lists, and the chance to work in a field with endless learning. I love working in team environments to provide optimal care for patients and their …
This physician is burned out. But not for the reason you think.
Just under half of health care workers do not get their annual flu vaccine. Some of these workers contract the flu and unknowingly transfer it to their sick hospitalized patients, and in some cases, because of them passing the flu along, those patients die. We know the most important reason for health care workers to get vaccinated against influenza is that it is the most effective way of preventing influenza …
Medical workers: Vaccinate yourselves first
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
