Hospital medicine

5,188 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 63

Are we living in a medical Zombie Land?

December 20, 2017Dec 20, 201733

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…

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 …

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Are we living in a medical Zombie Land?

Physician voices

The power of family at the end of life

Don S. Dizon, MD

December 18, 2017Dec 18, 2017

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…

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 …

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The power of family at the end of life

Health policy

Your plumber offers a money-back guarantee. Should your doctor?

Michelle Andrews

December 18, 2017Dec 18, 201716

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…

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 …

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Physician voices

Do hospitalists really improve patient outcomes?

Danielle Scheurer, MD

December 18, 2017Dec 18, 20172

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 …

Physician voices

The Good Doctor shows us the value of time

Suzanne Fiscella, PA-C

December 17, 2017Dec 17, 2017

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 …

Medical education

Going skin deep: Is a tattoo ethically binding?

Cody Mullens

December 14, 2017Dec 14, 2017

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…

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 …

Health technology

Doctors should start watching more science fiction. Here’s why.

Seiji Yamada, MD, MPH

December 12, 2017Dec 12, 20172

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. …

Medical education

This physician is burned out. But not for the reason you think.

Anonymous

December 12, 2017Dec 12, 20173

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…

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 …

Conditions and diseases

Medical workers: Vaccinate yourselves first

Joseph R. Masci, MD

December 11, 2017Dec 11, 20176

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 …

Physician voices

The demand for preparation: from the playing field to the OR

Scott Magnuson, MD

December 11, 2017Dec 11, 2017

We often pull comparisons between unexpected resources in any given profession, especially when it comes to adopting tried and true best practices. For example, I always encourage hospital systems and training institutions to look to the hospitality industry for the treatment of patients and guests, among other areas. Last year, as I settled into my seat on a cross-country flight, I witnessed a textbook example of looking outside the box …

Medical education

It’s important to give patients an idea of what to expect

Kristin Puhl, MD

December 11, 2017Dec 11, 2017

The familiarity that health care professionals develop with complex medical procedures and topics is the result of years upon years of hard work, and over time we become accustomed to the jargon. We use phrases like “lap chole” and “appy” without much thought when talking to each other and (if we have a momentary lapse) with patients. We take the fantastic array of medical specialties, procedures, and knowledge in our …

Medical education

The residency hunt is no small task: Here’s some advice for medical students

Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu, MD

December 10, 2017Dec 10, 2017

'Tis the season. Thanksgiving? Sure. Christmas? That too. But for thousands of fourth-year medical students and foreign medical graduates all over the United States, fall through early winter is a time of job hunting — interviewing for residencies. This is…

‘Tis the season.

Thanksgiving? Sure. Christmas? That too. But for thousands of fourth-year medical students and foreign medical graduates all over the United States, fall through early winter is a time of job hunting — interviewing for residencies. This is a critical step in our training, where we specialize in the individual fields of medicine that will carry …

Health policy

5 challenges of working in a county hospital

Pranav Sharma, MD

December 6, 2017Dec 6, 2017

As a trainee at a large private health system (residency) followed by a NCI-designed comprehensive cancer (fellowship) in two large metropolitan areas in the United States, I was not prepared to face the challenges of working at a university setting affiliated with a county (public) hospital in more rural west-Texas. After one and a half years of experience as a practicing urologic oncologist, these are the five challenges I have …

Physician voices

Celebrate the joys of working in medicine

Rachel Matar, PA-C

December 6, 2017Dec 6, 2017

I keep a spare set of scrubs in my car. It’s an act of preparedness, informed by experience. A couple of months ago, I came out of an ED room after performing a particularly unsavory procedure and noticed that my left knee was wet. Disgusted, I shared my misfortune with my coworkers, and all of them had the same sympathetic response; they mirrored my grimace and cautiously offered hope: “Maybe …

Physician voices

Is there ever a right time for a doctor to have a baby?

Gillian Mueller Goddard, MD

December 4, 2017Dec 4, 2017

When is the right time to have a baby? This question plagues professional women across industries. It takes on more significant importance for women training as physicians. Medical training is long and coincides with a woman's late 20s, often stretching…

Medical schools and residency training programs still lag behind in developing formal parental leave policies. Outside …

Physician voices

To survive in medicine, compartmentalize your patients

Andrea Eisenberg, MD

December 4, 2017Dec 4, 2017

“Breathe in slowly, deeply, giving fresh energy to your body. Breathe out, releasing any tension from your day. In … 1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … Out … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 …” I try…

“Breathe in slowly, deeply, giving fresh energy to your body.

Breathe out, releasing any tension from your day.

In … 1 … 2 … 3 … 4 …

Out … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 …”

I try to follow the yoga instructor, but in my post-call fog, I struggle to let go of the last 24 hours. We begin by sitting poses to stretch our necks. But my neck is so …

Physician voices

Medicine isn’t a guessing game. Always ask for help.

Edna Shenvi, MD

December 3, 2017Dec 3, 20178

Mine was an unusually long hiatus from residency for research training. And in the rough readjustment to clinical environments and work processes, one forgotten element seemed glaringly problematic: “Have a plan,” said one attending, “If you don’t know, just guess.”…

Mine was an unusually long hiatus from residency for research training. And in the rough readjustment to clinical environments and work processes, one forgotten element seemed glaringly problematic:

“Have a plan,” said one attending, “If you don’t know, just guess.”

And another, in a teaching session, “Just guess, even if you’re wrong.”

From a chief resident during an awkward pause when a junior was put on the spot: “Just guess; it’s OK.” When …

Physician voices

A physician suffers a betrayal of trust

Dana Corriel, MD

December 3, 2017Dec 3, 2017

Back in the grueling training days of my residency, I was the first-hand victim of theft. Not the kind you see on the big screen, where you're held up at gunpoint, or the kind where your belongings get ransacked. It…

Back in the grueling training days of my residency, I was the first-hand victim of theft. Not the kind you see on the big screen, where you’re held up at gunpoint, or the kind where your belongings get ransacked. It was worse, at least in the way that it made me feel. I had my handbag stolen from me, right from its usual resting place on the shelf near my …

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A physician suffers a betrayal of trust

Medical education

Teaching residents to teach will improve medical education

Kristin Puhl, MD

December 1, 2017Dec 1, 2017

Medical residents take on a variety of responsibilities. Some are clear, upfront, and obvious: the responsibilities they have been training for since entering medical school. Coming up with a treatment plan and carrying it out is first and foremost their raison d’etre, and they put an enormous amount of effort into it. However, they also acquire a host of other duties. They run interference for attendings. They coordinate with nursing. …

Physician voices

How to stay out of the ER this holiday season: advice from an emergency medicine doctor

Irene Tien, MD

November 29, 2017Nov 29, 2017

The holiday season is stressful enough without having to try to fit a visit to the emergency department (ED) in your schedule. Getting medical care on a major holiday can be especially difficult because most, if not all, offices and urgent cares are closed. This can make the ED wait longest around the holidays. Here are some tips to keep you out of the ED this holiday season.

1. Make sure …

Hospital medicine

Articles, page 63

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