I have a confession to make: I have blood on my hands. My actions have led to the death of children. Now, that sounds extreme, and in reality, it is. Not in the course of everyday life, of course. But as a pediatric otolaryngologist (ENT) and airway surgeon, I have had to make near-instantaneous decisions with life-or-death consequences for the patient. Fortunately, the vast majority of the time, things go …
My hearing precipitously declined four years ago. As a patient and practicing physician, I became dependent upon hearing aids. Thus, I was introduced to the off-putting business of hearing aids in America.
The American hearing aid market is estimated to generate between $3 to 4 billion per year annually. It is expected to grow six to eight percent annually as our population ages. Assistive listening devices can be a vast mystery …
Modern medicine often fails to effectively manage complex chronic conditions. Physicians are often constrained by tightly packed clinic schedules, leaving only brief windows of time for each patient encounter. While this setup may allow for basic diagnosis and treatment planning, there is scarcely enough time for comprehensive patient education, let alone providing the necessary support, guidance, and empowerment that complex patients need.
Fortunately, the post-pandemic surge in telemedicine has brought fresh …
According to The Onion founder Scott Dikkers, “Comedy is meant to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.”
As physicians, our patients are the “afflicted,” so how can we use comedy to comfort them? Before we get to the how, let us start with the why.
Why make patients laugh? Because laughter is the best medicine. After steroids. Steroids are the best medicine. Laughter is the second-best medicine, and it has fewer …
An excerpt from Safeguarding Physician Wellbeing.
There are numerous books written by physicians of various specialties, primary care, and subspecialists, on the topic of physician burnout. Most physician authors, like me, have been inspired to write a book due to personal experience with a high degree of burnout, and/or have had academic interests and research on the topic. Writing such books can be cathartic, intended as a warning for our …
Studies involving the virtue ethics of a sound medical practitioner have provided insight into the nature of ethical demands on the physician as a moral person. Kotze et al., the authors of “Virtue in Medical Practice: An Exploratory Study,” agree that thinking about virtues contributes to doctors’ and medical students’ thinking about common moral dilemmas in medicine. However, they also acknowledge that the question of what virtuous medical practice …
Medical students are an odd bunch. At least in my day. Warning: The following may seem a little distasteful, violating the doctrine of proper decorum expected of medical professionals. I feel your anguish for those bent to the more sensitive side, but to sugar-coat a narrative only robs it of its essence.
I attended the Medical College of Wisconsin in the late 1980s, so what follows may not represent medical training. …
Hearing loss can be a real pain in the rear. Aside from its annoyance on friends and loved ones, it can pose a significant health problem. For instance, there is growing evidence linking hearing loss and dementia.
Yes, impaired hearing can lead to dementia, which is an impairment of cognition. Cognition is the mental process that allows one to acquire knowledge and understanding through thought. It is the …
We knew the job would be tough but never considered how tough. Demanding jobs should be compensated accordingly, but what is the correlation between job choice, toughness, and salary? Is no job too tough as long as they pay you enough?
After residency, I narrowed my options down to two private practice positions. One was a small group practice with one office location and a higher call burden in the Midwest. …
As an audiologist, treating hearing loss is a part of my everyday life. Even still, I’m sometimes amazed at the difference hearing aids can make in patients’ lives. For example, recently, when an older patient with longstanding hearing loss was fitted with a pair of hearing aids, he was suddenly able to participate in conversation with his son again. The smile across his face said everything.
Hearing well can slow cognitive …
Ergonomics is the study of how humans and machines interact. More specifically, it addresses the interplay between humans and machines through an examination of optimal positioning of equipment and personnel to allow for the most efficient work play and use of time and space. With its study and importance growing in scope following the invention of the assembly line by Henry Ford in 1913, ergonomics has now found itself as …
“My mother, bless her ninety-year-old heart, is slowing down. The things that made her happiest — getting to church, visiting friends, taking walks, and wandering the aisles in the grocery store —are increasingly difficult. She worries that her lack of energy will soon make every activity impossible.
It is 2005 and …
Singing during the years around menopause can bring unforeseen challenges for some women. To Elaine, a 56-year-old professional singer and voice teacher, her voice has felt like a mystery for the last few years. Her vibrato was wider than it used to be, her usual songs didn’t feel good anymore, and her flexibility and agility had decreased.
On top of that, the vocal transition, or break, between her high and low …
I never expected to have a friend from Alabama. My upbringing in Brooklyn, New York, didn’t include anyone from the South, and this was a time in American history when the South was in turmoil. I recall black and white images on our family’s TV showing federally enforced integration of schools and communities, swelling civil rights marches, and disturbing scenes of riots and attack dogs used to intimidate …
I came across a letter I wrote to a patient while rummaging through some old files on my computer. I flashbacked to what triggered this: a response to a letter she had sent me, one that was, shall we say, extremely unflattering and quite scathing in the way she described me and our last encounter. From the letter’s tone, I sensed she held back on using more profane language to …
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 78-year-old man is evaluated for symptoms of dysphagia that began 2 weeks ago. When he eats, he starts coughing after the first bite of food and occasionally has nasal regurgitation.
On physical examination, blood pressure is 135/90 mm Hg, pulse rate is 78/min, and respiration rate is 12/min. Left-sided weakness is noted in both extremities, …
I have a set of wind chimes hanging from an arbor that catch my attention whenever I am out in the garden and the breeze kicks up. They were given to me by Mrs. Mary Marlboro’s niece. Mary had purchased them while in hospice with instructions for her niece to give them to me after she passed on. I had cared for Mary for several years after I removed her …
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