Practice Management

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

Physician
December 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 into her 30s. Waiting to have children until completing training is not always biologically feasible.

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

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Make more than your spouse? Here’s how to save money on taxes.

Finance
November 30, 2017

The only time my husband outearned me was during our first three years of marriage when I was still in residency and working 80-plus hours per week earning less than minimum wage per hour. Since then, despite graduating in a professional degree, we have made relocation moves that primarily help with my career growth, to the detriment of his.

In 2015, an NPR article quoted statistics showing that 38 percent of …

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Physicians must embrace the business side of medicine

Physician
November 26, 2017

“Does physician leadership matter?” asks cardiologist and author Dr. Sandeep Jauhar in his New York Times opinion piece “Shouldn’t Doctors Control Hospital Care?” He opens his piece with the termination of the elected leaders of the medical staff office at the Tulare Regional Medical Center due to poor performance. He answers his rhetorical question with the obvious and simple response that doctors should control hospital …

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The doctor-patient relationship is everything

Physician
November 22, 2017

While doing my doctoral dissertation research at a clinic for kids with diabetes, I observed the attachment that some of them had to the physician faculty member who directed the clinic. I particularly remember one teenager who complained that this doctor “did not care” about her, as he sent “fake doctors” (residents) to take care of her, not coming himself. She was refusing to cooperate. When I suggested to the …

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Want to make meaningful connections with patients? Here’s how.

Physician
November 14, 2017

“How did you know what to say to her?” asked the resident, “We have been trying to figure her out all morning and have gotten nowhere.” An expression of mixed curiosity and frustration crossed her face.

“I try not to focus on how she is acting, as much as I try to talk to the part of her Jesus would love,” I found myself answering. This catchphrase would find its way …

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Physicians: Be nice to your pregnant colleagues

Physician
November 14, 2017

After about the first week of anesthesia residency, I was told, “Don’t get pregnant, you are going to ruin the call schedule.”  Initially, I took it as a joke because I was getting married that year and I wasn’t thinking of having children yet, but I did think, “what if it happened accidentally?”

After it’s told to you over and over again by your male co-residents and even some of my …

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10 rules to keep physicians on time

Physician
November 8, 2017

The key to staying on time in a busy clinic and to finish the day unscathed is to be in battle mode from the get go. The ten rules outlined below will help you to achieve that goal.

1. Make sure your bladder is empty, and that you are well hydrated. This goes without saying. You don’t want to finish the day with …

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“My mom is a doctor; my dad is a dad.”

Physician
November 2, 2017

So stated one of our children in their autobiography assignment for school.  I kept reading, curious what would come next.

“My dad usually stays home and cleans up, and takes care of the pets.”

I thought for a moment.  “That’s very good, honey, but do you think you could write something else about Dad?” I suggested.  “He does other stuff too, add some more nice things.”

“OK, how about … ‘And he takes …

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Better paid, better utilized physicians can transform the VA

Policy
November 2, 2017

It’s a tale of two health systems: the VA and Kaiser Permanente.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VA) is a mission-driven health organization, serving our nation’s veterans. A patient population of 8.9 million, led by David Shulkin, MD. An early leader in health technology adoption. The VA has faced serious issues; however: long patient wait times (deadly long in some cases) and high physician turnover rates.

Kaiser Permanente …

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Does how women dress matter?

Physician
October 27, 2017

I am going to discuss something that is really important for women. It’s going to get a lot of criticism, and it’s OK. I can take it.

Your clothing.

That’s right. I am here to tell you that what you wear, and how you dress, matters.

Why? Because how you feel in your clothes affects the way you walk, talk, smile, interact, and well, lead.

Don’t mistake what I am saying. I am not going …

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4 ways doctors put themselves last

Physician
October 12, 2017

As physicians, we are conditioned to put ourselves last. This long-standing tendency likely began way before we hit medical school. But certainly, our training reinforces it. Think about it: the personality type that goes into medicine is typically a caretaker. And while medical school reinforces this personality pitfall, It doesn’t end there. Residency brings a whole other dimension of self-neglect. We think, “If I can just get out of residency …

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3 signs that you’re ready to leave your job

Physician
October 12, 2017

Medicine is a calling. And almost all of us went into this profession for altruistic reasons. Unfortunately, it’s no secret that the health care landscape has changed dramatically over the last couple of decades, and practicing medicine is undoubtedly getting more difficult for most doctors.

Fortunately, I’ve found myself in a better place than most. But after hearing feedback from physicians at various stages of their career, there are a number …

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Why managing physicians is like herding cats

Physician
October 8, 2017

One cold winter night many years ago, someone dropped off a calico cat and her two kittens in our snowy driveway, and we went from a two cat family to a five cat household. I learned a few things from that.

When I was a resident, two thirtysomething family docs had an office upstairs from the residency program. Ned and Peter precepted us, and they sometimes ran downstairs to ask the …

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Want to change medicine? Work in finance.

Education
October 5, 2017

Traditionally, many medical students use the proverbial “last summer of their lives” to conduct basic/clinical research, shadow or go abroad. If you want to be a leader in health care or are simply unsure of what to do over the summer, you should try something more exotic and unexpected — work in finance or industry.

Wall Street, big pharma and private insurers have long been the moral punching bags of clinicians …

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The demise of the physicians’ lounge is symbolic of the decline of the profession

Physician
October 4, 2017

I recently read an article about how the physicians’ lounge, which was once present in every hospital and an important congregating area for doctors during the day, is now mostly a thing of the past. Although the article was not a new one, it peaked my interest because I’ve witnessed the demise of the physicians’ lounge at close quarters over the last several years.

Speaking too as someone who has …

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5 things physicians can do to protect themselves

Physician
October 1, 2017

As someone who talks to many physicians about burnout and life in medicine, I find myself having a lot of discussions about the circumstances of people’s jobs. Almost inevitably, there comes a point in the conversation where someone expresses dissatisfaction about an aspect of their contract or an additional responsibility that was placed on them.

As physicians, we’re groomed to take care of patients. During training, we don’t talk about compensation, …

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10 things a doctor’s spouse wants you to know

Physician
September 29, 2017

1. This is a calling. Physicians do not typically start out undeclared, drink through a couple of semesters and randomly apply to med school. For many, they started dreaming in grade school. They started pushing themselves for straight A’s in third grade, fought for valedictorian, turned down frat party invites to study, and then essentially gave up four years of their lives to med school incurring an average debt of …

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Want to stay in shape during residency? Here’s how.

Physician
September 28, 2017

How many times have you heard resident physicians say that they do not have time to exercise and get in shape? When looking at the numbers, it’s hard to blame them. An 80-hour work week is enough to make anyone realize that time is a precious commodity.

Take away six-to-eight hours for sleep each day, plus a couple of hours for eating, showering and studying, and you are left with approximately …

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Physicians and magicians are not as different as you think

Physician
September 27, 2017

We all know what, in 1888, Rudyard Kipling pronounced to be the world’s oldest profession. But what’s the world’s second oldest? Hunter-gatherer? Nah, everybody did that. Primitive politician? That’s a tautology. Neolithic attorney? Nope. Too similar to the oldest.

I strongly suspect that the second oldest profession was healer/magician. Fire up Mr. Peabody’s Wayback time machine, and you’d probably find that the first healers were regarded as magicians, and the first …

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