When it comes to physicians burning out, for the most part, it is assumed that work is the primary cause. After all, physicians work long hours, have demanding schedule, and have to deal with the endless politics that comes with medicine. However, I often encounter burned out docs (many of who wear multiple hats outside of the home) who would claim themselves that work was not their primary cause of …
Physician burnout: When work is not the cause
Medical school rotations afforded me incredible opportunities to bolster not only my knowledge base but also my patient-related skills. The following information has helped me provide better patient care; hopefully, it can be of some benefit to you as well.
1. Safety and no violence are not synonymous
During one of my outpatient rotations, I was interviewing a teenager who had come in for a routine annual checkup. Ten minutes into the …
3 medical student tips to improve patient communication
If you’re a physician-parent, no doubt you’re familiar with the helplessness associated with the phone call informing you that your child is sick — and needs to be picked up within the hour. You know, the one that coincides with when you were about to start a procedure or a time where there’s no backup available to take over your responsibilities. Murphy’s law.
Many of us have nannies exactly for this …
You’re a physician and a parent. Which comes first?
Hippocrates is quoted to have said, “Where there is love of medicine, there is love of humankind.” But in today’s health care, is there still a love of medicine? Does our practice demonstrate a love of humankind? I must admit, as a physician I don’t see us always exhibiting a love of medicine. And if we do not love medicine, are we also failing to love humankind?
Walk into any hospital …
Where is the love in medicine?
He’s a young guy: polite, well-dressed, easy to talk to. He works construction and is here because he’s been getting allergies to dust and pollen. He’s never had insurance, but it doesn’t really matter because he’s always been healthy. He’s the easy slot in my schedule; I ask him a few questions, look in his nose, we chat about the new Avengers movie, and I’m about to send him home …
Teaching Health Centers: when there’s nowhere else to go
I can’t help but wonder …
Every day I find myself driving against traffic to get to work. I am the kind of person that generally always worries about making it to work on time, so I tend to leave my home a few minutes early. Even at these early hours, I can already see a line of cars trying to merge on to the highway going the opposite direction as …
A roller coaster of emotions at my community clinics
Historically, the doctor-patient relationship has been at the heart of medical practice, with administrative tasks and record-keeping at the border.
Today, that critical balance is at risk. Nearly all hospitals and 80 percent of medical practices use electronic health records (EHRs), presumably to help improve access to health information and increase productivity. The problem is that none of these digital tools were designed specifically to advance the practice of good medicine.
Consider …
EHRs can advance good medicine: if doctors are aware of the risks
Have you ever written something that didn’t seem to come across the way you intended? Because I have, many times, almost every day. Not necessarily works of art, but text messages, emails, and pretty much every writing assignment I completed in high school and college. I happened to be thinking about this recently while reading through a story I had written about a patient experience during my residency.
My mind drifted …
Medicine is fast becoming a field of editing for the sake of efficiency
Part of a series.
We are all aging every day, but mostly we ignore, do not recognize or deny it. Then all of a sudden, we look in the mirror and realize that older age has found us. Even then each person deals with aging differently. There is Dr. Seuss’ “Cat in the Hat” who sees nothing but adversity in aging. There are others who accept aging but …
We are all aging every day. But mostly we ignore, do not recognize, or deny it.
I have worked with some great nurse practitioners (NPs) who I consider to be friends. They play a vital role in team-based practice. This is not about NP bashing. Nor is it a turf war; now that I’m retired, I have no turf to protect. I am a member of Physicians for Patient Protection out of real concern for the future of medicine in this country.
I want there to be …
Are diploma mills hurting the nursing profession?
Besides the usual suspects of money, religion, and politics, there is nothing more uncomfortable to discuss than the biggest reality of all: death. You would think that the medical community — a community bathed in this unfortunate reality — would be more willing to engage in vital discussions regarding the end of life. However, this is seldom the case.
During the neurology portion of our medical curriculum, a panel of lecturers …
End-of-life care talks begin at home: even for doctors
I’ve said it to my patients, and I’ll say it here as well.
Finding the right provider is crucial when it comes to two providers of medical care — your primary care doctor and your therapist.
It makes logical sense. Patients tend to see these doctors most, more than any other specialty.
Now, I can’t speak for therapy, because it’s not my field. While I do engage in a lot of one-on-one guidance …
Your primary care doctor should be a hero: choose wisely
On a recent trip to urgent care for my child, I began to clearly see how the changes in medicine are affecting our patients and who is benefiting from the bottom line of what is occurring in the U.S. health care system.
A minor injury to my two-year-old son had me waiting patiently to be seen at a local urgent care center. Eventually, a nurse practitioner evaluated, correctly diagnosed and successfully …
Do patients pay less for less expensive care? Why the CVS/Aetna deal matters.
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Burnout is defined as emotional exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment, and a sense of ineffectiveness at work. The inverse of burnout is engagement — a persistent, upbeat sense of fulfillment characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. I haven’t seen that doctor in the hospital lounge in a long time.
I am a neurologist practicing for 25 years in both academic and community hospital settings. I have a busy outpatient practice, …
10 tips that make me a happy doctor
Recently, I wanted to find some inspirational articles for female doctors. This letter to the young female physician by Dr. Suzanne Koven was one of the first things I came across. I wish someone had written me a letter when I was young and dumb and entering internship. Maybe it would have been a good warning. I mean, I was clueless about what lay ahead. I …
5 lessons every woman doctor must learn
Health care is obsessed with new technology. Every week, a new article comes out promising disruption of medical care as we know it through personalized genetic therapy, app extensions that transform smartphones into ultrasounds or autonomous surgical robots. Yet, one of the best examples of health care technologies is also one of its oldest — instant messaging.
Though the original messaging platform AOL Instant Messenger was sadly discontinued at the end …
The biggest innovation in health is here. And you’re probably using it.
It has become more and more evident with time that the health care delivery system here in the United States is riddled with issues. One with many disagreements arising from the fact that there is no clear and universally acceptable solution to our problems. In many ways, the system seems to step on its own feet — as the health care professionals working within it fight to make it work …
How telemedicine will revolutionize primary care
Opioids are an essential class of drugs used in pain management. In recent years, complex mechanisms pertaining to their abusive use have prompted a deadly crisis which is unfolding in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that 91 Americans lose their lives daily due to an overdose of opioid drugs. This public health crisis has inspired much apprehension even among Haitian …
The miscalculated fear of an opioid crisis in Haiti
I did not need help. I could do it myself. I never asked, and anyone who worked with me quickly understood they did not need to offer.
This was my modus operandi. It was how I unconsciously organized my life, no more aware than riding a bike or tying my shoes. It happened in the background — utterly unknown to me for many, many years.
I could see “side effects” of this …
A physician goes from stressed to zen
When I started medical school over four and a half years ago (I took a research year), I knew that primary care was my passion. I actually had a dream beyond medicine to be a liaison of sorts between the ivory tower of medicine and the community. Once I stepped onto the scene of my medical school, things started to change. My goals stayed the same, but I started to …
Is there a way to make primary care sexy?
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