Primary Care

Bringing vital medical care to St. Lucia’s underserved

Belen Gallarza-Wilson, MD and Lisa Sanders, MD

Physician

February 29, 2024

Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is seemingly simple: we are to join forces with another non-profit group in order to deliver medical care to those that need it most on St. Lucia, a West Indian island nation variously colonized by the English and French, with Arawak and Carib roots. It will be our inaugural trip to this Caribbean idyll and our first collaboration with another non-profit, but …

Breaking boundaries in health care: untold stories of triumph and transformation [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 26, 2024

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Join Kim Downey, a physical therapist, alongside Brittany Lamb, an emergency physician, and Adam Harrison, a physician, lawyer, and leadership coach. Together, they share their unique journeys and discuss common themes of empowerment, …

Doctors speak out against toxic work conditions

Toni Brayer, MD

Physician

February 24, 2024

I’m in a global private physician Facebook group, and I learn a great deal about health care, both good and bad, from other doctors. Because it is private, doctors share a lot of personal practice issues as well as challenging cases from which we all learn. The physician who posted this message from her hospital employer gave permission for me to use …

What does it mean to be a great doctor?

Sofia Dobrin, MD

Physician

February 23, 2024

Like most existential questions, the answer to this question really depends on who you ask.

A patient may have one answer, and a physician a completely different response.

Ask ten people, and you’re likely to get ten different replies.

What does being a great doctor mean to you?

If you’re a doctor, this is an important question to ask yourself because your answers impact how you practice and interact with your patients. Even more …

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What does it mean to be a great doctor?

Building expertise through collaboration [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 22, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Join emergency physicians Resa E. Lewiss and Adaira Landry as they delve into the power of collaboration in developing subject matter expertise. Discover how their monthly educator series led to unexpected opportunities, and …

From scrubs to success: Mastering health care attire [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 20, 2024

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Join retired cardiologist and physician coach Sarah Samaan as we explore the significance of professional attire in health care. Discover how clothing choices impact patient perceptions, gender biases, and the doctor-patient relationship. We’ll …

From trusted family doctors to silent white walls

Michele Luckenbaugh

Conditions

February 20, 2024

The face of health care in today’s world is unfamiliar to me in many ways. When I was growing up, the family doctor was a well-known and respected member of the community. Patients trusted their doctor to help them navigate life’s challenges – the loss of a loved one, a cancer diagnosis, a complicated pregnancy, or depression caused by life’s stresses.

The physician knew their patients, and the patients knew them …

Primary care’s role in your wellbeing

Preyasha Tuladhar, MD

Physician

February 19, 2024

As primary care providers, we play an integral role in shaping the lives of our patients in critical ways. We are in the unique position to delve into a patient’s unique biomedical, psychosocial, economic, and cultural background, which allows us to understand each patient at a deeper level with a nuanced perspective. This holistic view informs the development of highly personalized treatment plans that have the power not only to …

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Primary care’s role in your wellbeing

A year-in-review process for busy physicians

Stephanie Wellington, MD

Physician

February 17, 2024

More than a decade ago I hired my first coach, and life was never the same. During my time with the life coach, I experienced first-hand the value of an end-of-year process that goes deeper than setting a New Year’s resolution.

Years have passed. As a busy physician, I’ve told myself that I don’t have the time for a deep dive reflection of my life and career. I have patients to …

Patient engagement: the missing piece in health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 12, 2024

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

Join health care executives Susan Montminy and Marlene Icenhower as they discuss the critical topic of patient engagement in health care. In episode, Susan and Marlene explore the impact of patient engagement on provider satisfaction and health …

Not all patients are on disability

Benita Talati

Conditions

February 11, 2024

A recent conversation with a relative inspired me to write this post. She is a physical therapist who often rants about how patients with chronic pain or chronic illness don’t work and are just on disability. I know she’s far from the only health care provider with the same belief. She and her coworkers spend time ranting and complaining about their patients who don’t work and use the therapy sessions …

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Not all patients are on disability

Shared decision-making in health care: promise vs. reality

M. Bennet Broner, PhD

Conditions

February 11, 2024

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently published a statement on the importance of shared decision-making (SDM) between physicians and patients. This concept, though at least 50 years old, has become popular in the last decade or so, with expectations of improving patient care, satisfaction, safety, care efficiency, and cost reduction. Though some preliminary research appears to support these promises, other researchers have found that it can increase costs and decrease …

There’s no place like home when it comes to health care, except for those who fall through the cracks

Gary Marc Rothenberg, DPM

Conditions

February 9, 2024

Maria (name changed to protect patient privacy) is a brilliant woman with a troubled health history. After a mental health diagnosis cut short her career as a high-level government official, Maria has struggled with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, depression, and advanced kidney disease, leading to a series of toe amputations and a decade of disability.

She lives alone, about a half-hour from the nearest hospital, where she has been in and out …

Healing the healers: The quadruple aim approach to wellness

Nicole Alexander-Spencer, MD and Jessica L. Jones, MD

Physician

February 8, 2024

As a year comes to a close and another opens to new possibilities, many find themselves contemplating their successes and opportunities for improvements. The holidays are very busy, and the new year brings hope to slow down and reset. For many health care providers, though, the prospect of slowing down is an unrealistic dream.

For many in health care, the profession is not just a career, but an honorable vocational calling. …

Is a full-time job preventing you from fulfilling your potential?

Olapeju Simoyan, MD

Physician

February 7, 2024

A little over a year ago, unforeseen circumstances led me to walk away from the security of a full-time job and all the benefits that came with it such as employer-based health insurance and retirement contributions.

At the time, I had applied for another position without even realizing that I would be leaving my job. The position seemed to be an ideal next step, being a senior leadership position in academic …

Your thoughts about patients are costing you time and energy

Sofia Dobrin, MD

Physician

February 6, 2024

Difficult patients.

We’ve all encountered them.

Maybe we are them. (After all, they say doctors make the worst patients, and there’s probably some truth to that.)

But what makes a patient “difficult”?

Is it someone with multiple complex medical issues or a condition you haven’t been able to diagnose or don’t fully understand?

Is it someone with many questions, especially right at the end of their visit?

Is it someone who doesn’t follow your treatment plan …

Letting go of perfectionism: a New Year’s resolution for self-compassion

Victoria Silas, MD

Physician

February 4, 2024

Last week I drove to my favorite trails in Point Defiance Park. The roads seemed oddly empty and quiet, even for “the time between the years” as I’ve heard it called. Perhaps I hadn’t noticed it before, since in medicine, it’s always been just another week when most people don’t work, but we always had a full schedule.

The day was overcast, as it so often is during winter in the …

Accelerate your career with mentorship

Olapeju Simoyan, MD

Physician

February 4, 2024

As a lifelong learner who takes pride in self-directed learning, the importance of mentorship has not always been readily obvious to me. When I completed my residency and embarked on a career in academic medicine, little did I realize how important the mentorship of my then department chair, Dr. Janet Townsend, would be in terms of my career progression. In addition to supporting my commitment to staying clinically active while …

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Accelerate your career with mentorship

Why Barbie resonated with me as a mid-career woman physician: a reflection for National Women Physicians Day

Jennifer Lycette, MD

Physician

February 3, 2024

(Spoiler alert: contains spoilers for the movie Barbie.)

In Barbie, a singular scene resonated powerfully with Women in Medicine across the land.

You know the one. Shortly after Ken and Barbie leave Barbie Land and arrive in the Real World, Ken ventures off, discovers The Patriarchy, waltzes into a hospital emergency room, and demands the first woman he sees …

A surprising resolution in primary care

Ryan McCarthy, MD

Physician

February 2, 2024

I normally don’t make professional resolutions, but this year I am making an important exception. Why would I do such a thing? Like most of my evolution as a doctor, it comes from the wellspring of wisdom, namely listening to my patients.

I had a conversation recently with a patient, Kate, a retired school teacher, a lovely woman who spent her career in Berkeley County, WV, and taught kids who struggled. …

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A surprising resolution in primary care