Like many parents, I love to talk about my children. A conversation with someone to whom I’m newly introduced often begins: “Do you have children?” (Yes). “How many?” (Two). Their natural and understandable follow-up question usually is: “Boys or girls?”
Usually, I revel in the possibilities inherent in meeting someone new. However, at this moment I pause and silently protest. Ugg!! This is a question that one should NEVER ask someone …
As we entered medical school, we were starry-eyed and hopeful about becoming primary care physicians. We romanticized building relationships with patients, providing high quality health care, serving our communities, and removing obstacles patients face when seeking care.
However, rotation after rotation, we were bombarded with discouragement.
“Being a primary care physician isn’t what it used to be.”
“You can’t get the support you need …
“Some doctors type notes with their backs turned while I say things. I have aphasia. I need to be able to see people’s mouths and their eyes to help me understand.”
As a certified speech-language pathologist (SLP), I have spent most of my career working across the continuum of health care with people who have communication disabilities, such as aphasia. My patients have also included people with other …
The erosion of physician mentorship is not just a quiet tragedy; it is an accelerating crisis with rippling effects across the health care system. While much has been written about physician burnout and workforce shortages, far less attention has been paid to the vacuum this leaves in clinical mentorship, particularly in primary care. The implications for physician associates/assistants (PAs) are especially profound.
PAs were historically trained in the postgraduate space under …
After I was medically discharged from the military for seeking mental health treatment and transitioned out of surgery residency to recover, I isolated in guilt, shame, and exhaustion.
Despite my surgery program director telling me repeatedly that he was not disappointed in me and supporting me fully in my decision to transition into a different specialty where I could better take care of my health, I felt worthless …
Today was my first Match Day as a program director and, while most of my emotions are unprocessed, I already have many thoughts.
I can’t forget the concurrent drop in my stomach, pause in my cardiac systole, and the involuntary intake of breath which occurred when the email arrived—2 minutes early!—from the NRMP. I stacked an extra gasp even before I exhaled the first while I fumbled to open the email. …
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Internal medicine physician Kara Pepper discusses her article, “From burnout to balance: 5 stages of career transformation.” Drawing from her own journey away from burnout and her experience coaching hundreds of physicians, …
Are you absorbing the system’s dysfunction?
Do you find yourself absorbing the collective frustration of health care dysfunction? Taking on the role of savior? Overextending to compensate for broken processes? Feeling personally responsible for guiding patients, family, or friends through the labyrinth of health care?
You’re not alone.
The power of choice in medicine
It’s rare that a practicing physician …
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Family physician Atharva Joshi discusses his article, “How the system hunts physicians who refuse to kneel.” He argues that the health care system often targets minority physicians not through overt actions but …
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Management consultant and author Roger A. Gerard discusses his article, “10 ways health care leaders sabotage their own success—and how to stop.” He identifies common, often unintentional, ways health care leaders undermine …
“Take two and call me in the morning,” I say as I hand two handmade matzahs to my longtime patients, Isaac and Joelle Zimbalist. They laugh, understanding the deeper message.
For me, being a doctor isn’t just about treating symptoms — it’s about nurturing the whole person, body and soul.
For over twenty years, I’ve been blessed to serve the Miami Beach community …
She hadn’t realized how long she’d been running—until the moment she couldn’t.
The day had unfolded like any other. The pager buzzed. The notes piled up. Her voice moved on autopilot, delivering information, comfort, instructions. Beneath the rhythm of her routine was a quiet discomfort she’d been ignoring for weeks—maybe longer. She told herself it was nothing. There was always something more urgent, someone else to care for. That’s the thing …
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Physician executive Grace E. Terrell discusses her article, “Physicians must innovate and focus on medicine’s core, not chores.” She introduces the concept of “core vs. chore,” urging health care workers to distinguish …
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Ah, burnout! That word is used so often in medicine that it now has its own ICD-10 code.
Medical professionals are no strangers to pushing beyond exhaustion, running on fumes, and convincing ourselves that a steady IV drip of caffeine and sheer willpower is an appropriate substitute for sleep.
I should know—I lived it. I was running a busy medical practice, managing over a dozen staff …
An excerpt from From Error to Ethics: Five Essential Lessons from Teaching Clinicians in Trouble.
Clinicians must be scrupulously honest in and out of work
About 70 percent of the clinicians who attended the course had been accused of dishonest conduct. It is so common that the ‘dishonesty’ file on my computer contains eight sub-sections:
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Family physician Jay K. Joshi discusses his article, “Why patients and doctors are ditching insurance for personalized care.” He explains that as traditional insurance becomes less accessible and covers fewer proactive and …
“So wonderful to see you!”
This phrase was heard repeatedly all over the convention hall at the recent American College of Physicians annual meeting, Internal Medicine 2025. Held in New Orleans last April, the meeting welcomed attendees …
As the traditional health insurance framework becomes increasingly inaccessible, physicians and clinical leaders are being called to rethink both how care is delivered and how it is paid for. Insurance companies are covering fewer services, raising deductibles, and narrowing networks. Patients are now forced to make health decisions based not just on need—but on affordability, timing, and bureaucratic feasibility.
In this emerging landscape, sustainable health care delivery must …
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Communications consultant and attorney Heather Hansen discusses her article, “Why every doctor needs a translator.” Drawing on her background as a medical malpractice defense attorney, she explains the “curse of knowledge,” where …
In medical training, we were taught to trust protocols, patients, and data—but not our own bodies. The body was something to overcome.
Tired? Push through.
Hungry? Ignore it.
Sore? Work harder.
Sick? Keep going.
This way of being seeps so deeply into us that many physicians stop hearing the language of their own bodies.
We become experts at …
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