One of the most memorable times from my family medicine training days was the annual residency my intern year. It was the year of the World Cup, and a bonding experience that would later save my life. Being able to be with not only my residency class, but also the faculty in a relaxed and empowering environment brought a sense of safety that allowed me to reach out to one …
Health behavior was my emphasis in my MPH. Add a faculty development fellowship, time as residency faculty, work in a private practice, and increasing interaction with medical students now as faculty at a medical school; the outcome is not just an emphasis, but a mindset. A mindset of health behavior that is not just for patients, but for physicians, as well.
I must have company in this concept as ten invitations …
Knowledge is power. Increasingly, patients are demanding and receiving access to levers in the medical machine that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. The informed consent process, which I support, can overwhelm ordinary patients and families with conflicting and bewildering options.
Television and the airwaves routinely advertise prescription drugs directly to the public. Consider the strategy of direct-to-consumer drug marketing when millions of dollars are spent advertising a drug that …
2016 closed around a continued effort to “salvage” the medical profession’s reputation, but the notion that it’s broken continues to be counterproductive.
The brightest students, for example, question the long journey and delayed gratification being a physician entails. They do the math and continue to engage in other professions that are medical but not specifically Medical Doctorate degrees or Doctor of Osteopathic degrees. These same students conclude there is no longer …
I love teaching my children about history, and in the process, I often see a clearer perspective of events I learned about at a young age when I had less life experience under my belt.
As I have been revisiting the evolution of our country, the formation and restructuring of our society, and the emergence of periods of oppression, rebellion, and social change, I have been struck by the concept that …
Dear patients,
We are happy to have you in our lives. We came into medicine to take care of you. Some of us because we wanted to help you to win the fight against cancer. Others of us because we love delivering your babies. Others because we wanted to have the skill to make sure you survive that heart attack or that terrible accident. Others because we wanted to do our …
Every medical couple knows that the lifestyle and career choice brings with it adjustments and sacrifices. Physician spouses and partners often take on more housework and childcare to accommodate long working hours. Physicians may work unusual hours that lead to late-night arrivals, missed bedtime tuck-ins, and less face-to-face time. This can lead many couples to blame medicine for their struggling relationship.
Take the example of a resident who has been working …
The day I got into medical school, my uncle said to me, “You are going to be a doctor! We finally have a doctor in the family. You are going to take care of your uncle in his old age.” Other family members echoed the same sentiment. First doctor in the family. Now, we will all have free medical advice.
As I progressed through medical school, then internship and residency, then …
Last week I was in a session with one of my coaching clients, a successful black female physician who is the owner of her own practice. As we were concluding she made a statement to me “I feel like medicine has just sucked the feminine right out of me.” Immediately I related.
As women in the professional world, we are always in competition with men whether we are aware of it, …
“Afternoon,” the doctor says. “What brings you here today?”
A cough? A cold? A belly ache? Some feelings of dismay?
Well, tell me just what ails you, and I’ll try to do my best,
To sort through all your problems and put your fears to rest.
But give me just a moment — my computer must get started.
Without attention to its needs, your visit goes uncharted.
You say your chest is hurting? And you’re really …
From the first year of medical school, we are trained in probing into the most personal aspects of patients’ lives; but when it comes to spirituality, we shy away. In a survey of the U.S. general public, the 2008 Gallup Report demonstrated that 78 percent of people believed in God and an additional 15 percent believed in a higher power. Other studies have shown that religious beliefs and …
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
It’s a common question we ask our youth, and I remember as young child sharing my aspirations with family members. When I answered “I want to be a doctor when I grow up”, I received positive feedback and praise. As an innocent little girl, I had no idea that there were people in the world who wouldn’t be as supportive of a woman in medicine.
Later …
An excerpt from Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine.
Mark Linzer’s research identified workplace chaos as one of the key predictors of physician stress, burnout, and intention to …
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U.S. life expectancy declined in 2015 for the first time in more than two decades, according to a National Center for Health Statistics study released last week. The decline of 0.1 percent was ever so slight ― life expectancy at birth was 78.8 years in 2015, compared to 78.9 years in 2014. However, this reversal of a long-time upward trend makes these results significant.
While many researchers are scratching …
In medicine, our motto is first do no harm. Words matter. Choose them wisely. Here are 7 words that shame, blame, and injure people who need our help.
1. Don’t say COMMITTED suicide. Committed implies a crime. Committed rape, burglary, murder. Suicide is not a crime; it’s a medical condition that has been taboo for too long. Let’s come out of the dark …
Medicine is a paradox. To save, we cut with sharp knives. We ignore pain so that it will light the path to diagnosis. We give toxins to destroy toxic disease. We scold our neighbors when they neglect their health, even as we work ourselves to exhaustion, eat too much and evade exercise. We comfort the families of our patients while ignoring our own.
There is one contradiction, which, by its very …
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An excerpt from Physician—Time to Invest in Yourself: Work-Life Balance, the Needs of the Patient, and Medical-Legal Risk Management.
What is an essentialist? What is an essentialist lifestyle? Essentialism focuses on identifying the important signals in life and eliminating the noise. The noises are the distractions that add no value to your life and frequently monopolize time and meaning. When you assume the role of an essentialist you will discover that you …
Sir William Osler wasn’t exactly wrong when he said, “Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis.” But he didn’t mean it literally. His patients did not offer up esoteric and complete medical diagnoses on a silver platter. They left him clues in plain language that he listened to carefully in order to make the correct diagnosis.
He penned his words in an era when medical information was scarce …
The medical assistant swabbed my nose and my throat multiple times. Pricked my finger too. Then, the phlebotomist (or vampire?) drew bottles and bottles of my blood. Along with the physical discomfort, there was emotional discomfort too. What would the test results show? If they were all negative, would I be satisfied without having an answer?
Being a patient can be extremely vulnerable. Not only do you often divulge to a …
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For a century, the white coat has been the symbol of the medical doctor. Today, the vast majority of medical schools in the U.S. begin with a white coat ceremony. There, the fledgling, future doctors stand together and recite a modified version of the Hippocratic Oath before being called up one-by-one to receive the white coats that they will wear throughout the upcoming trials and adventures of medical school. The …
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