Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article “How to get physician wellness programs funded: a proven path forward.” Drawing on nearly two decades of experience navigating institutional hurdles and five …
Leadership in any industry, especially in health care, demands a delicate balance of trust, ethical judgment, and professionalism. However, when leaders view collaboration through a lens of suspicion, assuming that employees are conspiring against them, it can lead to a culture of distrust and unprofessional behavior. This article delves into the psychological and ethical aspects of such behavior, its impact on workplace dynamics, and practical strategies for navigating these challenging …
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Child psychiatrist Ellen K. Feldman discusses her article “How social media is shaping teen mental health and what we can do about it,” highlighting the growing concerns about social media’s impact on …
Before leaving office, the Biden administration increased the annual cap for Medicaid-reimbursed contingency management (an evidence-based psychosocial intervention) as part of an individual’s addiction treatment. This move demonstrates what I have seen in my own practice: Contingency management drives results when it comes to treating substance use disorder.
Despite the evidence and fact that every individual living with substance use disorder (SUD) requires a unique approach to treatment for …
What if the cost of being a “good doctor” didn’t have to be your well-being?
For many physicians—especially those drawn to lifestyle medicine and whole-person care—this question feels quietly radical.
We’ve been conditioned to give until we’re empty. To serve at the expense of our sleep, our health, and sometimes even our sense of self.
We were taught to sacrifice.
To stay …
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “The future of psychiatry: How AI and genetics are reshaping mental health care.” Muhamad explores how the integration of genetic research, biomarkers, electrophysiology, and artificial …
Maybe you’ve struggled to put the shattered mirror of yourself back together, and you don’t want to unearth what you’ve been able to put to rest. Plenty of people decide that psychotherapy is not for them, and we are, as our own individual, sovereign self, the best judge of our needs. As someone looking from the outside, we can only know a fraction of the depths of another person and …
In a revealing snapshot of American mental health, the CDC recently reported that nearly 1 in 4 adults in the United States may be taking psychotropic medications. This staggering number should both draw attention and raise questions. Are we truly addressing the root causes of psychiatric illness, or are we sedating a nation in pain?
As a psychiatrist and internist who has worked at the intersection of …
An excerpt from Has Medicine Lost Its Mind?: Why Our Mental Health System Is Failing Us and What Should Be Done to Cure It.
One of society’s great issues is who decides what science does—the public or science. For example, the populace has taken control and been clear that it does not want science to create human beings in a laboratory or construct computers that run the world. Once …
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Internist and psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “How data accuracy failures are costing lives and money in health care.” He explores the consequences of inaccurate data in health care, from …
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Psychotherapist and author Margo Lowy discusses her article, “Maternal ambivalence: the side of motherhood no one talks about.” She explores the often unspoken emotional complexities of motherhood, where love and frustration coexist. Margo delves into …
Physicians are healers; they were not meant to be hunted. Yet in modern America, the very system that once revered physicians has turned against them, weaponizing regulations and laws into weapons and transforming healers into criminals. The Controlled Substances Act, health care fraud statutes, and a labyrinth of federal regulations have ensnared countless physicians in a trap of legal peril, branding them as fraudsters when their only crime was dedication …
In his book Cross Pollinations: The Marriage of Science and Poetry, Nabhan illustrates the interconnection between thinking across varied fields and how one specifically might inform the other. He is by no means the first or only thinker to harness looking across disciplines. This approach has certainly also informed the world of psychotherapy. The unifying glue, however, is time and space for reflection, to consider leisurely, to let the …
ADVERTISEMENT
Practicing medicine is an incredible privilege. Our rigorous training allows us to combine science and compassion to heal and support patients through both challenging and healthy times. However, this privilege often comes with significant challenges, such as burnout and other struggles. Many doctors feel burdened by the time spent on electronic health records, drowning in documentation for nearly six hours …
If I were to bet that the majority of physicians are familiar with that pit in their stomach—that sinking feeling of dread that comes with recognizing things aren’t going well—I’d probably win that bet. Contrary to collective wisdom, Wu (2000) first formalized recognition that doctors involved in critical incidents need help too. Now, twenty-five years later, doctors are still held to a standard that eschews the idea of making mistakes. …
As social media’s influence has surged, so too has the debate over its effects on psychological well-being. Once envisioned as a means to connect communities and amplify self-expression, these platforms are now under scrutiny for their potential long-term impact on mental health—especially among adolescents.
During this critical stage of development, social interactions play a pivotal role in helping adolescents shape identity, influencing their sense of self and belonging. This …
Language is the architecture of our perception. It impacts the way we experience ourselves in relation to others, the moments that make up our daily lives, and why we emphasize one input while ignoring others. I first learned this in a linguistics course that explored the difference between, for example, “I dropped the book” in one language versus “the book fell from me” in another. This shows up in intimate …
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Psychiatrist Devina Maya Wadhwa discusses her article, “How abuse in health care is driving doctors out of medicine.” In this episode, Devina shares her experiences as a physician working in acute care …
For nearly two decades, I sat in meetings, listened to leadership discussions, and navigated the institutional maze of advocating for funding for physician wellness programs.
I saw the hesitation. The skepticism. The “we don’t have the budget for that” conversations.
And yet, I also saw what worked.
For the past five years, I’ve worked independently, designing high-impact, transformational wellness experiences for physicians. And I’ve helped hospital systems, …
Mid-step on the sky bridge, boarding my flight—the message lands. Raw. Desperate. A life breaking apart in real time:
“I’ve been in health care my entire life. Surgical services. Because I spoke up against wrongdoing, stood up for myself, I’m out of a job and can’t get a job anywhere now. I’m 60 now. I don’t know what to do. I’ve had a hard life, and I buried all …
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
