Psychiatry

It can happen to you too: Women in medicine also experience domestic abuse

Conditions

January 2, 2023

The luridness of it made me feel like the female lead in a bad Lifetime movie. The person whom I trusted most was a monster: an affair with a middle-aged prostitute who verbally abused me, an Ashley Madison account, and countless payments to sex workers – those were the tip of the repulsive iceberg that was my relationship.

And sadly, these were the least of my problems. My once-kind then-partner’s face …

5 questions C-suite leaders must be willing to ask to address burnout and create thriving health care organizations

Nicola F. De Paul, PhD

Conditions

January 2, 2023

Our health care employees are suffering from the after-effects of COVID, the great resignation, stripped-down staffing levels, and the misrepresentation of human clinicians as factory floor machines. When frontline employees and senior managers are depleted, C-suite executive leaders become depleted too. And depleted leaders are at heightened risk of burnout.

When struggling with burnout, executive leaders tend to get caught up in reactivity patterns that profoundly affect employee workplace satisfaction, engagement, …

EMDR therapy’s transformative power [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 29, 2022

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“EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy kicked off my personal transformation from a self-absorbed workaholic in an industry of (what I now view as) questionable merit into a human being making a positive contribution to the …

I used OpenAI to generate art on health care burnout. The images were startlingly moving.

Jennifer Lycette, MD

Physician

December 29, 2022

After seeing recent images from OpenAI’s DALL-E-2 art generator, I decided to give it a try. I thought about a topic that I am interested in, others I know are interested in, and I was curious to see an AI’s ability to interpret. I decided on health care burnout.

In the prompt field for the art generator, I entered the words “healthcare burnout doctors nurses exhausted hope love disease …

Physicians are masterful at hiding. It’s part of the training.

Susan Hart Gaines

Conditions

December 28, 2022

Dr. Dominic Corrigan appeared to have it all.

He’d wanted to be a doctor since he was young.

So he worked hard, got into med school, took out a loan and did what it took to realize his dream.

“I was high functioning, upwardly mobile, respected specialist leading a department, doing international research, sitting on charity boards and the PTA,” says Corrigan — a pseudonym for the founder of an international doctors-for-doctors support …

A physician’s postpartum depression [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 26, 2022

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“I may be practicing the art of repression and washing myself of any speck of contamination that would take me back to the state from which I have come very far. My suffering of the past, today, …

The holidays can open up a range of emotions

Jennifer Shaer, MD

Physician

December 22, 2022

Physician suicide rates are unacceptably high at baseline and go even higher during the holidays. The holiday increase in suicide rates is not unique to physicians, though. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), A 2021 survey showed that 3 in 5 Americans feel their mental health is negatively impacted by the holidays.

And suicide is a problem that goes beyond the …

Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America” is upon us

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

December 21, 2022

For me, the cheerful musical sounds of the holiday season invariably give way to a somber song: Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America.” Dubbed the “Godfather of Rap,” Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011) embraced diverse musical styles alternating between jazz, blues, soul, and hip-hop. He wasn’t known for delivering good tidings as much as he was for sermonizing and engaging in “Small Talk at …

Suicide isn’t painless for those left behind

Veronica Bonales, MD

Physician

December 21, 2022

Suicide isn’t beautiful. It’s not glamorous. It’s not Virginia Woolf, with pockets full of stones walking calmly into the water surrounded by trees and dappled sunlight with string music playing in the background as you slowly sink under the water.

Suicide is blood and vomit pouring out of your nose. It’s losing control of your bladder and bowels and soiling yourself. It’s blood all over the bathroom floor. Or, it’s bits …

The stigma of cognitive decline: Silence has a price

Steven Taylor, OTD

Conditions

December 19, 2022

Have you ever experienced brain fog? It’s one thing to reach for an extra coffee or reflect on the vagaries of age, but growing research shows that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a powerfully predictive indicator that many patients either dismiss or fail to report. About one in four people who experience SCD will have further declines – which can often be mitigated if patients report …

The jobs you hold prior to medical school are important, but not for the reason you think

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

December 18, 2022

Most experts recommend that premed students seek medically-related jobs to gain early proficiency and support their medical school application. There is nothing like valuable hands-on experience, they say, for students to demonstrate their passion and knowledge about the field of medicine. According to the article “25 Health Care Jobs To Get Before Medical School,” written by the Indeed Editorial Team, “students who fill their resumes with volunteer work, …

The promises and limits of a fentanyl vaccine

Julie Craig, MD

Meds

December 18, 2022

“Fentanyl Vaccine a Potential ‘Game Changer’ for Opioid Crisis,” declares a Medscape headline.

“Fentanyl Vaccine Delivers Promising Results in Trial,” reports an industry website.

“A Vaccine Against Deadly Fentanyl Might Be Near,” promises US News & World Report.

Only the fourth headline I encounter puts the news into proper perspective: “New Fentanyl Vaccine …

Balancing the roles of patient and healer

Holly MacKenna, MD

Physician

December 17, 2022

“Holly, we’re really worried about you. You’ve been sleeping for days. Let us take you to the school clinic.”

I looked up at a figure in the bedroom door surrounded by a light that hurt my eyes. It was my college roommate, a sweet girl from North Carolina who had put up with my shit for most of our senior year. I wanted to bounce up and smile, to jump into …

Stephen “tWitch” Boss’ tragic death highlights the importance of mental health

Jennifer M. Orozco, DMSc, PA-C

Conditions

December 17, 2022

A prominent celebrity named Stephen “tWitch” Boss of the Ellen DeGeneres Show took his life at 40. Boss’ contagious love of dancing, carefree spirit, and milewide grin brought joy to millions. From the outside looking in, we saw a gentle soul – a successful actor and dancer with a wife and three children.

Just days before his passing, Boss shared a joyful video on social media of him dancing …

Overcoming the epidemic of loneliness

Giulia Faison, MD

Conditions

December 17, 2022

As I drove home from work and turned right onto the familiar street that would eventually wind around like a smile to my home, I briefly closed my eyes and tilted my face to the sky, enjoying the butterscotch sunlight still peeking through the leaves framing the street. I noticed with contentment the various groups of people clustered alongside one another, walking at a leisurely pace on the adjacent sidewalk.

It …

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Overcoming the epidemic of loneliness

Understanding your personal risk factors for burnout

Susan Biali Haas, MD

Physician

December 16, 2022

An excerpt from The Resilient Life: Manage Stress, Prevent Burnout, & Strengthen Your Mental and Physical Health.

According to a recent study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, “a dramatic increase in burnout and decrease in satisfaction with work-life integration occurred in U.S. physicians between 2020 and 2021.” This isn’t a …

How clinicians can respond to the “big ask”

Susan MacLellan-Tobert, MD

Physician

December 15, 2022

“Between stimulus and response, there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
– Viktor Frankl

In the post-pandemic practice environment, the autonomy-squishing “big ask” within many organizations is for providers to see more patients and improve practice efficiency with dwindling resources so as to buffer the bottom line and allow for system recovery. This mandate may make us …

Remembering Twitch: a star who shone bright

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

Physician

December 14, 2022

I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Stephen “Twitch” Boss. He was a talented DJ and dancer who brought joy to many with his infectious personality and smile. He will be remembered for his incredible talent and the joy he brought to those around him. He leaves behind his wife and three children.

The truth is that psychiatry is a challenging …

Why Black and brown kids are falling through the cracks [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 14, 2022

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“Our primary care systems should be designed for all the kids and families they are intended to serve. Incorporating system navigators to support the needs of our most vulnerable families is a feasible step in the right …

A job behind bars

Martha Rosenberg

Conditions

December 13, 2022

At least two million people in the United States are incarcerated in 122 United States prisons. Little is known about the prisoners themselves. Did their background condemn them to bad behavior? Or did they just make grievous mistakes? Do they suffer from a mental illness masquerading as criminal behavior? Can they change their life path? A mental health specialist with 25 years of direct …

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A job behind bars

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