Some children present to me with complex problems or multiple problems that fail to resolve after the typical interventions. I recall a child with severe abdominal pain. He had tried numerous medicines and had had scopes and studies galore. It had reac…
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 79-year-old man is evaluated for a 2-month history of progressively worsening headaches, nausea, visual disturbance, and difficulty speakin…
Parents often ask me about snacks for their children once they are eating table food. Should they even give them snacks? If so, what kinds are good for them, and how often? In general, after age one I recommend three kid-size meals and 1 to 2 snacks to…
As a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon, I often see patients with complaints at their elbow. One of the more common diagnoses is tennis elbow, otherwise known as lateral epicondylitis. Surprisingly, most of my patients with this condition don’t even …
World Kidney Day reminds us of the 850 million people globally affected by kidney diseases. It draws attention to the 1 in 7 American adults managing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and the 660,000 Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). It also re…
As medical professionals, one of the most challenging things to do is to motivate a patient to make changes in their lives. We passionately want the best for our patients, and it is sometimes so difficult for us to be able to connect with and inspire t…
I didn’t become a primary care doctor to treat opioid addiction. I wasn’t trained for it. To be honest, it scared me. But when you work, like I do, at a clinic that serves a lot of people who have little money or who struggle with mental health and sub…
Most patients have an idea of how surgery and chemotherapy work. It’s not difficult to picture a surgeon cutting out a cancer or a medical oncologist prescribing chemotherapy. But how does radiation therapy work? For the vast majority of patients, a…
More than two-thirds of Americans use social media, and 90 percent of adults in the U.S. have a cell phone. With these tools surrounding us, we must be more connected with one another than ever before. Right? It doesn’t feel like we are. At least, the …
When it comes to communication in the hospital setting, I have seen many iterations. My favorite version was at the VA on the inpatient medicine unit. Every morning, we all met in the medicine team room to discuss patients on the floor. The team’s soci…
