“Health is a matter of choice, not a mystery of chance.” —Aristotle As an end-of-life (EOL) consultant, one aspect of my job is advance care planning, which involves helping people create an advance directive. An advance directive (AD) has …
Category: Conditions
Is the surge in adult ADHD diagnoses helping or harming patients?
As an outpatient adult psychiatrist, I have witnessed an increasing trend of patients seeking a diagnosis of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Often, these patients have had friends or family members diagnosed with the condition and …
How AI is transforming breast cancer detection: a game-changing tool for early diagnosis and personalized care
If you had an assistant who helped you do your work faster, more efficiently, and more precisely, would you fear it? With artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront of virtually everything today, two of the most common questions I hear in my daily p…
Hiding in plain sight: the psychosocial burden of vitiligo and importance of clinical research
Imagine waking up one day with a white patch somewhere on your body. It’s not painful or itchy, but over time it grows and changes, with more patches appearing almost daily. In a short space of time, these patches have fundamentally altered the a…
Transform your health care team with these 5-minute communication exercises
An excerpt from The Medical Improv Toolkit: 10 Simple Activities to Promote Safe Care, Healthy Workplaces, & Rewarding Careers! “Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.” ~F…
How to build a healthier diet without overthinking
An excerpt from Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life. The way that different foods (for example, fats), are talked about in the public and online isn’t always scientifically correct. People can have very strong opinions about food, but this doe…
Live longer, die shorter: the surprising health secrets to a vital old age
An excerpt from 21st Century Schizoid Health Care: Essays and Reflections to Keep You Sane on Your Medical Travels. Over a decade ago, a landmark ten-year study by the MacArthur Foundation shattered the stereotypes of aging as a process of slow, geneti…
Understanding and supporting loved ones with celiac disease: a guide from 2 gastroenterologists
Living with celiac disease can be a profound challenge, not just for those diagnosed but also for their friends and family. A strict gluten-free lifestyle is essential, and providing thoughtful, informed support can significantly improve the quality of…
Stop calling me “doctor”: the nurse practitioner’s fight for recognition
I introduce myself to the patients as a nurse practitioner (NP), but they still call me a doctor. Even worse, some of the staff refer to me as “doctor.” I imagine they do so out of respect, but no matter how many times I correct them, the e…
The deadliest condition in emergency departments deserves a new diagnostic approach
Today, most emergency departments (EDs) face overcrowding, high patient volumes and a strain on our increasingly limited staff and resources. As a result, the average patient experiences ED wait times of about two-and-a-half hours, with some reaching n…
