Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Hospitalist Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley discusses her article, “When grief hits all at once: a morning of heartbreak and love.” Jasminka shares a deeply personal…
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
Why compassion—not credentials—defines great doctors
I entered medicine like many young physicians do—eager, determined, and drawn to its promise of excellence. The white coat, the respect, the thrill of diagnosing a rare disease or saving a critical life—all of it called to me with undeniable force. I s…
Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses
It was early morning—likely the first appointment of the day. The music in the waiting room had not even been turned on yet, and the smell of coffee was just beginning to meet the air. After a few minutes, I was called back to a room and sat in the exa…
When doctors forget how to examine: the danger of lost clinical skills
An older woman with osteoporosis fell at home, developed back pain, then went to urgent care and was diagnosed with a “muscle strain.” During a follow-up visit in my office, she told me she’d had transient urinary incontinence after h…
How doctors took back control from hospital executives
Several decades ago at our local hospital in northern Los Angeles County, an onslaught against doctors began. The administration marginalized and discredited them. It was not due to a lack of medical skill or knowledge, as certain physicians were label…
From hospital bed to harsh truths: a writer’s unexpected journey
It’s 4:30 in the morning. I can see the small clock across the room. I lie in a hospital bed. The woman who approaches, the nurse, I know a bit. She greets me with, “I need to take your vitals.” I know there is more to her message, bu…
More than a meeting: Finding education, inspiration, and community in internal medicine [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Former American College of Physicians treasurer and infectious disease physician Janet A. Jokela discusses her article, “Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the a…
Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care
After 35 years in health care, I thought I’d seen it all—until it happened to me. We talk about burnout, compassion fatigue, and systemic issues in medicine. But there’s something more silent, more painful, and far more personal happening i…
How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor
This article is satire. Dr. Donovan Trumble was not your average internist. In fact, if you asked him, he wasn’t your average anything. He called himself “the most successful physician-researcher in America—maybe ever,” and once decla…
Nurses are the backbone of medicine—and they deserve better
As we near the end of Nurses Week, I can’t help but express my gratitude for our true health care heroes: nurses. Throughout my 20 years in medicine, I have worked with nurses on a daily basis. As an innocent, bumbling medical student, they would…
