“Make thorough inspection.” – Sir William Osler, MD. The art of the physical exam is precisely that: an art that must be practiced often, for years on end, and the one that a physician may become a great achiever or skilled but never …
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
Balancing employee needs and fair pay during federal holidays
Our previous post discussed how a full-time equivalent equals 2,080 work hours annually. To further clarify, we would like to explain how work hours during federal holidays can be calculated. One approach is to offer employees an incentive by counting …
Health care leadership: Making medicine a team sport
Americans give lip service to the importance of teamwork. But most often, we credit success to individuals. Perhaps nowhere is this “MVP mindset” more apparent than in medicine. The brilliant lone physician — gallantly battling to save a pa…
Questioning medical traditions for the sake of patient care
The United States consumes forty-six million turkeys every Thanksgiving. Have you ever wondered why? When traditions take hold in society, we start to forget why they existed in the first place. For example, the tradition of eating turkey on Thanksgivi…
Finding purpose: How physicians can craft meaningful careers in medicine [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, we speak with David Danhauer, a seasoned pediatrician and former CMIO. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to gain a wealth of experience and knowledge, and a…
The uncomfortable truths about comfortable scrubs
I love joggers. If I had to pick a piece of clothing to wear every day for the rest of my life, it would be joggers. I wear them constantly — outside the hospital, that is. These days, this choice makes me an anomaly. Like the ubiquitous clogs in the O…
What can hospitals learn from luxury hotels?
Hospitality in health care refers to providing high-quality, compassionate care and support to patients, focusing on meeting their individual needs and preferences. This can involve a variety of strategies, such as providing clear and accurate informat…
How a positive staff helped an uncertain hospital stay [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “Hospitals and health systems should bolster the skills of care teams through education to improve patient outcomes by minimizing variations in obstetric care and being equipped to pr…
Breaking the silence: a doctor’s plea for clarity in end-of-life care
Six years ago, I met a man who was 93 years old. I sat down to listen to him, something we physicians don’t do as often as we should in the long-term care setting. “I want you to treat me like I’m 73,” he said, “What do yo…
Keep the faith: Why the role of spiritual care in health care is critical
This time of year, advice abounds on how to develop New Year’s resolutions that last. Some assert the need for resolutions and goals that reflect the deep desire for meaning-making, living life to the fullest extent possible, and establishing hea…
