A spirited discussion erupted over The Joint Commission’s role in prohibiting food in patient care areas: “Taking food and drink away from doctors and nurses is just cruel.” The rumor that The Joint Commission is the enforcer of food and dr…
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
Please stop the over-diagnosis of UTIs
I admitted an elderly woman to the hospital recently. The previous week, she had presented to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain and shortness of breath. For some unknown reason, a urinalysis was obtained and was found to be abnormal. The…
In the midst of physician burnout, remember the privilege of being a doctor
I read the recent article on KevinMD: “I’m sorry: Why I lost my love for medicine” with great sadness. My heart goes out to the author; many of their concerns echoed deeply within me. I am sorry that we, as physicians, haven’t effectively succeeded in …
Medical school ends with a leap of faith
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question I frequently hear from physicians on my clinical rotations. Phrased somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the wording allows me to answer either in jest or in earnest. “An astronaut…
My name is not “Med Student”
“I should explain to you, Socrates, that our friend Cratylus has been arguing about names; he says they are natural and not conventional; […] that there is a truth or correctness in them.” – Plato I once heard that the sound of one’s …
To err is human, to empathize is to heal
Empathizing with others’ suffering is one of the most human expressions in life. For empathy to nurture, like any other emotion, it needs time and space, and in none other professions, this maxim is codified as profoundly as in medicine. Even in …
Medicine is for the birds, or it should be
Medicine is for the birds, or it should be. Hear me out. A day before I wrote this, I was on the trail in northwest Ohio, binoculars in hand, trying to tell one warbler from another. This was the final weekend of the biggest week of birding in Magee …
Who are the doctors who end their own lives?
Recently, a fellow physician mom ended her life. While outwardly, a very vibrant, lively, and happy woman, she fought her own internal demons for some time. From what we know, she struggled with depression but was still committed to being a good mom, p…
Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference?
Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference? Probably not. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that the organizational cultures of too many hospitals are not conducive to physician well-being. In a provocative blog posted on …
The intern who knows everything
What seems like a tidal wave of pages washes over you. Drowning in a torrential sea of order clarification, bowel regimens, and vital sign deviations — you struggle to stay afloat. Medical school did not prepare you for this. Patients and nurses are ca…
