The residency interview trail quickly becomes a lonesome journey, so when I was on it this winter, I’d usually have the hotel room television turned on for some background noise and often find myself watching ESPN’s SportsCenter. On my last interview i…
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
10 tips for success after you finish residency
If you’re done with your residency or fellowship, you’ve paid your dues. And I am excited for you. Life is about to get better. A lot better. If you read my prior article about going unmatched, you know that things have not always gone smoothly for me….
Physicians: Do not be intimidated by administrators
A piece of advice I would give to any younger physician, especially one who is just graduating residency, would be to expect a whirlwind ride into the realities of frontline medical practice. It’s something that you are totally not prepared for in the …
Don’t ask caregivers to be data entry clerks for the Joint Commission
I received an email from our hospital accreditation coordinator/quality coordinator in a manner that wasn’t clear if it was directed to me personally or if it was sent to the entire medical staff. It said that she was reviewing the Joint Commission…
Discrimination against doctors is costing us
“I want to see the doctor. Not you. I don’t like your kind. I want to see a white doctor, a man,” a patient gasping for air in an emergency room says to the dark-skinned resident assessing her vitals. “Speak slowly, I don’t understand you people,” a ma…
How to have an exciting death: 5 tips from a palliative care physician
We’re all gonna die. It’s a simple truth that an astounding number of people neglect to acknowledge or accept. Some people die sudden, unexpected deaths, but most eventually fall victim to chronic or terminal conditions like COPD, heart fai…
How hospitals can help with the opioid epidemic
Nearly half a million individuals with opioid use disorders are hospitalized each year in the United States. While they are in the hospital, medical providers often treat complications of this disorder, such as bloodstream infections, but rarely direct…
Words of wisdom to a residency’s graduating class
To my residency class: The clock is ticking, its hands spinning around its face faster and faster until I feel dizzy and disoriented. The remainder of the academic year can be measured in days, even hours for some. The carousel is slowing down to let s…
Fasting for Ramadan and being the on-call orthopedic trauma resident
A patient groans in agony lying atop a rigid spine board, carried by paramedics into the ER, his neck in a protective collar. The paramedics shout a summary of the accident. Monitors are attached to the man, flashing and beeping the cadence of vital si…
A medical student’s reflection of “firsts”
It is honorable to fight a battle in the face of an inevitable ending while not knowing when that end may come. First day of third year — the year most medical students take a sigh of relief as they put their Step 1 book on the shelf and prepare to fac…
