Our job as health care professionals is not just to diagnose our patients by applying our scientific knowledge and clinical skills, but also to be the “communicator-in-chief,” “listener-in-chief,” and “reassurer-in-chief.” Any doctor who doesn’t fully …
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
When the standard of care is bad medicine
For the last three decades, the numeric pain score has been the go-to assessment for acute pain in the hospital setting. Since this methodology was developed for research purposes to see if drug “A” had an effect on patient “A,” its clinical utility is…
The disaster at Hahnemann University Hospital
Though the news at first stayed local in Philadelphia and the northeast, it’s gaining traction nationwide. ZDoggMD is on it. Bernie Sanders held a rally. What happened? The venerable Hahnemann University Hospital, the main teaching hospital for Drexel …
What health care can learn from the Boeing 737 Max tragedies
The recent Boeing 737 airline crashes have left a scar on the American (and worldwide) psyche regarding air travel. Boeing, an iconic brand, prestigious in history and talent, neglected to update and formally educate pilots regarding an essential softw…
5 things I learned from being a “high-maintenance” patient
Physicians and health care providers across the world are trained to treat disease processes and disease states. Often, this approach becomes technical. And while directed towards the patient, it paradoxically distances itself from the patient. The dis…
Why we must embrace medical uncertainty
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. In the late 1800s, William Osler stated, “… if you want a profession in which everything is certain, you had better give up medicine.” He made this observation at a time w…
Dealing with the pressures of learning as a physician-in-training
The other day, I happened across a YouTube video called the “Try Not to Look Away Challenge.” There were some obvious video clips, such as a person vomiting, a spider, and a spooky video game. What struck me was a clip from a movie in which a middle-ag…
4 Beatles playlists for your residency emotions
I recently graduated from residency and fellowship. The last week in-house was a second adolescence. My moods have been up and down. I’d giddily return a parking pass, then surrender IT access in tears. No one could feel this — my — moment as deeply, s…
4 Beatles playlists for your residency emotions
I recently graduated from residency and fellowship. The last week in-house was a second adolescence. My moods have been up and down. I’d giddily return a parking pass, then surrender IT access in tears. No one could feel this — my — moment as deeply, s…
How to rekindle your love of medicine
Recently, thousands of new residency and fellowship graduates have earned their wings and will be, mostly metaphorically, hanging out their shingles. Sadly, though, as the excitement of finally finishing training after decades of schooling wears off, e…
