I remember it like it was yesterday. Orientation had concluded, and it was showtime. Officially July 1st. It felt like all the cramming from the last few weeks was sitting astutely in my upper chest. My breathing was fairly shallow, and my brain was in…
On some of my night rotations during intern year, I found myself watching WWII documentaries and movies. The patients at the VA medical center had stuck with me with their stories and their attitudes. My experiences at the VA motivated me to learn more…
As I stood there, my mentor, Dr. S, spoke in his gentle, wise voice, “Congratulations! You have been selected as the hospital’s new nocturnist.” The news hit me like a wave of disbelief, and a surge of emotions rushed through me. The …
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us as we host Angel J. Mena, an internal medicine physician and health care executive, along with Ali Morin, a nurse and health care executive. In this episode, we explore the importan…
When I was first paged about Mr. P, I braced myself for the worst. He had already had three “code greys” called—the hospital code for aggressive behavior. When we met him on his hospital bed, he was bound by restraints on his wrists and ank…
As a medical student with a limited knowledge base and limited exposure to taking care of a high volume of patients, my idea of being the physician I hoped to be involved in spending time at the bedside and really getting to know my patients as people …
There are three versions of name displays in health care institutions, each tailored to different groups of individuals. For physician staff, full names are typically shown, including both first and middle names, along with their highest educational le…
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, we talk to Amber Gipson-Fine, a project manager, about her personal experience with a medical error and the importance of medical apologies. March was Endometriosis Awarene…
Night float had always been this mythical monster to me, an intimidating prospect that conjured up some of my greatest fears about a residency rotation – jetlag, nocturnal clock, lack of continuity with patients or a day team, multiple pagers and multi…
As I reflect on my first year of residency, it’s hard to believe that I’ve cared for nearly 500 patients spanning across multiple departments; floor medicine, ICU, ER, neurology, cardiology, and surgery. I’ve had the opportunity to pe…
