This past week was one of those weeks looming ahead of me that I was already dreading as I entered into it. I was to be working through another holiday and following a string of nights, and I would have a quick turnaround into a mid-shift. As a nocturnist by choice, I rarely work mornings […]
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey I stood there in awe as I watched the trauma team leap into action as the patient was rolled into the trauma bay. “Crush injury,” they said. Vitals were terribly unstable, and the patient was decompensating quickly. The corner of the room […]
I’m proud to announce that I have partnered with Health eCareers to launch Careers by KevinMD.com: a new, dedicated career center ready to support your career at every stage. Whether you’re ready to make the leap to a new job or just keeping your ear to the ground, there’s something here for every medical professional. […]
When you or a loved one is sick or injured, health care decisions are fundamentally a matter of trust. You trust your physician will have the answers you need, because you know that, as a highly-trained medical professional, they’re qualified to make the best recommendation for each and every patient under their care. Physicians receive […]
I was walking in the store the other day and ran into a recently deceased elderly patient’s relative. As he walked by, I thought to myself, I better stop to say I am sorry. So I shouted to him, “Hey how are you?” He paused, and I continued to walk over and proceeded to offer […]
Ironically, the same electronic health records (EHRs) initially designed as a tool to help physicians diagnose diseases have largely evaded diagnostic scrutiny. Talk to physicians who utilize them on a daily basis, however, and it becomes abundantly clear that today’s EHRs are ailing. They are adding hours to the physicians’ workday, siphoning attention from patient […]
The surgical team filed out of the patient’s room. I looked over my shoulder to see a shaken daughter holding the wrinkled hand of her quiet, elderly mother who lay in the bed. I shuddered as I thought of the surgery her body would endure the next day. I knew I needed to return to […]
I learn all manner of interesting things from the information sheets posted on the walls of the employee bathrooms at my hospital. I learn, for example, about upcoming CME offerings for advance practice providers, how many seconds one has to scrub the hub of a central line, and what the new process is when nurses […]
Both in and outside of health care certain buzz words and phrases become so ubiquitously used that a shared understanding is assumed despite conflicting perceptions of what these sentiments actually mean. Examples in health care include: shared decision making, quality of life, professionalism, patient-centered care, and evidence-based. Each sounds positive and intuitive — what health […]
My patient The day I met you was early in my second year of internal medicine residency. After much of my internship had been spent on arduous inpatient rotations, I was finally ready to lead my own team of young doctors and students on a high-acuity wards service. Yet, in my continuity clinic, I was […]
