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 […]
When I’m working in a hospital setting as a physician, part of my everyday job duties involves going over consent forms with patients. I am of course a medical physician, rather than a surgeon, so generally don’t have to go over them as often. But I do have to take consent regularly for certain interventions […]
Each year, thousands of newly minted MDs are elevated from mere medical students to — drumroll, please — interns. If that’s you, congratulations and welcome to the world of residency. Welcome to the world of motivation, inspiration and altruism — where you wake up every day knowing this was what you were meant to do. And […]
Being a hospitalized patient is perhaps one of the most disempowering experiences an individual can face (besides being in war, or a prisoner). Patients face constant uncertainty; having no idea what time their physician will visit, when they will be taken for their tests, or who will suddenly interrupt them again with a demand – […]
As a physician in training, you’re in the first quarter of your new position as an intern or resident. If you are an early career physician, you are adjusting to life as an attending. What exactly does that mean for you? Are you moving from rotation to rotation hopeful that someone will show you the […]
“Good morning, Mr. S! How are you feeling today?” I ask as I step into his hospital room. Yesterday, Mr. S was admitted for infective endocarditis and has been tolerating antibiotic treatment well. I am a medical student on my acute cardiology rotation taking care of him. “I’m feeling fine,” he says, and I proceed […]
The supervising resident’s Voalte phone dinged: “Dr. Mel: Please meet Dr. Rosemond at room 514 for Cardiology rounds.” She scrolled up a few texts and saw that her male counterpart who had rounded the previous day had been addressed as “Dr. Stearnes.” When Mel mentioned the discrepancy to Jacob Stearnes, he just shrugged and said, […]
