Category: neurosurgery

Never let a bad job or bad people convince you to quit medicine

If you asked the third-grade version of most doctors what they wanted to be when they grew up, I bet most would have said, “I want to be a doctor!” I doubt many would have said “hospital administrator” or “life coach.”   Yet, according to a recent Meds…

A neurosurgeon and patient satisfaction scores

Over coffee each morning, I quickly skim the headlines on my laptop before heading to work. It is Washington winter, it is dark outside, and the headlines in health care news are grim. Health care workers are burned out. Doctors are working hard all da…

A neurosurgeon finds another reason to stay in clinical practice

Each day I am inundated with reminders of why doctors are leaving clinical practice. My peers are exhausted by pandemic patients and pandemic controversies. They feel unappreciated and overworked doing what was originally their passion. Many feel they …

I am not leaving medicine because I like the clinical practice part of my job

The headlines read “Why Healthcare Workers are Quitting in Droves,” “Docs are Leaving Practice,” and “Physician burnout declared a public health crisis.” The side-gig, financial independence retire early (FIRE), and …

A neurosurgeon’s proposal to reduce burnout in medicine and beyond

In a previous article, I described the brain-damaging effects of allowing work-life balance to fall into disequilibrium. For example, scientists from the Karolinska Institute, in Sweden, reported that burnout may weaken the connectivity between far-flu…

Expertise is the backbone of successful spine treatment

People who experience debilitating back pain come to their doctors with one pressing question: Do I need back surgery? Often, they are surprised to hear me, a neurosurgeon, answer, “No.” In many cases, physical therapy, pain management, weight loss man…

Testing gravity during Ladder Season

The transition from pumpkin spice to gingerbread lattes may conjure warm, cozy holiday feelings for some, but for those of us who treat trauma patients, it signals the beginning of Ladder Season. There is something in the crisp late Autumn air that is …

How virtual learning enhanced my immersion and mentorship in neurosurgery

A message appeared in the chatbox. “Always trust the parents. If they think the shunt has failed, more likely than not, they’re right.” It was one of the two fifth-year neurosurgery residents, both present on the video platform for virtual clinic to mo…

Virtual care for surgical subspecialties

As a 4th-year neurosurgery resident, I’ve tried to sink my heels into every aspect of neurosurgical care in order to harness the skills, the knowledge, and the confidence to know that I’ll be ready to provide exceptional care to my own patients at the …