Reflections: Day 5 It’s a strange feeling to look down at my phone calendar and realize that nothing will be grayed out because it happened, but only because time keeps ticking. It’s interesting and beautiful to watch my kids keep moving fo…
Category: Pediatrics
How can you not love being a pediatrician?
Working as a pediatrician offers a unique and unparalleled joy—a privilege shared among those who dedicate their lives to caring for children and supporting families. This summer, while working on a U.S. military base in Germany, I experienced this joy…
Why it’s so hard to admit when we don’t like our jobs
February 2017: Second day on service in months, and already I feel wiped. It’s exhausting. I feel that it is meaningful but so draining. And still, I’m not sure that I am even doing a good job. A month later, I came home from a multi-level …
How I overcame the challenges of ADHD parenting: a physician’s story [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with family physician Emma Hostetter, who shares her deeply personal journey navigating the challenges of parenting a neurodivergent child with ADHD. Emma open…
The dual demands of a PICU physician
A physician in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) requires vast medical knowledge along with emotional resilience. I always thought I had a strong sense of compassion for my patients and their families until I had my own baby 1.5 years ago. It co…
How a pediatrician fights vaccine misinformation in a small town
When I took the final exam after years of pediatric training, hearing my professors say, “You are now qualified and equipped to manage a pediatric clinic; congratulations” was a deeply touching moment for me. I felt fortunate to experience …
How a doctor with cerebral palsy defied the odds and transformed health care
About midway through my pediatric residency program at a well-known children’s hospital on the East Coast in the mid-1990s, I found out what was wrong with me. I told the chief of the pediatric emergency department, a Jewish woman, that I had fin…
A doctor’s journey in embracing her identity
I am the combination of two very different worlds—my mother is originally from El Salvador and Catholic, and my father is from Pakistan and Muslim. My parents are original trailblazers in my mind, creating a life together despite the unsure gaze of the…
Many kids benefit from GLP-1s. What happens when they have to stop taking them?
At the November 2022 Obesity Week in San Diego, it was clear something big was happening. A late-breaking session released results of the STEP TEENS phase IIIa trial, showing 16 percent weight loss in adolescents with obesity treated with once-weekly s…
The practice of delayed gratification in medical training: a double-edged sword
As I led small group sessions during our medical school’s recent orientation, I was struck by the nervous excitement and hope radiating from our new first-year students. Their enthusiasm was palpable yet tinged with apprehension about the challen…
