Category: Pediatrics

An elder mentor’s message to new medical students

For 21 years, I have had the privilege and honor of coaching and mentoring medical students. Most of this mentoring takes place in my outpatient internal medicine-pediatrics practice, where each student spends two to three days with me every week for a…

5 tips for ending office visits on time

The visit is winding down. You’re getting ready to go, hand on the doorknob, saying goodbye. And then you hear, “Doc, one more thing.” Or perhaps you’re more familiar with the patient who has a laundry list of issues all to be a…

Can minors truly consent to reversible puberty blockers in gender-affirming health care?

Gender-affirming health care (GAH) is a rapidly developing sector within the medical profession that can include indirect therapies such as counseling, direct therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers, or gender-affirming surgeries. A main…

Navigating youth mental health [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us for an insightful podcast episode with guest Eliza Humphreys, a pediatrician and certified life coach, as we explore the challenges faced by young teens and their families in naviga…

How direct primary care saved my career and my life

In late 2017, I was standing in the hallway between two different departments in a hospital where I was rounding on a particularly busy day. As a hospitalist, I was very familiar with this facility and where to go in order to find a moment of peace awa…

Unveiling the emotional toll: a resident physician’s journey through pediatric loss

We take care of the living, and remember those who passed, what they taught us, and how they touched us.” These were some of the words my parents said to me after I called them, sobbing in tears, that my patient had passed away. She was only eigh…

Revolutionizing postpartum care: Transforming breastfeeding support for families

An open response to “Breast or Bottle: The Illusion of Choice” by Amy Kennedy, MD. We see and hear you and are so sorry you endured these experiences. We are physicians practicing breastfeeding and lactation medicine, and we acknowledge the…

Navigating gender-affirming care: Pediatricians’ perspective on open discussions and societal fears

“We fear that CPS is going to take them away,” the mother of my patient chokes with tears. My patient on the inpatient pediatric wards looks at me with guarded eyes. I can still see the markings on their neck where they tried to strangle th…

Breaking free from BMI’s limitations for fair and effective care

The 2023 Clinical Practice Guideline for Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity heralds a new era of evidence-based anti-obesity treatments for children, a cause I wholeheartedly support. However, amidst these advancements, I…

Fixing the system and prioritizing patient care [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us for a thought-provoking episode as we sit down with Cindy Rubin, a pediatrician and breastfeeding medicine specialist. Cindy opens up about the challenges faced by physicians in the…