Working in urgent care, I’ve started supervising some of the other providers at sites other than my own — 19 sites in all in Pennsylvania and Delaware — so I hear about a lot of patient situations. The urgent care site where I work i…
Category Archive: KevinMD
Learn to forge ahead with feedback in medicine
A successful career in medicine means learning how to forge ahead with feedback and not allow it to stop you in your tracks. For some doctors, this is a challenge. Feedback feels bad. It’s perceived as negative, not being good enough. We’re exposed …
What is “good enough” for a surgeon?
A surgery resident from halfway around the world emailed me the other day looking for advice as she was nearing graduation. She confessed, “I am beginning to question myself if I am good enough … what is ‘good enough’ anyway?&#…
I wanted to care for people, so I became a direct primary care doctor
For whatever reason, being 35,000 feet in the air makes me reflective. During one flight, I had a flurry of thoughts, and the reason I decided to get into this whole mess of direct primary care spilled out of me. I want to share it here because if you …
The key to happiness is not a mystery
Happiness doesn’t always come easily. Some people seem naturally happy, like they inherited the right gene or were born into the right circumstances. Many other people struggle to find happiness. Perhaps even more people hope to become happier than the…
Why I love caring for geriatric patients
As I enter the exam room, I hear, “Don’t get old honey!” As a physician caring for a large population of geriatric patients in Florida, I hear this approximately five times a day. To this statement, I always reply, “There’s no alternative, though!” I …
The physician’s paradox of healing
Physicians across all levels of training are familiar with the widely recognized truth that our medical system is broken. This damage is evidenced by a paradox; perhaps it will become the great paradox of our time – physicians who were driven to a prof…
MKSAP: 52-year-old woman with osteoarthritis of the right hip
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 52-year-old woman undergoes perioperative evaluation. She has osteoarthritis of the right hip since sustaining injuries in a motor vehicle …
What Chernobyl can teach physicians about avoiding medical errors
I recently started watching the HBO series Chernobyl, chronicling the events surrounding the 1986 disaster. For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet—I’d highly recommend this excellent production (It’s already deservedly won multiple awards). The great thing …
Eradicate burnout with these 2 simple strategies
You’re at the top of your game. And you are perhaps thinking that this is not how you envisioned life at this stage in your career. Many successful physicians are frustrated that they can’t find the time or energy to be present with their family and fr…
