An excerpt from Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness. Jason had an entire group of voices in his head that he called “the committee.” They talked nearly constantly, sometimes in a flat roar but often escalating t…
Category: KevinMD
Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference?
Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference? Probably not. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that the organizational cultures of too many hospitals are not conducive to physician well-being. In a provocative blog posted on …
5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you
As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation,…
5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you
As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation,…
5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you
As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation,…
8 things to do as a new attending that I didn’t learn as a resident
Here are eight things to do as a new attending that I didn’t learn as a resident (and wish I had). Establish a budget There are two times when a budget is a very important tool: when you are struggling financially and when you have a large income or ex…
The intern who knows everything
What seems like a tidal wave of pages washes over you. Drowning in a torrential sea of order clarification, bowel regimens, and vital sign deviations — you struggle to stay afloat. Medical school did not prepare you for this. Patients and nurses are ca…
What makes the perfect doctor?
I’m an ER doc, and I spent my last two decades in the house of medicine. First, training to become a doctor. Then, trying to be a better doctor. No matter how hard I tried, I’ve never been the “perfect doctor.” I started wonderi…
Getting a terminal diagnosis for my baby
I knew things weren’t right when a nurse called me on my cell phone just a few minutes after she sent me to pump milk in a private room and said that the medical team wants to meet with my husband and me immediately in a conference room. My suspi…
A physician’s inaccurate cancer prognosis
Mr. G* was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer two years ago and has been on a succession of medications to control a progressive cancer. His PSA never nadired after surgery, and adjuvant radiation only increased his urinary problems. Androgen depr…
