Category: KevinMD

Screening elderly men for prostate cancer: More harm than good?

Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer don’t die of the disease. Between 2011 and 2015, 112.6 per 100,000 men per year were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.S., but only 19.5 per 100,000 men per year died of the disease over that same period of…

Health insurance company denials make no sense

We do most of our colonoscopies in our ambulatory surgery center (ASC), which is attached to our office. We are proud of the work that we and our staff do every day and are grateful for the outstanding feedback that we consistently receive from our pat…

When doctors are poor explainers

A physician, like anyone, can be a poor explainer of things for several reasons, but foremost among these is the tendency to use medical jargon. This is not a problem unique to doctors. When I take my car in for repairs, I often must ask the mechanic t…

How to study smarter for USMLE Step 1: 5 tips for success

To reach my current position as a general cardiologist, I have taken nine board exams. I have also been teaching medical students for over ten years with several colleagues who write questions for the USMLE Step 1 exam. Through this experience, I have …

Important new information in the new information the tragic cases of child abuse

Like many pediatric intensivists, I care from time to time for victims of child abuse in the form of what is often called “shaken baby syndrome.” This syndrome is a characteristic constellation of finds that happen when a strong person grasps a child a…

It’s important to understand the money trail in medicine

There was a recent news brief stating that the average internist generates about $2.4 million annually for the hospitals that they work for.  While it’s no surprise that doctors help others make money, seeing a figure to your worth hammers home how muc…

5 lessons this physician learned from swing dancing

Almost a couple of years ago, I decided that I would act out on a desire that I’d had for some time: to learn to swing dance (specifically, Lindy Hop). Going back to when I was in high school in England, I’ve always had an interest in 1920s America, th…

How Grey’s Anatomy made this physician into a better doctor

I am an obstetrician-gynecologist, and my favorite show is Grey’s Anatomy. I dare say I have not missed an episode since I started watching in 2006 (as a busy obstetrician, multiple shows are watched on DVR). I fell in love with the show when, at rando…

Work-life balance is hard. Here’s how this physician does it.

Work-life balance is hard, and that’s true for so many career options both in and out of the medical field. The topic is something that you consider as you choose a career path. It’s something that you struggle to achieve and maintain as you train for …

The politics and commercialization of fecal transplants

The New York Times is interested in fecal transplants. This is the euphemistic term for taking feces, poop, crap, sh*t, bowel contents from one person and putting it into another person. There are various procedures for doing this, from drying it and p…