“We believe that the current entrepreneurial development model for antibiotics is broken and needs to be fundamentally transformed.” This provocative opinion is from a recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. The introductio…
Category: KevinMD
Why your doctor may be concerned about prescribing benzodiazepines
As an academic psychiatrist who treats people with anxiety and trauma, I often hear questions about a specific class of medications called benzodiazepines. I also often receive referrals for patients who are on these medications and reluctant to discon…
The bedside nurse is under siege
Nurses are the very heart of health care. These wonderful professionals work tirelessly for the good of their patients, spending the most time with them and often being their biggest advocates and best friends during what is a frightening experience in…
An appreciation for a hospital volunteer
Did I ever get to thank you for helping me? I am one of the pediatric residents you see running around like a headless chicken. We first met over a year ago when I was just a wee intern. You helped me calm an anxious boy who was about to get stitches. …
A guide to couples matching
I consider myself one of the lucky ones because my wife and I couples matched to the same institution for residency. At the time we put our residency match lists in, we were just boyfriend and girlfriend, and the decision to couples match felt like a b…
The stigma of motherhood in medicine
Women who become doctors must often choose between motherhood and medicine. I’m a mother and a surgeon. I never thought of choosing between the two, even though my employers often asked me to. Today I work as a trauma surgeon in a busy practice. It’s b…
The “heart” way to victory
An excerpt from Heart To Beat: A Cardiac Surgeon’s Inspiring Story of Success and Overcoming Adversity―The Heart Way. What if we approached life’s challenges and setbacks like our own hearts continuously strive to meet the demands of our body—unrelenti…
An analysis of Joe Biden’s health plan
If the Democrats capture the White House, keep the House and take over the Senate, no matter who they elect as president, this Biden health care outline, not Medicare for all, will likely be the plan Democrats embrace in 2021. The Biden health care pro…
Objective measures aren’t perfect at predicting real-life clinical ability
“Can we please try to be objective about this!” I said these words to myself over and over during this year’s interview season as we formulated our residency rank list. At my institution, the residents and faculty have equal sway in forming the rank li…
When we walk into a patient’s room, we are entering a story
The doctor opened the door after a gentle knock. He was greeted with warmth, offered a seat by Mary, and promptly sat down on the end of the hospital bed. As he sat, the family stood to greet him. They discussed the grandkids, the trips taken since the…
