Whenever someone asks me what year of medical school I am currently in, I answer that I am a “four-out-of-five.” To those outside the milieu of Stanford Medicine, this is an odd response — four-out-of-five of what? But at Stanford, th…
Category: KevinMD
Workplace violence in the health care setting is a public health emergency
Health care providers may have one of the most dangerous jobs out there — and it is only getting worse. Nearly 74 percent of workplace assaults occur in the health care setting, and health care accounts for almost as many serious violent injuries as al…
Considering locum tenens? Think about these factors first.
Locum tenens is a great way to make a living or earn some extra income. But frankly, there are some groups of physicians who should not even consider doing locums work. When you pair the right person with the right job, you can get employment bliss. Bu…
A hidden cancer success story: declining deaths from melanoma
Here is some news about cancer that isn’t widely known and is hiding in plain sight: Deaths from melanoma — a skin cancer that has lethal potential — have declined dramatically over the past several years. And while that fact alone is surpr…
A psychiatric hospital in Uganda: a medical student’s reflection
I excel at intellectualization. It is a fickle defense mechanism, allowing the observer to fully comprehend the situation in front of them without fully engaging in the emotional context. Throughout my medical training, intellectualization has aided me…
Our medical training has been outsourced
Reflexively, I often feel my breath catch, and my eyeballs roll ever-so-slightly when a patient leads with, “I saw on the internet …” The precious minutes available to connect, inspect, and direct the management of their Google search are suddenl…
The default for psychiatric patients: “Send them to the ER”
Here is a standard emergency department situation, played out all across America today. Patient X has schizophrenia. He takes medication, but only until he feels better. He is calm when he takes it, but sometimes aggressive and assaultive when out of…
It’s Dr., not Mrs.
I’m a physician married to a physician. Initially, I did not think I would face obstacles because of our dual career paths. I would soon learn; however, professional and personal sacrifices would be necessary for us to achieve our goals. This is …
When colon cancer is diagnosed, it’s also a difficult day for the gastroenterologist
Exercising good judgment can mean the difference between life or death. Life can be unforgiving of the choices we make. As we all know, many life events are beyond our control and understanding. But, there is much we can do to shape our paths to a brig…
Does medical school train students to become managers or leaders?
I worked with someone (not a physician, but that doesn’t really matter here) whose title was “assistant director.” He and I quickly recognized that we worked well together: His head brimmed with big visions and ideas, whereas my head brimmed with plans…
