Category: KevinMD

What do we want our health care system to look like?

I think the time has come for us all to do a little more than put our 2 cents in. Our health care system is a mess, and while many of us fighting in the trenches and taking care of patients are working to make things better (despite the best efforts of…

How the death of a patient affected this nocturnist

I am a nocturnist (a nocturnal hospitalist). I love my job, but many nights my work can seem unfulfilling. For one, taking care of hospitalized adult patients is primarily spent managing exacerbations of chronic diseases. Therefore, the reality is that…

USMLE Step 1 tips that may surprise you

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 …

A nurse’s downfall was telling the truth

These events happened over 18 years ago. Some content has been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty. Searching for positive changes in the health care industry. We are not a number, and the patients are not a number. I’m not good at lying. My…

Accomplishing both my childhood and medical school dreams

When I was five years old, I wanted to be Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. I admired her because I, too, had long, blonde hair and loved to play in the woods. During the movie, I sang with the music. “I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream. I know…

The powerful phrase that’s ruining medicine

Within the clinics, hospital corridors, and halls of medicine, a new phrase has emerged and taken hold of the practice of medicine. Whenever confronted with the challenging, inconvenient, undesirable, underinsured or maybe when just overwhelmed, health…

Finished medical training? Get your finances in order. Now.

You’re finishing your training this year and finally have a job. Never mind the fact that you have never had a “real” paying job and this is the first time you’re going to have more money left at the end of the month. And I’m not talking about a little…

Why aren’t patients with eating problems following your advice?

What do you think about your patients whom you believe need to lose weight? Do you consider them lazy or non-compliant? Or wonder why they don’t they take better care of themselves and listen to your diet or exercise advice? You’re not alone in feeling…

39-year-old woman with fatigue, intermittent rectal bleeding, and abdominal pain

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 39-year-old woman is evaluated for fatigue, intermittent rectal bleeding, and abdominal pain over the past 2 months. She reports that the b…

What physicians should know about investing in real estate

As someone who can’t stop talking about passive income investments, I inevitably end up having a lot of conversations about investing in real estate. I’ve heard countless stories of how real estate investing has helped people achieve their goals, but f…