Ten years ago it would not have been worth my time to write about measles nor yours to read about it. In the year 2000, thanks to a very effective 2-shot childhood vaccination program using a combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, the U.S. was d…
Raise your glasses (of juice, water, champagne, or whatever you fancy) and join me in celebrating a dream come true: I’m officially a physician who practices medicine from home. To think that it was only four years ago that I was burnt out. It to…
I’m an orthopaedic surgeon, but if you told me I’d be here when I graduated from college, I’d be laughing at you. When I got started in college, I thought I was going to be pre-med and apply to medical school. It was not a well-thought-out decision. I …
Samuel was an English gentleman hailing from London. Close to 10 percent of the U.S. population, over 30 million people, lives with diabetes. Five years ago, Samuel was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Taking lisinopril and glipizide, he also goes on ho…
A commencement speech to the graduating class of 2019, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, May 10, 2019. In less than 30 minutes, you will all finally be physicians! (cheering) And this summer you’ll be set loose on your very own patients. (laughter…
In recent years, a flood of cannabis and cannabis-derived products like CBD have entered the market – often claiming to cure or treat an array of health issues and ailments. These products are everywhere, but there is little scientific evidence to supp…
I was recently asked to give a speech to the graduating residents in my department, and while preparing my talk, I reflected upon what I wish I had known when I had first embarked on a career in academic medicine — and what nobody was willing to …
A recent New York Times piece had the catchy title, “Don’t visit your doctor in the afternoon.” It was prompted by a study published in JAMA Network Open that had the much less catchy title “Association of Primary Care Clinic Appointment Time with Clin…
Physician compensation in most employed positions is based on how much a physician “produces.” I work as a psychiatrist, and this amounts to how many patients you see per hour. The more patients you see, the more “productive” you are, the more money yo…
A recent New York Times article described a 77-year-old retired gardener in England who had not spoken with another human being in more than six weeks. He told the reporter through tears that he felt “very lonely, and bored.” Recent budget …
