Today was like no other day. It was our first day together. Me and my “virtual” scribe — an actual person who seems to “virtually” to exist inside of a Jabra speaker on my desk and so subtlety that I forgot to mute a few times w…
Category: KevinMD
A patient predicted her tragic future
I’d been told in my hospital sign-out that Melanie was transgender, but I stumbled on the first day and referred to her as “he” in front of my medical team. “She!” she said immediately. “Oh, man,” I thought to …
Do physicians betray patient confidentiality by signing insurance contracts?
Patient confidentiality is an important principle that most physicians still respect. Patients trust physicians not to reveal their private, medical information to others. They expect that physicians will adhere to the Hippocratic ethic followed for th…
At the end of his career, a physician reflects on the House of God
I read Samuel Shem’s House of God twice — once in my late college/early med school years and another sometime during my pulmonary/critical care fellowship. The first time, I recall thinking it was drop-dead hilarious. I eagerly shared it with fri…
The broader mission for hospice care
I remember it was raining outside when I told Ester she had metastatic stomach cancer. She cried, as her son sat silently holding one thin hand in two of his. After a while, she asked, how long did she have to live? I explained it depended on how we…
Financial priorities to set on a resident salary
As resident physicians, we work a ton! Fortunately, it’s not all in vain. Unlike our life as medical students, we finally get paid! Before we spend all the money from our first checks and start treating ourselves to overpriced dinners, let’s set some f…
Financial priorities to set on a resident salary
As resident physicians, we work a ton! Fortunately, it’s not all in vain. Unlike our life as medical students, we finally get paid! Before we spend all the money from our first checks and start treating ourselves to overpriced dinners, let’s set some f…
A successful physician who is also successful in business
Successful and happy physician. But why stop there? What about successful businessman as well? This is my story. And I’d love to share it. Maybe it’ll inspire someone else who works in health care. I am very blessed. I am actually living out my childho…
An ophthalmologist analyzes Joe Biden’s red eye
Four years ago, there was legitimate concern over Hillary Clinton’s health. Between her coughing spells, facial tics, stumbles and falls, not to mention her prism glasses and inability to hold more than a few campaign events per week, it wasn’t at all …
Doctors aren’t gods. They need God to help them.
An excerpt from Playing God: The Evolution of a Modern Surgeon. A woman, call her Betsy, comes to see me. Betsy is in her early sixties and horribly unhealthy. She walks with a cane, each step she takes slow and painful. It hurts to watch her walk. Bet…
