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 …
Category: KevinMD
MKSAP: 60-year-old woman with persistent constipation
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 60-year-old woman is evaluated for persistent constipation symptoms of 2 years’ duration. She has reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndro…
Endocrinologists are needed more than ever. Why are they being devalued?
I chose endocrinology to be my lifelong profession out of love for the complex interactions of endocrine glands and intricate feedback loops. I take pride in preventing medical complications, prolonging life expectancy, and providing complex care to ty…
Physician patients shouldn’t be special
Physicians often, by virtue of their degree, have easier access to medical care. Yet the care they actually receive may be substandard. Here’s why. Years ago, I broke my wrist. Visiting a local hand surgeon, I was relieved to hear that surgery wo…
Recognizing the secret identity of physicians
It was recently National Teacher Appreciation Week, and many were busy recognizing their superhero teachers. Schools dedicate the week to their teachers, parents bustle about with flowers, handmade cards, and gift baskets. For me, though last week w…
How tunnel vision can lead to bad medicine
The trend of increasing specialization in medicine may lead to unintended adverse consequences. There is an old saying, “We see what we recognize and we recognize what we know.” My wife’s recent adventures in ophthalmic care is such an example. I offer…
MRI safety in breast cancer screening
The numbers are scary: The average woman has a 12 percent risk of developing breast cancer at some point in her life. For women with certain genetic mutations or risk factors, lifetime risk can climb to 85 percent. Even more terrifying than the numbers…
A physician suggests how to improve Medicare
This is a brief explanation of Medicare from a physician’s perspective, as well as my thoughts on how Congress could make adjustments that would bring us closer to universal care and provide the private market the freedom to improve health care o…
How a disability changed this medical student
As a college freshman in 2012, my life seemed perfect. I was attending Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, with the dream of becoming a pediatric oncologist. To that end, I was serving as a volunteer, researcher, and clinical intern at the world-renowned St…
How this physician does her job while grieving
Two years ago, something happened that — not to be overly dramatic — changed my life, including my everyday experience of my job as an emergency specialist. My older brother, Martin died of a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma tha…
