Category: KevinMD

The day when the white coat can be worn with no hesitation at all

It was my first day of orientation at medical school. In a hallway stood a coat rack overflowing with white garments. I set down my accumulated papers, reached for a hanger and — for the first time ever — shrugged first one arm and then the other into …

Dr. Jordan Grumet: Physician Speaking by KevinMD spotlight speaker

Physician Speaking by KevinMD is a boutique speakers bureau founded by Kevin Pho, MD. Today’s spotlight physician speaker is Dr. Jordan Grumet. Dr. Grumet is next speaking in February 2019 at a corporate retreat at Esse Health. Jordan Grumet, MD …

4 financial stages of physicians

As a medical student, you are thrilled to start your residency and to put your four years of studying and clinical rotations to the test. Now the time has come to begin earning a paycheck. This is the beginning of the financial stages of physicians. As…

The simplest treatment is sometimes the best

“I am really uncomfortable and in pain,” said Elaine tearfully as I met her in the preoperative area for the first time. She had a very sad and difficult history, dealing with complications from childbirth nearly two years ago. She had developed a comm…

The Wild West approach to PICU practice

I spent my early and mid-career years working in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at a large academic center. We did almost everything except for a few things esoteric at the time — small bowel transplants, a few kinds of experimental surgery. I’…

The millions of dollars hospitals spend for inspections

Two of my local hospitals just invested 3 to 4 million dollars in preparation for an inspection of the facilities by the Joint Commission. The cost of the inspection runs in the $10 million dollar range after the preparation costs. The inspection is a …

A community-based program that brings patients and pathologists together

When I was in medical school, I loved pathology. The visual learning and deep understanding of disease were attractive enough that after second year, I took an extra year before clinical rotations to work as a post-sophomore fellow, working as a reside…

Is it possible for physicians to oversave? And what can you do about it?

Q. Have you ever thought about doing a post on oversaving? I realize most docs probably have the opposite problem, but I bet there is a subset of the FIRE crowd that this may apply to. Does this ever come up in all the interactions you have? A. It was …

What you need to know about acute flaccid myelitis

You’ve probably seen it on the news – a rare, polio-like illness is causing cases of paralysis in children. Here’s the latest info, based on our best current knowledge from the CDC. Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a sudden illness that causes weakness …

What you need to know about acute flaccid myelitis

You’ve probably seen it on the news – a rare, polio-like illness is causing cases of paralysis in children. Here’s the latest info, based on our best current knowledge from the CDC. Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a sudden illness that causes weakness …