American medicine is in trouble, and the men and women who run our country’s medical societies are just the ones to save it. Think about the trouble, the confusion, the upheaval. Some call it reform. Some call it progress. Some call it just more damn, unnecessary change. Health care is such a politically volatile phrase […]
Recently, a male physician made public a common, inaccurate, and appalling opinion: Women are paid less, because they don’t want to work hard. The comment, in the September issue of the Dallas Medical Journal, asserts that women are paid less, because they see fewer patients. This is because women physicians “choose to or they simply […]
Nobody punched me in the face. Maybe I would have preferred being punched in the face, though. And yes, I was bullied. I’m not going to talk about my own experience in this post however, because I already have post-traumatic stress disorder from the experience. I’m not ready to revisit it in detail yet. I […]
My baby was crying non-stop as soon as we got her home. She tried to latch and did well, but I had no way of knowing how much nutrition she was getting. I counted the diapers, and the numbers were just barely on track, and she was making small quantities. I was trying to Google […]
My baby was crying non-stop as soon as we got her home. She tried to latch and did well, but I had no way of knowing how much nutrition she was getting. I counted the diapers, and the numbers were just barely on track, and she was making small quantities. I was trying to Google […]
As luck would have it, I flew (figuratively speaking, of course) down the highway to work this afternoon while listening to the sweeping saga of Harry Potter. As you may know, not unlike the medical students we teach, no student enters the hallowed halls of Hogwarts without a gift. All possess the potential to master […]
Jerry and his wife, Pam, were not “medical people” and wouldn’t be considered high achievers. They seemed to be taking life in stride with a “mom and pop” disposition. Jerry had Alzheimer’s disease and was returned to his care facility after having a pacemaker inserted. The staff noticed Jerry slumped in his chair and called […]
It was 5:27 p.m. on a Friday evening when the pager went off. “Ahh,” said the intern, “Three minutes before shift change, and the ER is paging for another admission!” I could see the dismay on his face as he dreaded the thought of staying late on yet another Friday night. I decided to take […]
Establishing a medical career inevitably requires signing a number of contracts along the way that we are not trained to evaluate, leaving us at risk for malignant retention strategies. At the beginnings of our careers, we were obligated to sign all contracts offered to us without question. The medical school match did not leave much […]
We are human, we are not indestructible. We have feelings and emotions that can get hurt, probably more than the average person based on the careers we have chosen. Yes, we will pass up on our well-being (such as sleep, hygiene, exercise, relationships with family and friends) to be there for our patients. To receive […]
