Category: KevinMD

The post-baccalaureate pre-health program experience

After teaching biology and nutrition for three years, I began my journey back to my original dream: a career in medicine. The most common sense approach to me was to return back to college and start taking the necessary pre-requisites to apply for medi…

How many beers is too many?

“I drank beer with my friends. Almost everyone did.” Alcohol has become constitutional to American culture: “grabbing a drink” after work, happy hour, cheers before meals, on New Year’s, or just because. Our society’s normalization of drinking creates …

Why physicians should repeat themselves

I hate repeating myself.  It’s an impatient quality, but I wish everyone could just hear me the first time.  With a surgical personality, I prefer to convey things in the most efficient way possible, i.e., “Blade!” or “Kelly, please.”  So when folks as…

A call to clinicians: Contrary to what you’ve been taught, use social media

From the beginning of medical school, one of the first things “instructional videos” that we had to watch during orientation was about “social media” and what “not to do.” There began this stigma, and it was frowned upon to use social media if you were…

Why bioethicists fall short of connecting with clinicians

An excerpt from Rethinking Health Care Ethics. Health professionals have not been well served, or at least not well enough served, by the academic community of bioethicists — the philosophers, theologians, lawyers, and social scientists of variou…

5 things emergency physicians should consider when looking for jobs

Whether you recently completed your residency as an emergency medicine (EM) physician or are ready to move on from your current position, potential locations for work are undoubtedly a big factor in determining which emergency physician jobs you’re wil…

MKSAP: 32-year-old man with an intermittent pruritic rash

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 32-year-old man is evaluated for an intermittent pruritic rash of 8 years’ duration. Medical history is significant for mild persiste…

The personal and professional challenges of women physicians

I’m often asked to write and speak about being a woman physician.  I don’t know that any of my male physician colleagues have ever been asked to talk about being a male physician.  Many hospital systems have women in medicine groups, and there’s now a …

Digital advances in the medical aid in dying movement

I am certain that many of you might be familiar with the intelligent, vibrant young lady named Brittany Maynard. Brittany’s story was so compelling to the world that it reached the most outstanding and historic numbers through digital media. Ms. …

The true cost of being uninsured in America

In a New York Post article dated January 23, 2019, the author states how Americans without health care insurance hit 13.7 percent. This 2.8 percent increase means an additional seven-million Americans lack health coverage as noted by the Gallup survey …