Category: KevinMD

Nurses aren’t commodities

Corporate health care mentality set up nurses up to be inhuman while holding us to superhuman expectations. We’re told to be caring — but not allowed to do it. It’s time to demand that we stop being abandoned and dismissed by dysfunctional leadership. …

Medicine is just a job

A couple of years ago, I read an article by Dr. Profeta at LinkedIn called “These four words that may offend you … may also just save you.” He was invited to talk about burnout in medicine and did not get a warm reception. “It&#…

KevinMD keynotes AACE 2019

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be keynoting AACE 2019, the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, April 27, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA. Health professionals often hear about social media from a perspective …

Lead your health care organization toward a culture of sustainability

On a recent vacation, I went out to eat at a small, out-of-the-way restaurant we always visit on our trips to the Outer Banks. There, I spotted a poster on the wall explaining why the cafe no longer uses plastic bags or plastic straws: to keep the mate…

3 ways pharmacists can change your prescribing habits

As the health care landscape evolves, health care provider roles continue to shift. Industries recognize the power of collaboration and the strength of communication between different providers; among those, the pharmacist and the physician. Unfortunat…

What is the fundamental dilemma in medicine?

In observing trends among my patient encounters, to me, there appears to be a distinct difference in clinical encounters between more “holistically-minded” patients and more “traditionally-minded” patients, for lack of better te…

Advice from a “xennial” physician to aspiring physicians

I am considered a “xennial” physician. Not quite a millennial — but also not fitting into the generation of the respected preceptors I had in medical school and residency. I took my MCAT via paper and pencil. My mini boards during my clinical rotations…

Don’t miss this adverse drug reaction when tapering benzodiazepines

“Alice Woods” is dying of metastatic breast cancer, but she cares little for awareness efforts like pink ribbons and catchy hashtags like #stage4needsmore. You see, Alice has akathisia due to an adverse effect from discontinuing Klonopin — a condition …

A proximate cause of wrongful death

An excerpt from Wrongful Deaths. “We will name Memorial Hospital, Dr. Julie Stone, Dr. Vijay Gupta, and ICU nurse Tracy Miller in a malpractice suit involving the wrongful death of Ivy Jackson.” Venjer appeared apologetic. “But Dr. Torrins is correct. …

Why this physician never considered any specialty other than family medicine

I never considered any specialty other than family medicine. I always saw the other specialties as necessary but supportive adjuncts. I always thought that the other specialties were all fascinating in their own way but saw them more as a part of a lib…