Computed tomography, or CT scanning, is one of the most powerful diagnostic tools to emerge during my medical career. Just look at the detail in the brain images above, taken at 90-degree angles through the brain. And I was there at the beginning. I remember well when I was a medical student taking neurology, and […]
Some days in medicine seem like an epic saga in which the world seems to be playing whack-the-doctor. It is easy to vilify doctors and cast much blame at them. And true, we bring some of this onto ourselves. Today was one of those days, and by the end, I was just all too ready […]
A physician recently recalled to me a situation he found himself in on the last National Doctors’ Day. Those of you reading who work in health care, will already be aware that this is on March 30th every year. I have seen this day celebrated in every hospital I’ve worked in since I first came to […]
At some point in your investing career, you’ve likely heard of a stock that’s gone on a ridiculous run or a certain part of town that has now become the trendiest in the area, and you’ve kicked yourself for not investing. We’ve all been there. Well, the cliche is true: hindsight is indeed 20/20. In […]
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 36-year-old woman is evaluated for a 12-year history of refractory constipation. Her symptoms began after a difficult childbirth. She has constipation marked by straining, bloating, and a constant sensation of incomplete emptying. She sometimes has 4 or more days between […]
I love the idea of turning a negative approach to improvement in health care — looking for problems — on its head. Appreciative inquiry, a process of focusing on a group’s inherent strengths and fostering positive interactions among group members, is one way of fostering change with a positive approach. Positive deviance (PD) is another. Basically, […]
“Those who suffer illness learn by hearing themselves tell their stories, absorbing others’ reactions, and experiencing their stories being shared.” – Arthur Frank We stand together at the clinic room door, preparing to enter. “Tongue cancer. This is a 78-year-old man with an oral cavity mass and some memory loss. He had an ulcer on […]
Who was Ryan Haight? Ryan Haight was an 18-year-old honor student from La Mesa, California who died on February 12, 2001, from an overdose of hydrocodone ordered from an online doctor he never saw — and shipped to his home from a rogue online pharmacy during the beginning of the opioid epidemic. The pharmacist, Clayton […]
Like prep sports or prime-time television, medical meetings have seasons. In the spring and fall, my calendar fills with invitations to speak. I try to get to the venue a few hours before I’m scheduled to speak, so I can “take the pulse” of fellow doctors, asking them about their practices, patients and the future of […]
There has been a recent surge in discussion about men’s fear to work alone with female colleagues in medicine. This reluctance puts both men and women at a disadvantage. Women are being excluded from career opportunities and men are missing out on the benefits of collaboration. As a victim of sexual misconduct during my own […]
