“What’s the deal with your people?” As a baffled second-year resident, I looked up through my scrub mask at the Caucasian female attending with whom I was operating. I had an idea about what she was referring to as I overheard her complain about a labo…
Category: KevinMD
Why medical students should not let medicine define them
Sanjay Gupta. John Locke. Jill Stein. Charles Krauthammer. What do they all have in common? If you guessed that they are all physicians, then you’re right. Less salient, however, is the fact that all of them pursued passions outside of medicine. (Dr. G…
You shouldn’t worry about public service loan forgiveness
Anger. Jealousy. Envy. Frustration. I was feeling all the emotions when NYU announced in August that their incoming and subsequent classes would be tuition-free into perpetuity. One consolation: at least I wasn’t one of the chronologically unfortunate …
A story about the Patient and the Big Man
The nights from that time run together in my memory: The cuffs of my scrub pants getting caught on the heels of my clogs because my pants were sagging; stuffing dry graham crackers I stole from the nursing stations into my mouth at 4 a.m. to stay awake…
Transdiagnostic therapies in primary care
I learned a new word recently: transdiagnostic, which refers to something that is applicable across a spectrum of conditions. It seems that this is becoming an increasingly popular concept in treating anxiety disorders. No wonder. As I researched this …
Be the honest doctor instead of the confident one
This is an article about certainty, or maybe lack of certainty? It is about the need for confidence, without having overconfidence. Doctor! Don’t be arrogant — listen to your patient — they are telling you the answer. So believe them, but b…
Should there be mandatory state enforced nurse-to-patient ratios?
On November 6th voters in Massachusetts are facing a very important health care-related question. In addition to voting for political parties in the midterms, they also face three ballot questions. The first of these is whether there should be mandator…
3 hurdles to financial independence
I have talked in the past about how I try to tackle the philosophy of financial independence. Part of the reason is that there are so many other amazing voices that manage the mechanical side. The other part is my profound belief that the grand major…
The Ellen Show broadcasts potentially harmful information about ovarian cancer screening
Ethical OB/GYNs everywhere sighed heavily when they realized from the action on their Facebook and Twitter feeds that the Ellen Show broadcasted incorrect and potentially harmful information about ovarian cancer screening to almost 4 million people. Mi…
How should physicians pay off their debt?
By this point, a lot of people have heard the famous Dave Ramsey quote, “If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” Ramsey is known for being a proponent of attacking debt aggressively when people ask, “How should I pay off my…
