Category: KevinMD

What does financial freedom mean to you?

Financial freedom means different things to different people, but to me, it’s when you can quit your day job and be able to cover your expenses with other sources of income. The dollar amount depends on your unique situation, where you live, and the li…

4 things this family physician wants patients to know

Dear patients: A few things come up daily in my office that need to be addressed. I’m just going to put these out there in the blogosphere in the hopes that someday they’ll be shared widely and save myself and other doctors a whole lot of hair-pulling …

5 lessons on doing research as a resident

I remember sitting in my residency academic adviser’s office as I was discussing the plans I had designed for my community project at the end of my intern year. I can only imagine what she thought as I looked at her with a blank stare when she ha…

Health care is expensive. It’s time to treat the cause.

We do not rely on the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker to feed ourselves — Adam Smith observed in the “Wealth of Nations” (1776) — but on their regard for their own interest. The desire to pursue a profitable living also holds true …

The gift of suffering in medicine

“There will always be suffering. It flows through life like water …” Those famous lyrics sung by Nick Cave in his Lime-Tree Arbour ring true for many of us. They take on an entirely different layer of meaning for physicians. Even the very journey…

What I wish I knew on the residency interview trail

I still remember the warm, fuzzy feeling of receiving my first few interview invitations. Unlike medical school, I received much more “love” from residency programs. Since I was part of the inaugural class of a new medical school, I interviewed for a lot of programs: 16 anesthesiology, six transitional years, and three preliminary medicine programs. […]

Female physicians prioritize patients over profits

Gender politics aside, let’s talk about why the way doctors get paid matters to you as a patient. Female physicians don’t just get paid less because they prioritize their families, they get paid less because they prioritize patients. In the fee-for-service model, doctors are paid per patient visit, so the more patients they see, the […]

Expanding the scope of emergency medicine

Yes, this is a piece on observation medicine as the expansion of our specialty.  My oh my, have things changes since my days of training where I learned to care for all comers irrespective of their money, background, color or creed.  I learned to stabilize, evaluate and treat then admit or discharge.  Clearly, I’m simplifying though, historically, our […]

Expanding the scope of emergency medicine

Yes, this is a piece on observation medicine as the expansion of our specialty.  My oh my, have things changes since my days of training where I learned to care for all comers irrespective of their money, background, color or creed.  I learned to stabilize, evaluate and treat then admit or discharge.  Clearly, I’m simplifying though, historically, our […]

How do I keep my kids out of the ER this Halloween? 

I have worked most of the last 20 Halloweens in the pediatric emergency department (ED), so I’ve seen how a split second can ruin your child’s holiday.  Here are some things you can do to plan ahead and avoid the ED. 1. Avoid trip hazards It’s a recipe for mishap. Your child is in a […]