Category: KevinMD

Here’s why pediatricians ask about trauma and violence

As a behavioral pediatrician, I see children with behavior problems. Kids with aggression, kids who have been kicked out of multiple daycares or schools and kids who are not doing well at home or school. One of the things I always look for are clues as…

This residency interview season: Be the rebel

Ours is a chaotic and overburdened medical system. As a senior resident, there is every temptation to seek in our incoming classes more obedient interns and junior residents who would obey my orders as their senior without question. I challenge that we…

Being a doctor and parent is hard: 10 ways to make it easier

Being a doctor is hard; being a mother is just as hard — if not harder — and being both often seems impossible. Looking back at my medical career it is difficult to fathom not doing both. I was an older, non-traditional student when I came back to coll…

How social media can advance humanism in medicine

“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” – Abraham Maslow. The New York Times recently published the op-ed “Dr. Google is a Liar,” written by cardiologist Haider Warraich, MD. Dr. Warraich d…

A Xanax prescription that should have been rejected

In hindsight, I should have never accepted a Xanax prescription from my doctor. What followed was catastrophic — rapidly developing tolerance and physical dependence on the drug and a prolonged illness. Three-and-a-half years later, I am still slowly t…

How physicians should respond to the words, “I am depressed”

My response to a colleague who says, “I am depressed,” is critical for many reasons. As doctors have tough masks, it has been difficult for my colleague to disclose this. Due to mental illness stigma in the medical profession, this doctor may have been…

A path to universal health coverage in America

Thirteen years ago, as a student in New York City, I marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to implore my colleagues to fight for universal health care. That day, I enunciated what has become my personal mission by saying, “We need universal coverage…

Physician negotiating: Go get what you’re worth

Nearly five years into practice, I have negotiated my first contract, multiple pay increases, call compensation and independent contractor status. I prepared by researching my market value and reading about negotiation strategy. The following are some …

How can doctors stop fake medical news

When I started on my path in medicine, I was an optimistic, wide-eyed, enthusiastic medical student. I had fond memories of rounding on Sundays with my vascular surgeon father as a child, and I remembered the appreciation his patients would express whe…

Why is age only a concern regarding surgeons, and not government officials?

Older surgeons are coming under increasing scrutiny as their competence and ability to practice medicine are called into question especially since many continue to work in their 60s and 70s. The New York Times addressed this in a recent article entitle…