Category: KevinMD

Health benefits under the microscope: What employers aren’t telling you [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Join ophthalmologist Paul Pender delves into the results of the annual KFF survey, focusing on employer attitudes towards employee satisfaction, the increasing costs of he…

Critical care physician battles long COVID with hope and grit

I recognize your anguish. Long COVID is new, and I will do my best to support you through this new and confusing illness. This is all I wanted to hear in my countless doctor’s visits. Some came close. The rest were baffled, given how healthy I wa…

Physician employment 2.0: Unveiling the secret world of employment lite

Chance meeting In the fast-paced world of medicine, characterized by long hours, administrative burdens, and burnout, I’d like to share a story about an OB/GYN physician who discovered a path to professional freedom that revolutionized his career…

The burden of choice: Navigating the complexities of surrogate decision-making in medicine

“I could have saved him,” the intensivist murmured, reflecting on a recent patient’s death. His silhouette was framed against the fading evening light that spilled into the ICU. His words, heavy with regret and resignation, floated ov…

Physician work-life balance: How boundaries protect you and your patients

“Shideh joon, can you talk to this woman? We met her at a party, and her kid is sick.” This request from my father exemplifies the blurred lines between personal and professional life many physicians experience. He had met a mother at a par…

Putting patients first: Safeguarding health care from AI risks [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! In this thought-provoking panel discussion, orthopedic surgeon Yoshihiro Katsuura and premedical students Kie Shidara, Maria Llose, and James Schmidt come together to exam…

From intern to witness: Working in a resource-limited health care system

A little anecdote The year was 2022, and it marked the first month of my initial rotation at one of the largest tertiary care hospitals in Punjab, Pakistan. After having assisted with several procedures in the ENT operating room one morning, I found my…

Navigating spring allergies in the era of climate change

As winter chill thaws and the spring flowers begin to bloom, many of us find ourselves grappling with the unwelcome return of sneezing, itching, and congestion that signals spring allergy season. This year, like nearly every in the last decade, seems t…

If surgery is so precise, why are we leaving outcomes up to chance?

It is well known that today there is significant variability in surgical outcomes – not only in different parts of the world, but even within the hospital. And, little understanding as to why. While video is becoming a key component of surgery, u…

Sunbeams of hope: one woman’s journey to heal and dream

An excerpt from Push, Then Breathe: Trauma, Triumph, and the Making of an American Doctor. Suzette purred and slid her soft body across my shins as I sat in the shade of the oak tree, a book splayed open on my belly and my eyes closed. I breathed deepl…