Category: KevinMD

From basketball to bedside: Finding connection through March Madness

Here in the Midwest we have finally made it through the doldrums of winter, which also indicates the season that basketball fans eagerly anticipate all year: March Madness. The annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) single-elimination b…

In medicine and law, professions that society relies upon for accuracy

Integrity and trust are foundational. But today, that trust is under assault—not from human error, nor negligence, but from the sophisticated but disturbingly unreliable outputs of artificial intelligence (AI). What the media euphemistically calls &#82…

Diabetes and Alzheimer’s: What your blood sugar might be doing to your brain

There’s an ever-growing body of evidence to suggest that diabetes contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Some even go so far as to dub Alzheimer’s disease “diabetes type III.” How might diabetes cause Alzhe…

How motherhood reshaped my identity as a scientist and teacher

Mother scholar. The phrase rolls off the tongue with the force and ferocity of a curse word—blunt, unsparing, weighty. I didn’t coin the term, but I inhabit it. A vessel for the seeming contradictions of tenderness and skepticism, integration and…

Jumpstarting African health care with the beats of innovation

The heart, often overlooked in its relentless duty, only garners attention when it falters. For centuries, the notion that life is impossible without this vital organ has been unchallenged. However, recent advancements have shattered this belief. The g…

Empowering IBD patients: tools for managing symptoms between doctor visits [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Gastroenterologist Shamita B. Shah discusses her article, “How doctors can help IBD patients manage symptoms between visits.” Addressing the rising prevalence …

Voices from the inside: 35 years as a nurse in health care

After 35 years in health care, I thought I’d seen it all—until it happened to me. We talk about burnout, compassion fatigue, and systemic issues in medicine. But there’s something more silent, more painful, and far more personal happening i…

“Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

Medicine demands fast decisions. Chest pain in triage. A vague complaint from an elderly patient. A scan with subtle shadows. But the speed that saves lives can also lead to predictable, systematic errors, especially when we trust our gut too much. Psy…

The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians

When I read Didi’s story, my heart recognized every detail—the subtle disrespect, the overt hostility, the isolation. I felt seen. Not just because I understood her pain but because I lived it, too. In 1998, I began medical school in Oklahoma. Yo…

A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

When I was unemployed, I applied for countless positions. For months, I have been waiting for a call letter regarding a test or an interview. Now that I have accepted a job at a hospital located far away, I receive call letters in the mail almost every…