Category: KevinMD

Are convenience stores making addiction convenient?

It is not breaking news that we are currently in the midst of a mental health and substance use disorder crisis. We saw a record number of overdose deaths in a 12-month period from May 2022 to May 2023. According to the CDC, overdose deaths totaled mor…

Beyond the headlines: the truth about weight loss drugs [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with David Ahn, an endocrinologist. Join us as we delve into the impact of weight-loss drugs, the role of incretin medications, and their potential to reshape our approach to ob…

The silenced physician voice

Medicine, for many of us, has been a calling. Since I was a child, I knew I would be a doctor, and I did everything in my power to make that dream come to fruition. Nearly 13 years of education, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, years of lost i…

It is literally impossible to be a woman in medicine

A monologue in the style of America Ferrera’s character Gloria in the Barbie Movie (original script by Greta Gerwig). It is literally impossible to be a woman in medicine. You can be at the top of your class in medical school and residency, and y…

It’s time to evolve how we measure the success of EHRs to make us healthier

We’ve known for the last decade that electronic health records (EHRs) have a significant impact on physicians’ ability to deliver high-value care. It not only has a largely negative influence on their quality of life, which bleeds over into…

Reverse leadership to self-leadership [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Parastoo Jangouk, a dual board-certified expert in gastroenterology and internal medicine. Discover her remarkable journey from growing up in an oppressive society to becoming a succes…

Does the legal system harm psychiatric patients?

It is a typical day on the inpatient unit. A patient is refusing medication, and I want to take her to court to compel her to take medication while her lawyer is arguing for her right to refuse. Me: “She’s clearly psychotic. She has lost he…

The disturbing reality of homelessness

My flights had been delayed, and I did not arrive at the hotel in downtown San Francisco until almost 1 a.m. As I exited the Uber, struggling to shoulder my briefcase and wrangle my suitcase, I was a bit startled to hear a very loud voice coming from m…

Growing up and growing apart: the evolution of lifelong friendships

It took four tries, but we synchronized the newest episode of Outlander perfectly. Just outside of Philadelphia, I’m watching the same scene in lockstep with my best friend, Corinne, one thousand miles away in St. Louis. We make all the same face…

Senior doctors must take greater leadership on the psychological safety of early career colleagues

“A doctor must work eighteen hours a day and seven days a week. If you cannot console yourself to this, get out of the profession.” During the 20th century, these famous words from Dr. Martin Henry Fischer (1879-1962) were often quoted to s…