Every year, medical trainee hopefuls submit the dreaded personal statement. Most follow a familiar formula based on advice from mentors, peers, or online guides: “Don’t stick out,” “Tell a story about a patient,” and so on…
Category: KevinMD
Rewriting the narrative on stress, burnout, and resilience [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Radiologist Robyn Tiger shares her journey from childhood tragedy to a career dedicated to healing and self-discovery. Robyn recounts how the loss of her father to suicide…
How unclaimed bodies are fueling a medical ethics firestorm
Last September, NBC News aired a one-sided report on the arrangement between a county coroner and a medical school apropos the transfer of unclaimed corpses with reportedly inadequate effort to find family. In addition to a grieving family, an academic…
How poor communication is killing patients and burning out doctors
As an emergency room physician with 20 years of experience, I’ve witnessed countless moments where patients come to the ER not because their symptoms demand urgent care, but because they lack understanding about their own medical conditions. Thes…
Doctors reveal the unspoken toll of shame and sacrifice in medicine
It’s capitalism, it’s greed, it’s the hospitals, it’s all those things, but for me, it’s sadness, it’s loss, it’s crying myself to sleep. Lest I sound ungrateful, I am appreciative of the income and career it h…
Is perfectionism something to strive for or heal from?
I used to pride myself on being a perfectionist and high achiever, and I held onto those identities tightly. Today, my diplomas are stored in a box at the bottom of a closet. I recycled the majority of my race medals, and reviewing my CV contributes to…
Patient safety in focus: Helping to address risk factors associated with non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia
This article is sponsored by Stryker Oral Care. Hospital-acquired pneumonia remains one of the most common—and deadly—infections patients face during hospitalization. Yet, while significant progress has been made in reducing ventilator-associated pneum…
The hidden grief of Black fathers after pregnancy loss
In the United States, as many as 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage (before the end of the twentieth week of pregnancy) and approximately 1 percent in stillbirth (after the twentieth week, including time of delivery). Parents who experi…
The heartbreaking truth about advocating for aging parents in today’s health care system
My parents were born on the same day, six years apart, Depression-era babies. My dad died on Christmas Eve, 2016. Nearly every Christmas season after that, for the next seven years, I hoped Mom would follow him. Was I wrong to wish that? Dad played San…
I’ve felt the pain of 3 generations of nicotine addiction
“Almost everyone I know has either quit” – my friend paused, “… or died.” She said the “or died” part with a bit more resignation than horror. We were having this conversation outside of our busy local pub a few week…
