I felt uneasy starting my oncology and leukemia rotations. These patients were so sick, and many of them had incurable cancer, often just weeks or days away from death. I wondered how I could help them, what we could do if we couldn’t treat their…
Category: KevinMD
The controversial oaths of American doctors: Prioritizing ethics over patients?
May is the month most American medical students finally see four years of grueling work bear fruit. Most U.S. medical schools hold commencement exercises in May, conferring “doctor of medicine” degrees in elaborate ceremonies. During these …
The meaning of death in medicine: the role of compassionate care in end-of-life patient care
Death is an inevitable part of life, and in medicine, it is a topic that is frequently encountered. As medical professionals, we see patients who are faced with terminal illnesses and inevitably nearing the end of their lives. Dealing with death can be…
From skydiving to saving lives: a surgeon’s journey on adversity, passion, and perseverance [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us on this episode as we speak with Alexandra Kharazi, a cardiothoracic surgeon and author of The Heart of Fear: A Surgeon’s Collection of Stories on Adversity, Passion, and Pers…
How can there be joy in medicine if there is no joy in Mudville?
The following article is part satire and part imagination. The classic poem “Casey at the Bat” delves into the dashed dreams of 5,000 frenzied fans who gathered to watch the “Mudville Nine” play baseball, pinning their hopes on …
Unveiling the intricate link between housing costs and health care
While housing costs have escalated, health care costs have not been left behind. According to the National Health Expenditure Account (NHEA), health care spending grew 4.6 percent in 2019, reaching $3.8 trillion or $11,582 per person. The correlation b…
Physician entrepreneurs offer hope for burned out doctors
As I leave a conference organized for a group of physician entrepreneurs, I have so many thoughts running through my head. Some of these thoughts revolve around making my small, fledgling medical practice run more smoothly, reaching more people (and se…
Uncovering the truth about racial health inequities in America: a book review
When I started my intern year, that is my first year of training in medical residency, I noticed something peculiar about the epidemiology of disease in our hospital. The Black patients on the medical wards would often present with the morbidity of the…
Why electronic health records are failing patients: the dark side of copy and paste [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us for an insightful conversation with Erica E. Remer, a physician and clinical documentation specialist, as we explore the challenges and pitfalls of electronic medical records (EHRs)…
The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being
Anyone who practiced medicine in the past decade will be well acquainted with the myriad discussions about epidemic of burnout and the eroding of well-being among health care providers that has accelerated with the pandemic. With 63 percent of physicia…
