Category: KevinMD

Most medical school students are being seriously compromised in their future medical careers

The mythical belief that almost 100 percent of medical school students have accepted over the last century—that one can practice medicine without the need for a business education—has contributed not only to the crisis in health care and the physician …

Work-life balance in health care: Is it a need or a necessity?

As health care professionals, have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “How am I doing?” A humble doctor once asked my team, “How are you doing on a personal level?” That question stopped me in my tracks. None of us knew how to…

Why kindness is the missing link in medical education [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We welcome back internal medicine physician Vijay Rajput. Two years ago, he shared his insights on the KevinMD article, “Top 10 things new interns should do.” …

5 questions in mental health counseling – and life

Dedicated to my friend and colleague Pat Irving to whom I first told the story. I’m 80 years old and I’ve been writing for over 60 years—first in systems engineering, later in advanced technology, and more recently in public health policy f…

The hidden $935 billion problem in U.S. health care no one is talking about—and how to solve it

“Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before him constantly.” – Thomas Edison The escalating challenge of waste in U.S. medicine The U.S. health care system…

Health care reform requires better access and quality: dialysis as an example

Having spent two years in Oxford as a Marshall Scholar in the mid-1970s, I came back to medical school believing in a national health service—i.e., Medicare for all. But I learned firsthand that a monopoly can provide access without ensuring quality. W…

Why are hospitals cornering doctors with this legal trap? [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with Dennis Hursh, a health law attorney with decades of experience representing physicians in their interactions with hospitals. Dennis shares eye-opening sto…

The widow’s walk: a poignant tale of loss, love, and recovery

A widow’s walk, also known as a widow’s watch or roof walk, is a railed rooftop platform often having an inner cupola or turret, frequently found on 19th-century North American coastal houses. The name is said to come from the wives of mari…

To avoid unwanted medical treatment: Choose a bulldog surrogate to fight for you

“Health is a matter of choice, not a mystery of chance.” —Aristotle As an end-of-life (EOL) consultant, one aspect of my job is advance care planning, which involves helping people create an advance directive. An advance directive (AD) has …

The maternal and child health crisis in Sudan: a call to action

The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has created one of the world’s largest displacement crises, forcing more than 10 million people to flee their homes. The warring sides, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, are infli…