Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Join us as we explore the emotional toll of high-stakes health care with physician, speaker, and thought leader Pamela Buchanan. Discover her insights on the “emotio…
Category: KevinMD
Insurance denied her a voice, but this doctor wouldn’t back down
Our nation and the health care industry have been in shock following the assassination of the CEO of one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. The brazen killing of Brian Thompson and the suspected shooter Luigi Mangione has captured America&#…
The emotional toll of empathy in emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is a career defined by its urgency, unpredictability, and intense human connection. But for those of us who work in the emergency department, it’s also a career shaped by the weight of the people we’ve cared for—the ones …
The mission to make health care equitable and accessible for all
In the fall of 2004, everything changed. I became a father for the first time. I had completed four years as a practicing primary care doctor at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California in the Department of Adult Medicine. I had my first op-ed piece pu…
From strawberries to stethoscopes: lessons in humanity from a future oncologist
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…
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…
