Category: KevinMD

DSM-5 doesn’t name it, but moral distress is everywhere in medicine

The mental health crisis clinicians face but won’t talk about this May Ask anyone about health care reform, and you’ll likely get passionate responses. Single-payer versus market-driven. Universal coverage versus cost-containment. Clinician…

How a restaurant principle can transform your patient care

Critical to success in the restaurant industry is the practice of preparation, referred to as mise en place, a French term meaning “putting in place.” In a culinary context, mise en place signifies preparing all utensils and ingredients bef…

The quiet segregation no one talks about in medical school

I hated so much of medical school. Not all of it. I started eager, positive and bright. I was excited. But I struggled to belong. There was unwritten, informal segregation. Fresher’s week: I was stoked to try out new things… Hockey and rowi…

C. Everett Koop’s defining stand against the tobacco industry [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Historian and ethicist Nigel Cameron discusses his article, “C. Everett Koop’s fearless fight against the tobacco industry,” drawn from his biography of …

Not all heroes wear capes: Sometimes they just speak up in meetings

In medicine, heroism is often framed in dramatic, high-stakes terms: the code blue that saves a life, the pediatric cancer patient who returns to their family disease-free, or the impossible aneurysm that is successfully clipped by the neurosurgeon. Bu…

Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

Hypothetically, imagine you complete three years of internal medicine residency; working nights, managing complex cases, making real decisions. Then you’re told: To work in the hospital, in the in-patient setting, you must complete additional yea…

Why physicians are unlike the “average” investor

An excerpt from Wealth Strategies for Today’s Physician: A Multi-Media Playbook. Physicians of all specialties are different from the average U.S. investor in several important ways. This statement reflects data in key areas that impact fundament…

The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

As a health care writer and data analyst, I hear frequently from patients who are being denied safe and effective pain care due to unscientific bias on the part of U.S. health care agencies—and sometimes on the part of otherwise once-reputable medical …

The origin of medical licensing exams

In January 2022, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 transitioned to a pass/fail format, sparking debate over how best to assess physician competence in an era where medical misinformation proliferates online. Although medica…

Focusing on medicine’s core, not administrative chores [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Physician executive Grace E. Terrell discusses her article, “Physicians must innovate and focus on medicine’s core, not chores.” She introduces the conce…