Category: KevinMD

States have the power to influence health care

Individual states in the United States can significantly shape key health care areas through policy. In early 2024, a KKF analysis indicated that Americans collectively held around $220 billion in medical debt. North Carolina has one of the highest per…

How to set boundaries and rediscover purpose in health care [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We dive into the critical issue of physician burnout and the challenges facing primary care providers with family physician Santina Wheat. Discover practical strategies fo…

What if the solution for physicians’ struggles was right in their faces, yet remains unrecognized?

Nothing is more of an insult than suggesting that the 1.2 million very intelligent practicing physicians in our nation, whom we trust to keep us healthy, have never come up with a revolutionary cure for what has now become health care and physician cri…

Finding your “why”: lessons for future medical students

I still remember the day I opened my acceptance letter to medical school. It felt surreal—a rush of excitement and pride that had me packing my bags months before classes began. As a kid, I was always a dreamer. My dolls weren’t just toys; they w…

The clash between MBA ethics and the Hippocratic tradition in medicine

My father wanted me to get an MBA from the Harvard Business School, but I wanted to be a doctor, so I am more attuned to the MBA’s excellence in many areas but differences in ethical principles from medicine. Nowhere does maximizing returns for s…

From chaos to calm: a story of resilience and finding inner peace

My mom won’t be home that weekend Since it was a Sunday, I told my dad that I needed to wake up early for work, so he should wake me up in the morning. My mom and dad have very different approaches to waking up their children. My mom’s appr…

Redesigning shift work to improve patient care and well-being [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Join emergency physician Maureen Gibbons as they explore the concept of rethinking shift work in health care. They discuss how distributing shifts among multiple physician…

Gender affirming care: a matter for the Supreme Court or a matter for a medical malpractice court?

Of note, today, of all days, when the Supreme Court of the United States is to consider state bans on treatments for gender-affirming care of transsexual youths, virtually every internet site on the subject is blocked. Nevertheless, I am a medical stud…

The power of names: Superstition in the neonatal intensive care unit

An excerpt from Yankee Doctor in the Bible Belt: A Memoir. We work in high-pressure environments, where Dr. Death is often lurking. We can be superstitious. We can protect ourselves with a sense of humor. We can use words as a smokescreen to protect ou…

How attention therapy transforms speech delay in young children

In order to develop good speech and conversation skills, a child must pay attention to the speaker and respond back when spoken to. The importance of sustained attention, listening to, and focusing on another person by the young child is often overlook…