“It’s maddening to see the differences in health outcomes between the rich and the poor. Even more unsettling is reflecting upon the psychological pain accumulated when living in a fad-obsessed materialistic comparison-creating society, the postp…
Category: KevinMD
The success of a COVID-19 vaccine depends on effective scientific communication
One commonality amongst all reporting associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: “unprecedented.” Unprecedented circumstances, unprecedented symptomatology, unprecedented prevalence, and now, unprecedented velocity. “300 million doses of a safe, effective …
We need rapid tests for a fast virus
Imagine a future where you wake up, go to the bathroom, pick up a small strip of paper, and put it in a tube with your saliva and saline. By the time you are done with part of your morning routine, within 15 minutes or so, the paper will tell you if t…
Lifelong learning through skillful self-reflection
The dictionary definition of learning is “the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.” For leaders, the most crucial and common way of learning happens through experience, and as we often say, leade…
Doctors show up. Until they won’t anymore.
There are many jobs where people work long and hard. But I will assert that none train as long and hard, and at so much expense, as doctors/surgeons that manage the emergencies for their specialties and take night call, on top of managing a full-time p…
Sleep and the medical profession have an uneasy relationship
I have found that sleep and the medical profession have an uneasy relationship. Physicians, of course, recommend that patients get at least seven hours of sleep each night. But despite dispensing that advice to others, I don’t think I personally …
How to manage pandemic anxiety [PODCAST]
“Since the coronavirus outbreak, reports of anxiety have increased, especially among physicians. Physicians face numerous stressors, including fears of contracting the coronavirus, concerns about potentially infecting loved ones, PPE shortages, t…
A message for health care workers: Be kind to yourself
I was reading this article in the New York Times about Dr. Lorna Breen, and it literally took my breath away. This awful pandemic has claimed so many lives, in so many different ways. Sadly, it made me think of a medical school classmate of mine who to…
Fascia in primary care: When chest pain is not in your chest
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” – Albert Einstein “Mr. Thomas, are you OK?…
3 ways the wealthy increase their net worth
While the coronavirus pandemic has created financial strain for a lot of low-income and middle-class Americans, many wealthy people don’t seem to be as affected. The stock market is doing relatively well, and many of the world’s richest people are gett…
