Category: KevinMD

When physician leaders get acquired and squeezed

As a child, when I first read The Little Prince and saw the picture of the boa constrictor swallowing an elephant, I would often ponder what it felt like to be the elephant. Later in seventh-grade science class, when I learned of amoebae and how they s…

During the coronarvirus outbreak: A failure to recognize physicians’ worth

Recently, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-California, questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about improper preparation of health care workers before and during their interactions with Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China. A whistleblower reported to the Cal…

During the coronarvirus outbreak: A failure to recognize physicians’ worth

Recently, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-California, questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about improper preparation of health care workers before and during their interactions with Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China. A whistleblower reported to the Cal…

IT deficits are eating hospital profits. CEOs need to wake up.

I work for a hospital network with the world’s slowest computers.  I timed it: Last shift, it took me fifteen minutes to log on. The first computer obtained didn’t function at all.  It had been worked on the day before by information techno…

How 5-year-olds brought out the joy of learning in medical students

Last week, Lais and Yuri, our five-year-old twins, were volunteers at the school of medicine, for students to learn how to examine children. Full disclosure: Volunteers do get a gift card. Therefore, I asked them if they wanted to “work and get s…

Intellectual property provisions in physician employment agreements

An excerpt from The Physician Inventor: The Doctor’s Handbook to Patenting Medical Devices and Methods. “I love my employees, even though I hit one of you with my car.” – Michael Scott When you are offered a position at a hospital or …

What I learned from Kobe Bryant as a parent, coach, and doctor

I’m still coming to terms with the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and the seven others killed in the helicopter crash. Kobe was not just a superstar on the court. He was a dedicated father and community leader whose…

Our seniors deserve better. It’s time we all paid more attention.

Most Canadians are familiar with nursing homes or long-term care facilities that provide 24-hour care to seniors who are no longer able to care for themselves independently – but we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them. Given our rapidly aging…

What it’s like to take a MPH gap year

It has been nearly seven months since I made the decision to take a year off from medical school to pursue a master’s of public health (MPH) degree in Baltimore and nearly eleven months since I last saw a patient. From attending a Public Citizen …

What can a doctor do to build confidence?

The journey in medicine is a journey of goal setting.  Doctors set goals all the time. We set the goal to become a doctor then strive to achieve it. Once we decide the chosen specialty, we set the goal for the residency training program we hope to matc…