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…
Category: KevinMD
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…
COVID-19 and coronavirus FAQs
A case study seemed to confirm the presence of asymptomatic transmission within China, where a woman was afebrile with no chest CT abnormalities or laboratory abnormalities. She did not develop the virus, while five of her relatives did. An earlier rep…
Too many scans is bad medicine
A medical diagnostic company recently posted the following tweet: “The best way to beat cancer is early detection. A full-body scan will provide you with a look inside your body and peace of mind.” I wanted to type a reply, but I like to te…
Should nurse practitioners complete medical residencies?
About three months ago, something awful happened. The oncology nurse practitioner (NP) whom I trained for the past two years in my subspecialty decided to seek employment elsewhere in order to have a more flexible work schedule. My team and I lamented …
