Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 32-year-old woman is evaluated for a 6-month history of loose stools, bloating, and a 3.2-kg (7-lb) weight loss. Her medical history is oth…
Sometimes, old ideas and time-tested treatments remain the best. Newer doesn’t always mean better. Except in the case of one of our oldest antihistamines, tried-and-true Benadryl. It is time for that old drug to be retired, sent off to pasture, and nev…
“I dreamed a dream my life would be … so different from this hell I’m living.” Twenty years ago, I would pull out my Les Miserables piano book and pound out “I Dreamed a Dream” while my fellow medical student/roommat…
In recent times, physician burnout has rightfully surfaced as a social concern for the medical fraternity. Physician burnout is a thing, and lately, I was thinking about it related to nephrology. Many national physician organizations and local hospital…
Today my clinic patient lost his wallet, including his cash, government ID, and his credit cards. He drove more than 130 miles to the clinic. Still, somehow, he sat in front of me in the exam chair as patient as ever through all my history questions. …
“Under duress, we do not rise to our expectations. We fall to our level of training.” – Bruce Lee (supposedly) When I was looking for My Patient, well before his neighbor grabbed my butt, I remember noticing that most of the slots in …
Imagine a looming global crisis that threatens the health of countless people, confounding scientists and governments with its sheer magnitude and complexity and growing at a pace that will quickly exceed our ability to reverse course. Sounds a little …
Every day, children are cared for in clinics and hospitals. And every day, some of them are unhappy about it; some of them deeply unhappy about it. The contemporary practice of nursing and medical care includes health care providers having to touch the…
“Are you f*cking serious! What are you doing to my son! How can you have him tied to the bed like this!” Michael’s* mother was irate and yelling at my resident as I stood at the back of the room. Michael had HIV/AIDS with a CD4 count of 20 and dissemin…
It is well known by now that a physician’s demeanor influences the clinical response patients have to any prescribed treatment. We also know that even when nothing is prescribed, a physician’s careful listening, examination, and reassurance about the n…
