Wow, you’re in medical school? So you are going to be a doctor? What year are you? When are you going to finish? What are you going to go into? You should become a skin doctor, what do they call them again? It doesn’t matter, but they do go…
Category: KevinMD
Talking about opioids can lead to strong emotions
About three years ago, I was chatting about pain with a friend at a social function, and she told me she was taking a prescribed opioid for her chronic pain. I quickly got the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach that comes from discussing and prescribi…
Should we teach novice physicians how to manage emergencies before they face emergencies?
Soon after match day, I became concerned. I knew I was going into emergency medicine. However, I felt unprepared to manage a clinical encounter with limited time and incomplete information. At the time I entered residency, the only published guides ava…
A medical student’s advice for clinical rotations
As a rising fourth-year med student, these are my words of wisdom for all students who are on their clinical rotations. Your mental health is paramount; do not neglect how you are feeling! There is not one med student that I know of who hasn’t felt anx…
A medical student’s advice for clinical rotations
As a rising fourth-year med student, these are my words of wisdom for all students who are on their clinical rotations. Your mental health is paramount; do not neglect how you are feeling! There is not one med student that I know of who hasn’t felt anx…
Why physicians should acknowledge the validity of second opinions
One of the most valuable jobs I held following fellowship was working as a full-time deputy editor at UpToDate. My “territory” was breast, gynecologic, and genitourinary oncology, and I helped launch cancer survivorship and palliative care. I learned t…
Black Man Syndrome: in memory of Bryan Gowdy
He came to the office in search of help as many patients do, but the circumstances that compelled him to seek medical attention were all too similar to me. I’ve seen it time and again. He said that he couldn’t sleep at one visit. At another, his blood …
Black boxes: health warning or profit warning?
“Boxed warnings” or “black boxes” are the strictest FDA label warnings. They appear on cigarettes, fluoroquinolones (for tendon rupture), Lamictal (for SJS and TEN), Accutane (birth defects), and other products with well-known r…
The primary care solution is obvious, but don’t expect policymakers to jump on board
In a shocking development that could transform the medical profession, the International Journal of Health Services published the findings of a study titled, “Primary care, specialty care, and life chances.” Using multiple regression analysis, the rese…
Doctors, a tech revolution is coming
What if I told you just a few years ago that Amazon — a budding e-commerce startup — would come to disrupt the multi-billion dollar retail industry. I seriously doubt that anyone could have given it a serious thought. At least not in the magnitude that…
