Medical school prepares doctors for patient care: perform a history and physical, and based on the findings, consider the next diagnostic tests to order, review all data, and develop a treatment plan. By graduation from medical school, you are skilled …
I have gotten to the stage where I take a more philosophical approach to the issue of physician burnout and job dissatisfaction. I see it all around me, and it’s impossible to miss some of the sobering statistics just browsing online any medical public…
Today started like any other day. I woke up, got ready, drove into work. I dropped my bag in my office, changed into scrubs, and wandered down to pre-op. After a few minutes of small talk with the staff, I found the patient I was looking for. He was aw…
The Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare,” has improved patient’s access to health care since its passing in 2010. The increase in coverage, however, does not address the restriction of prior authorization (PA), where a physician is required by a patien…
My wife and I had a baby a few months ago. Or, more accurately, she birthed a child while I sat in the corner, contemplating the miracle of reproductive physiology in a vasovagal fugue. In the months leading up to and following that wondrous moment, we…
I just watched the movie 1917 at the theatre. Shot in a unique way giving an immersive experience, showing the frontline reality of war through an unforgettable human story, it has to be one of the greatest war movies ever made. I’d encourage everyone …
One of my graduate school professors proclaimed that what is wrong with our society is that most people have not reached formal operations or have not been in psychotherapy. Formal operations is the stage of development, described by French researcher …
As I saw the fellow purposely manipulate her fractured ankle, I knew I was wrong in not stopping him. Three hours earlier, Mr. Sanchez*, a past boxer, and soccer player, came in with a broken pinky. He was moving from Atlanta to Houston, and in the pro…
I sit in Dr. Victor’s small crowded waiting room, awaiting my turn. I am seated between two women, the one on my left probably 45, and the one on my right, somewhat older, both though younger than me. The lady on my right doesn’t have much …
The business of medicine is unlike any other type of standard “business” in that health insurance and hospitals confound what would appear to be a simple exchange of services for a set price. You know that the confusion is bad when neither doctors nor…
