I was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, heading to Ukraine “to make a difference,” or so I hoped. I was leading a medical mission to this beautiful yet poor and war-torn country. I was watching the movie First Man about the landing of Apollo 11 on the…
“Last question,” the woman from the insurance company said. Good, I thought; I was eager to get back to seeing patients. “How long have you been taking care of Sarah?” “I’m not sure,” I replied, “How old is she?” “She’s 34.” “Then I have been taking ca…
As I finished the endless clicking, the clinic day came to a close. Clicking to begin and end phone visits. Clicking to get on and off Zoom visits. The endless video game clicking that is life as a physician documenting electronic health records. Too b…
There is ample evidence that patients with severe mental illness are at high risk for significant medical comorbidities. A complex combination of factors contributes to this excess risk and consequential poor outcomes. Socioeconomic factors, side effec…
“We are all interrelated. This is the foundational basis of osteopathic medicine. Whether considering internal relationships of the systems of the body or the external relationships of a person with the world around them, connection is a key prin…
Today I lost one of my patients. He saw me in the office for the first time about three and a half years ago. It went downhill after a simple infection, with repeated hospital visits back and forth, and ultimately today, he passed away. He gave a good …
About a year ago, before the pandemic hit, I was at the local fitness center, having just completed a group exercise class, when my former residency program director entered the room. I hadn’t seen him in 20 years. He looked exactly the same, give or t…
If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious, rare, or complex health condition or your doctor has recommended surgery as a treatment option, your next step should be to get a second opinion on both your diagnosis and treatment options. There are several re…
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and highlighted many health issues, particularly those suffering from chronic pain. An estimated 50 million people in the U.S. live with chronic pain, of which approximately 19.6 million experience high-impact chro…
You might be next. I began my career as a family physician in Buffalo, MN in 2002. I have been an extremely productive doctor for 20 years and currently reside just out of St Paul, MN. For context, I can assure the reader that my ratings and reviews …
