When I was doing my medical training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City (a proud and fine hospital that has sadly closed), the official word was that we could not counsel patients to use condoms to prevent HIV transmission. Like many othe…
Category: primary care
What would we do if we weren’t doctors?
I have often wondered where I would be if I had never been accepted to medical school. After all, I got in by the slimmest of margins. I even failed at one application round, finally matriculating at Boston University after an icy post-college winter d…
5 questions in mental health counseling – and life
Dedicated to my friend and colleague Pat Irving to whom I first told the story. I’m 80 years old and I’ve been writing for over 60 years—first in systems engineering, later in advanced technology, and more recently in public health policy f…
Controversies surrounding transgender athletes and competitive fairness [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with William Lynes, a urologist, to discuss the complexities surrounding the inclusion of SGID athletes in female sports. William explores the impact of biolog…
Physician gaslighting looks like this
As physicians, we are often collectively gaslit—made to believe that somehow, we are responsible for system failures. Many physicians are brainwashed to “drink the Kool-Aid” and accept phrases like, “This is the way things have always…
Transform your health care team with these 5-minute communication exercises
An excerpt from The Medical Improv Toolkit: 10 Simple Activities to Promote Safe Care, Healthy Workplaces, & Rewarding Careers! “Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.” ~F…
Live longer, die shorter: the surprising health secrets to a vital old age
An excerpt from 21st Century Schizoid Health Care: Essays and Reflections to Keep You Sane on Your Medical Travels. Over a decade ago, a landmark ten-year study by the MacArthur Foundation shattered the stereotypes of aging as a process of slow, geneti…
To care or not to care: reflections on treating incarcerated patients
In medical school, we are taught that the well-being of the patient is our highest priority. This principle is central to our training, constantly reinforced through lectures, simulations, and clinical experiences. However, this notion was challenged i…
Why collaboration is the key to solving health care burnout [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We’re joined by Wael Saasouh, an anesthesiologist; Lisa Scardina, a health care executive; and Kim Downey, a physician advocate and physical therapist, to discuss th…
Stop calling me “doctor”: the nurse practitioner’s fight for recognition
I introduce myself to the patients as a nurse practitioner (NP), but they still call me a doctor. Even worse, some of the staff refer to me as “doctor.” I imagine they do so out of respect, but no matter how many times I correct them, the e…
