“I am no longer a physician. I have become the typist.” This is a sentiment echoing in the hallways of medical practices across the nation. This transformation encapsulates the growing disillusionment among doctors, particularly those in pr…
Category: primary care
Volunteering near the Dead Sea: compassion amid refugees
A mere week following the events of October 7, I heeded the call to volunteer at a medical facility nestled on the shores of the Dead Sea. As a medical practitioner, my sense of duty compelled me to extend my expertise to those in need. What made this …
From compassionate care to corporate medicine: Physicians speak out
Four years ago, I (JEL) had just finished a fellowship and was elated to start my dream job in a physician-owned and operated group practice. The doctors in the group were tight-knit supporters of each other and the local community. Right away, I began…
Rising nurse practitioner burnout: charting and work-life balance
Nurse practitioner (NP) burnout is at an all-time high. Many nurse practitioners (and health care providers in general) are struggling right now, feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. Many are contemplating leaving health care altoge…
The “little voice” physician burnout survey
If your conscious mind is asking, “Is this what burnout feels like?” your little voice already has the answer. One of the things physicians ask me on our coaching discovery call is whether or not I think they are burned out. They want a sec…
Overcoming health challenges: one patient’s story
The patient was a typical one in my primary care practice, and for those of you in my field, one familiar to you as well. Jim, as we will call him, was a middle-aged, obese male with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, whose most c…
Medicine has become the new McDonald’s of health care
I was having a conversation with a colleague about a state-funded Medicaid managed care organization (MCO). She told me that the mental health performance measures used by the state to evaluate the MCO were all “placement and provider issues,R…
What does the term “doctor” mean, who can use it, and does it matter?
From the Oxford Dictionary: Doctor. a qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician. (a number of synonyms are listed, including “quack”) a person who holds a doctorate. Increasingly, non-physicians are using the term “doctor.” Clearly, a…
Empathetic patient care: Addressing disability in education
The students entered, chattering among themselves about their recent break. This is their interviewing and communication class, and today’s guest lecturer is a bit different than the usual physician educator. Speaking today is Linda Long-Bellil, …
Holocaust survivor’s hidden past: a doctor’s discovery
As a medical doctor, I have peered into the lives of many patients who have unique experiences. When I started practice 40 years ago, some of my patients had parents who lived during the Civil War; a few fought in the Spanish-American War, and more rec…
