Category: primary care

Proud dental school patient shows off a rare gold foil filling

I treat at the dental school in my community, Louisville, Kentucky. I have been a patient there for more than 30 years, so I have had many soon-to-be licensed dentists and dental hygienists look at my teeth. I have never had a bad experience or a clunk…

Breaking the stigma: Using life coaching to navigate chronic disease [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us with guest Kimberly Jackson-Bekemeier, a family physician with a personal story of managing Type 1 diabetes amidst the pandemic. Kimberly shares her journey of struggling with the d…

The secret to finding joy: Defining what is enough for you

My hands were wet with warm soapy water as I washed the dinner pots and dishes. My mind wondered into autopilot, as it tends to do when I am doing my chores. I find washing dishes so mundane, so simple, so irritatingly boring. I begin the process grudg…

Transforming the future of point-of-care diagnostics [PODCAST]

 Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth, vaccine manufacturing, and point-of-care diagnostics, improving patient access to immediate care. In this episode, we wel…

How understanding cultural backgrounds can lead to better patient care [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Joining us today is Raj Sundar, a family physician with expertise in cultural humility and safety. Raj explains that the traditional approach to such situations tends to ignore the patient&…

From license to loneliness: the dilemma of retired physicians

My email delivered a terse reminder. The board of medicine notified me that they had not yet received my license renewal application, just one month until the expiration of my current license. For a mere $100, I could sit through the required online ch…

Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

March 30, 2023, is National Doctors’ Day in the United States. It’s that one day when the leaders of our profession, at every level, take a moment and thank us for the work we’ve done. Nothing says “thank you for ensuring that I…

The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

“Don’t confuse your Google search with my medical degree.” We’ve all seen the mug and likely had a little chuckle. Maybe it has even recalled to mind a particular patient or encounter. Other than thinking of it as a snarky joke …

The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

As Physicians Week and Doctors’ Day approach, I’m getting ready for the flurry of posts and memes that get shared on social media about the appreciation being extended to us. Whether it is from our patients, colleagues, or administration, t…

The endless waves of chronic illness

Life keeps buffeting the patient diagnosed with several chronic conditions, like continuous incoming and outgoing mammoth ocean waves flooding over one’s body, raising you high up into the air and then sucking you downward, a struggle to keep you…