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…
Category: primary care
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…
A doctor’s pandemic playlist
The COVID-19 pandemic was war, and I served in a foxhole. I survived, in part, by drowning my sorrow in song—music I abused as if it were drugs. I heard “Spaceman” by Nick Jonas today while driving to the hospital, and, at the peak of the c…
Towards a future for semi-autonomous AI-powered primary care providers
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 4.5 billion people do not have access to primary care. In the US alone, the American Medical Association (AMA) claims 83 million Americans do not have access, and the National Association of Community He…
The overwhelming reality of primary care: Why doctors still persevere
I’m primary care and I see a patient in a 10-minute appointment who tells me she now has a disabled daughter who is 22, had a stroke, and currently cannot cope with all that her disrupted life is demanding of her. I am also expected to fill out t…
How COVID changed doctor-patient-nurse communication forever [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with Michael J. Grace, attorney and author of The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication. We explore how health car…
