My patient at a pain clinic on a military base in Virginia carried the deep wounds of war on his face. Not physical scars, but a sallow, slack complexion and a hollow-eyed look of exhaustion and defeat. A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, he had long …
“The good life is ever-changing, challenging, devoid of regret, intense, creative, and risky.” -Friedrich Nietzsche One year ago, bruised and battered like any physician practicing in this pandemic, I decided to double down on weariness and…
Your plane is about to take off. Like most folks, you are just a little anxious about flying. It is very rare, but you know a lot of bad things can happen to the machine that carries you at 30,000 feet above sea level. Consider this: Would you rather t…
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shutdown accelerated the adoption of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs). The number of trials with virtual and/or decentralized elements exceeded 1,000 in 2021 for the first time, according to GlobalData. That’…
A hallmark of modern medicine involves providing compassionate care through an empathetic doctor-patient relationship. This post describes one powerful technique for developing empathy among medical providers: narrative medicine writing. What is empath…
In a crowded primary care clinic in an inner city, Mr. Smith, with pursed lips, was sitting next to his oxygen tank and waiting patiently for his doctor. He gratefully commented on how much the oxygen tank had helped him with his daily activities. Howe…
As the pandemic-stricken health systems recover from the unprecedented challenges that tested them for preparedness, agility, and health equity, the pandemic undoubtedly also nurtured rapid innovation in telehealth, vaccine manufacturing, and point-of-…
A tall, thin, down-glancing man slumped in a chair in the corner of the exam room. His gray-haired wife sat primly next to him. They were here with their adult wheelchair-bound daughter. For the past two decades, the daughter had been under their const…
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “‘Doctor, it’s taken so long to get this appointment with you!’ This is the opening line of so many medical visits, and I find myself constantly apologizing to my patients…
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “It is uncomfortable to be publically vulnerable with my story. I wish the statistics and research were enough to change the field of medicine for patients and physicians. I want peop…
