A recent conversation with my sister inspired me to write this post. She is a physical therapist who often rants about how patients with chronic pain or chronic illness don’t work and are just on disability. I know she’s far from the only h…
Category: primary care
Shared decision-making in health care: promise vs. reality
The American Heart Association (AHA) recently published a statement on the importance of shared decision-making (SDM) between physicians and patients. This concept, though at least 50 years old, has become popular in the last decade or so, with expecta…
There’s no place like home when it comes to health care, except for those who fall through the cracks
Maria (name changed to protect patient privacy) is a brilliant woman with a troubled health history. After a mental health diagnosis cut short her career as a high-level government official, Maria has struggled with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, dep…
Healing the healers: The quadruple aim approach to wellness
As a year comes to a close and another opens to new possibilities, many find themselves contemplating their successes and opportunities for improvements. The holidays are very busy, and the new year brings hope to slow down and reset. For many health c…
Is a full-time job preventing you from fulfilling your potential?
A little over a year ago, unforeseen circumstances led me to walk away from the security of a full-time job and all the benefits that came with it such as employer-based health insurance and retirement contributions. At the time, I had applied for anot…
Your thoughts about patients are costing you time and energy
Difficult patients. We’ve all encountered them. Maybe we are them. (After all, they say doctors make the worst patients, and there’s probably some truth to that.) But what makes a patient “difficult”? Is it someone with multiple…
Letting go of perfectionism: a New Year’s resolution for self-compassion
Last week I drove to my favorite trails in Point Defiance Park. The roads seemed oddly empty and quiet, even for “the time between the years” as I’ve heard it called. Perhaps I hadn’t noticed it before, since in medicine, itR…
Accelerate your career with mentorship
As a lifelong learner who takes pride in self-directed learning, the importance of mentorship has not always been readily obvious to me. When I completed my residency and embarked on a career in academic medicine, little did I realize how important the…
Why Barbie resonated with me as a mid-career woman physician: a reflection for National Women Physicians Day
(Spoiler alert: contains spoilers for the movie Barbie.) In Barbie, a singular scene resonated powerfully with Women in Medicine across the land. You know the one. Shortly after Ken and Barbie leave Barbie Land and arrive in the Real World, Ken venture…
A surprising resolution in primary care
I normally don’t make professional resolutions, but this year I am making an important exception. Why would I do such a thing? Like most of my evolution as a doctor, it comes from the wellspring of wisdom, namely listening to my patients. I had a…
