Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “I was working at an urgent treatment center, where a busy Saturday in January would be overwhelming. At one point, I hired a scribe. She was a bright young woman interested in medici…
Category: primary care
The true art of medicine
There have been countless references to the art and science of medicine over the years. I, for one, certainly have embraced both in my long career as a physician in internal medicine. However, I have always had a special connection to the art part. My …
How privileged a physician’s knowledge is
I was warned about it before we walked into the room. So when I did walk in, I made sure my eyes stayed focused on his eyes, my gaze high and attentive. I smiled, possibly more than normal, to make sure he felt comfortable. Like a puppeteer holding up …
A physician’s work dread and what he did about it [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “Work dread. Even if you didn’t know it had a name, you know the feeling. It is that sensation in the pit of your stomach when you realize that the start of your workday or workweek i…
Boundaries for women physicians
An excerpt from Boundaries For Women Physicians: Love Your Life And Career In Medicine. My story is similar to that of countless other women who have chosen careers in medicine. I am a pediatric hematologist/oncologist. A few years ago, I was driving h…
Comparing charity evaluation websites: What do those ratings mean?
The majority of people who donate money don’t research or compare charitable organizations. Only 1 in 3 research before giving, according to one of the biggest charity ratings websites, Charity Navigator. Giving 2.0 author Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen sa…
Why doctors should write poetry
It’s been two and a half years post-pandemic, and I still don’t feel normal. There’s a dark veil hanging over my life. I feel oppressed, unable to practice the way I want, unable to live and think in ways other than this abnormal new …
We are all responsible for women physicians’ pay discrepancy
A recent JAMA article showed that starting salaries for female physicians were lower than that of their male counterparts in most subspecialties. New physicians are not expected to have many differentiating factors besides gender, yet the starting sala…
The New Zealand health system in crisis: We need to look after our clinicians
I lay on an examination table while a plastic surgeon surveyed my skin to determine if a suspicious mole should be excised. I joked with him that I had once considered plastic surgery as a career. I knew he still worked at the hospital and fired a rhet…
How to improve medication adherence [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. “Automation and technologies can enable adherence, but true change happens when physicians and pharmacists work together in collaborative teams to achieve common goals: Better managed chronic conditions, fewer…
