Since writing a cathartic post about being burned out, I’ve received supportive messages as well as concerned calls from friends and former colleagues. Some were worried about my well-being. Others agreed with the sentiments. One note in particul…
Category: primary care
Primary care’s inevitable reboot [PODCAST]
“The tech giants of Silicon Valley – love them or hate them – have put incredible personal technology tools into homes and pockets of our patients and their caregivers. Now, we must activate those instruments for our own sustainability, and for o…
5 reasons physicians are afraid to leave medicine
At age 33, I got my first job as an outpatient pediatric attending. With great pay, nice coworkers, and exceedingly better hours than in training, to everyone around me, I had finally “landed.” Soon after I began working, however, I woke up…
It’s time to flip the script on peer evaluations [PODCAST]
“It’s time to flip the script on evaluations. How can we shine a light upon the strengths of the wonderful peers we are blessed to work with? How can we amplify their greatness, help them work in their own zone of genius? How can we recognize tha…
When is the best time for physicians to write their EMR notes?
Do you feel EMR charting is a burden? Do you struggle to complete your notes on time? If you answered yes to one of those, you’re not alone! Doctors spend, on average, 16 minutes in their EMR for each outpatient encounter. This represents several…
The health care system will cause its own physician shortage
A quarter of a million dollars — that’s the amount of debt the average medical student in the United States owes after completing medical school. After all the late nights studying, the endless exams and selfless sacrifice, it’s human natur…
Flip the axis: Primary care rotations
Primary care is foundational to the U.S. health system, but not enough students are entering the field. Whether students are interested in medicine, nursing, social work or pharmacy — it is critical that we share the exciting aspects of primary care an…
3 decades in medicine: new name(s), same me
Many women change their last names after marriage, after a divorce, or just because. During my 30-year career in medicine, I have had three last names. Yes, not a typo, three! I got married for the first time during my internal medicine residency. I di…
Burnout is a sign of something more sinister
Burnout is a sign of something even more sinister. It’s a sign that our society is out of balance. We’ve become a society that values productivity above all else. We’re always working, hustling, and trying to get ahead. And, as a resu…
Nurture yourself, get rest, and allow yourself the space you need to heal. #MeFirst
An individual crisis unfolds daily. Each starts small. When I learned about epidemics in medical school, I thought they were uncommon. I was wrong. COVID has taught us what happens if we do not address a crisis with the urgency it deserves. The COVID c…
