As a queer, nonbinary, poly, and kinky person, medicine has been a challenging field to fit into, both as a patient and a physician. While a first-year med student, I was misdiagnosed and inaccurately treated for an STI due to my physician’s bias…
Category: primary care
Allow yourself a moment to focus on yourself, not the next patient
No, hearing that child screaming in the patient care room is not “normal.” My best friend’s son was throwing a tantrum the other night while we were having dinner. He did not want the Chinese food I had picked up, even though I got hi…
The forgotten crisis: a shortage of geriatric doctors in the U.S.
The scarcity of geriatricians in the United States is a severe problem in the public health sphere due to the increased number of older adults and the lack of health care professionals who specialize in this demographic. Approximately 7,000 geriatricia…
How you can donate effectively after tragedy
Gun violence, war, pandemic, natural disasters — listening to the news or doom scrolling on social media during times of tragedy can leave us feeling devastated, discouraged, and angry. Tragedy can also make us feel like helping. We’re motivated …
Getting an appointment with primary care is the Achilles’ heel of medicine
“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 on behalf of our system. After the pandemic-induced lull in rou…
Let’s talk about bullying in medicine [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. “Very few are talking about workplace bullying, yet many are benefitting from it. It acts contrary to the principles of care at the heart of medicine — and we need to do something about it. How many physicians have …
5 tips for treating high-weight patients
It might seem odd to write about what high weight patients would like when they meet with their doctors. Don’t they want what every patient wants? The answer is yes, but the fact is, they often don’t get it due to implicit anti-fat bias among health pr…
The promise of change
Change is a mysterious creature. It can be both welcome and unwelcome at the same time. It can make us grow in ways we’ve never imagined and yet bring us to our knees. Ironically, it is one of the few things we are promised. Learning how to navigate ch…
Are you guilty of anchoring bias?
As doctors, we have all been guilty of anchoring bias, which means we put too much weight on the first complaint. When a patient presents to the clinic with a complaint that sounds vaguely like a headache due to a sinus infection, we whip out the scrip…
Healthy patients and healthy physicians: Is it possible? [PODCAST]
“Lifestyle medicine is part of regular medicine but stands apart in that it is health care that directly benefits patients through the restoration of vitality and health, primarily by lifestyle interventions. And its healing capacity does not stop ther…
