On my second year-long round of burnout, I lay in bed at night as I festered in my negativity, thinking to myself, “What am I good at, what do I like to do, what am I supposed to be doing?” Little did I realize this was a spiritual crisis. …
Category: primary care
To scribe or not to scribe? That is the question.
By this title, I mean whether it is a good idea or not to hire a scribe to enter data into the electronic medical record (EMR) system. I favor having a scribe. I came of age with paper charts, and I found the transition to EMR tricky and time-consuming…
A call to dismantle structural heteronormative care
“That is a very heteronormative lens.” These words were uttered to me by a 23-year-old female patient as I explained i-PLEDGE and the steps she must complete to take oral isotretinoin. The visit started as fairly routine. A young female pre…
A physician mom’s take on telemedicine
I know most of us have started adapting to the new way of life in our practice. However, some of us are still skeptical. I’m hoping to reach out to the skeptical ones among us. The reason I say that is I was in your shoes as I started my career i…
Practicing medicine as a Deaf physician is an uphill battle [PODCAST]
“No one anticipated how the pandemic would impact their Deaf colleagues’ work environment and career opportunities. Yet, 15% of adults report some form of hearing difficulty. This number increases dramatically with advancing age, with 50% of thos…
The public health emergency brought health care into the 21st century. Let’s keep moving forward.
Many Americans will lose access to vital health care services in a few short months unless Congress passes bipartisan legislation already introduced in both the House and Senate. Co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Reps…
Warning: Your words can kill
Over the years, I’ve had many medical office assistants. Most were good. Some were outstanding. Today, I’d like to tell you the story of one who was exemplary. He was never late to work. He never came in and insisted on finishing his breakf…
The Illuminated Elephant: ancient wisdom and modern medicine
It is one of the last days of September. The sun, pale and tired, is slowly surrendering the humdrum of earth to the grey, soulless air. My father and I walk to our very final medical appointment, hopeless, exhausted and befuddled. My father’s la…
A burnout coach saved my medical career — and possibly my life [PODCAST]
“I almost quit my job in 2014. I didn’t like my life, and I didn’t like myself. I had a lot of problems personally and professionally, and I wondered if I was good enough to solve them. I often felt weak and powerless. People were coming to me fo…
What and who needs to change in medicine for it to be sustainable?
I was a nurse before I was a PA. As the mantra goes, once a nurse, always a nurse. I have lived on both sides of the toxic structure: the medical and nursing models. Nurses eat their young, then place an unrealistic and unsustainable standard of altrui…
