“If I make a mistake, my patient could go home in a body bag.” I don’t recall whom I first heard this from, but it stuck in my mind as terrifying thoughts do. And we wonder why burnout in medicine is a thing. Mistakes in medicine can cause …
Category: primary care
Why is it hard to find grace in medicine?
“If I make a mistake, my patient could go home in a body bag.” I don’t recall whom I first heard this from, but it stuck in my mind as terrifying thoughts do. And we wonder why burnout in medicine is a thing. Mistakes in medicine can cause …
How to be more like fungi
“Mycelium is ecological connective tissue, the living seam by which much of the world is stitched into relation.” -Merlin Sheldrake Merlin Sheldrake invites us to see the world from the point of view of mycelium. He coaxes the reader to …
What it means to be board certified in health and wellness coaching
After I passed my emergency medicine oral boards in 2019, I learned that the American Board of Emergency Medicine was implementing MyEMCert modules, an alternative means of maintaining certification. I was so excited never to have to take a multiple-ho…
Listening to pain in our younger patients [PODCAST]
“As a family physician for more than 40 years, I have seen countless patients struggling to alleviate chronic pain, with far too many turning to self-destructive coping methods such as alcohol and opioids. Unfortunately, the struggle with chronic…
10 ways medicine is like the airline industry
I am standing before a team of fellows, residents, medical students, and pharmacists on Monday morning about to start rounds on the oncology service. And as the intern is about to dive into the first patient presentation, I take a moment to ask a quest…
What do we do with our sadness and anger?
When my boys were little, they responded to frustration differently. One would get angry, throw toys, yell, bite, refuse to cooperate. The other would become pitifully sad, appearing abandoned or lonely. The sad one received more attention because when…
Help patients recognize how important their opinions are [PODCAST]
“Too often in medicine, health care providers assume what patients want or need. Like the crocodile, we may assume all patients would want a tire removed in order to help extend their life – even if the cure meant losing the only thing that made …
How to prepare to be an effective caregiver
At some point, most of us will take on the role of caregiver. You may be caring for your parent or older family member, a spouse or partner, or a close friend. As the population ages, the number of people in the U.S. who are caregivers is growing signi…
When a doctor leaves a practice, who tells the patients? [PODCAST]
“I am ashamed of the callous, avoidant goodbyes that have been made in my name, and I regret the distress caused by this widely accepted standard. The determined patients will figure it out anyway, and the less-resourceful ones are left confused,…
