During the current COVID-19 pandemic and with staffing shortages, you’ve probably heard the phrase “stay positive.” Perhaps this message comes from well-intended institutional leadership, mentors, colleagues, family members, friends o…
Category: primary care
When it comes to diet culture, it’s time to end the abuse
When you hear someone talk about a relationship that is oppressive, shameful, controlling, and detrimental to the person’s physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing: How would you define the relationship? Would you want the person …
When it comes to diet culture, it’s time to end the abuse
When you hear someone talk about a relationship that is oppressive, shameful, controlling, and detrimental to the person’s physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing: How would you define the relationship? Would you want the person …
We must help patients recognize how important their opinions are
A recent article in Smithsonian Magazine lauded a man in Indonesia for removing a motorcycle tire that had been stuck around a crocodile’s neck for six years. Known by locals as buaya kalung ban, which means “crocodile with a tire necklace,…
Why we should celebrate the Great Resignation [PODCAST]
“I see lamenting the Great Resignation. I celebrate it. It’s not so much about what people are leaving – but where are they going? What have they empowered themselves to become? The thought, ‘There has to be something more,’ has been …
Don’t forget the socks and shoes: a reflection on the third year of medical school
I badged myself back to the operating room and hiked up my ill-fitting scrubs. The bouffant was twice the size of my head. It made me feel like a child playing dress-up in adult clothes. As I walked to the OR, I rehearsed what I would say in my head. N…
Why selling will make you a happier doctor
“I love selling,” said no doctor ever. Doctors often love buying. Expensive cars. Fancy watches. Luxury vacations. Hello, lifestyle upgrade! But very few love selling. I find it is a common response to look at salespeople with disdain. Phar…
May the needs of others become personal to you
The hands were heavily stained black, the skin with severe eczematous changes, yet she did not mention them. She was a young mother who had come to the clinic to have her six-month-old baby boy seen by the “doctors from America.” I was the …
Opportunities from the coding changes in primary care [PODCAST]
“There’s a new best practice emerging, one that lets you deliver a high standard of care today but that well-prepares you for a shift to value. We’ve been talking about it throughout this article series in terms of doing more with less and making…
When primary care helps a psychiatrist
“Do you plan to cut down on your hours?” This was what my primary care doctor asked me after she found me complaining about multiple somatic symptoms. As a psychiatrist, I always took pride in how I prioritized my family’s needs and f…
