“If you don’t ask for something you want, then you have already accepted the answer of no. Go ahead and ask for what you want and need. You may not get it this time but ask again in the future. We will change health care eventually. In the mean…
Category: primary care
Don’t let anyone tell you to stay in your lane
Do you ever wonder why some issues are global or universal? It does not matter if you are a surgeon, a mega soccer star or a world-class runner—we all have things in common. Whether you are at the top of your game or just climbing your way, we must alw…
Can doctors have personalities?
Can doctors have personalities? I get this question a lot, or, rather, I get told by patients as a running joke that physicians typically lack the fun gene. Understandably, we have dedicated our youth to the medical profession and have missed out on mo…
The future of general internal medicine is bright
A 2020 President’s Message by Dr. Douglas DeLong struck a reassuring, optimistic note regarding the future of general internal medicine, a primary care specialty that has struggled in the last decade with decreasing numbers of residents choosing to joi…
Family principles of COVID-19 heroes
As we sat at home watching our physician colleagues on the news draped with masks and PPE calmly explaining their dire situations last year, one cannot help but wonder what kind of environment and community cultivated these heroes. Were their commonali…
I’m called anti-science. I’m just an early adopter.
As an integrative/functional medicine physician, I’ve been criticized, like many of my colleagues in the field, for being “anti-science.” In the past five years, many of us within the field have perceived increased and biased scrutiny by the ACCME, the…
Burnout and bias? Or medical gaslighting?
Five years into my practice as an academic allergist/immunologist, my perceptions continue to evolve. Though once primarily informed by my mentors’ wisdom, I continue incorporating my experiences as both physician and autoimmune patient to guide …
Awkward Zoom etiquette in the primary care clinic
We had a great conversation throughout the telehealth visit. Maybe one of the best of my week. John seemed to really appreciate our time together. We got ready to close the visit, something I still find a bit awkward over the phone. No body language to…
Why it’s important for physicians to change the system [PODCAST]
“What if I had access to real solutions? What if I had resources to provide to a person to help them overcome their problem? As a primary care provider with over 20 years of experience, I know viscerally that I will never “fix” anyone. I can teac…
My patients are my family
An excerpt from Becoming Doctors 25 Years Later: Twenty five physicians sharing the journey from medical student to retirement. I’ve been out of med school for twenty-five years now. Somehow, I thought by now I would be the beloved owner of my own prac…
