In the book The Insanity of God, the writer had been an American missionary to Somalia during the late 1980s through early ’90s. This was a time when there was no place on earth with greater needs, hardships, suffering, and dying. It truly was he…
Category: primary care
Doctors’ dirty little secrets
Doctors have a few dirty little secrets. We have the highest rates of suicide amongst all professions and are in desperate need of mental health reform. For those who don’t know what it’s like to work in this area, it can be difficult to un…
I was a doctor. Could I also be a nurse?
Recently, one of my clinic patients asked me to administer his intramuscular medication injection. I appreciated the vote of confidence but had to tell him he was mistaken in thinking that my skill would surpass that of our nurses’. “Trust me,” I told …
3 reasons why patients are unhappy
When I’m working in the hospital, I always find it interesting talking to patients about their medical history and experiences with outpatient physicians. I recently wrote about our broken primary care system. In fact, I’ll be stronger than that: Our p…
What if this physician had access to real solutions?
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 teach, I c…
Here’s the secret to establishing a great physician reputation
Summer marks a flood of young new attendings hitting hospitals all over the country. There will also be many doctors whose first contract is coming to an end, and they are moving to a new position. Both of these scenarios create an opportunity to make …
When words mislead in the exam room
Words can be misleading. Medical terms work really well when shared between clinicians. But we can’t assume our patients speak the same language we do. If we “run with” whatever keywords we pick up from our patient’s chief complaint, we can easily get …
What to consider when recommending yoga to patients [PODCAST]
“Yoga therapy differs from contemporary yoga in that the profession has a defined scope of practice based on educational standards and accreditation requirements for training schools and yoga therapists. In dealing with pain conditions, certified…
A family physician shares her inspiration [PODCAST]
“Why else should a person become a doctor? Because there is always something to learn. Because holding someone’s hand when they’re scared is a profound gift that feels as good to give as it does to receive. Because your job will call on you to be…
Why doctors can’t rest
“How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterward.” – Spanish Proverb. I saw this on a bookmark in a beautiful inn on the coast of South Carolina called the Sanctuary. This is a place I go to vacation, but I find I rarely escape. You see, th…
