In the world of medicine, we often encounter the term “defensive” used in various contexts – from patient interactions to professional evaluations. However, it’s crucial to reevaluate our understanding of this term and its implication…
Category: Psychiatry
Physician burnout: the hidden quality metric [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Trina E. Dorrah, an internal medicine physician. We explore the concept of integrating physician burnout as a quality metric in health care. Discover why Trina believes this change cou…
Addressing physician burnout differently [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! We have a conversation with Claudia Finkelstein, an internal medicine physician, as she reimagines the concept of physician burnout. Join us as Claudia introduces her alternative model for …
Are convenience stores making addiction convenient?
It is not breaking news that we are currently in the midst of a mental health and substance use disorder crisis. We saw a record number of overdose deaths in a 12-month period from May 2022 to May 2023. According to the CDC, overdose deaths totaled mor…
Does the legal system harm psychiatric patients?
It is a typical day on the inpatient unit. A patient is refusing medication, and I want to take her to court to compel her to take medication while her lawyer is arguing for her right to refuse. Me: “She’s clearly psychotic. She has lost he…
The disturbing reality of homelessness
My flights had been delayed, and I did not arrive at the hotel in downtown San Francisco until almost 1 a.m. As I exited the Uber, struggling to shoulder my briefcase and wrangle my suitcase, I was a bit startled to hear a very loud voice coming from m…
Senior doctors must take greater leadership on the psychological safety of early career colleagues
“A doctor must work eighteen hours a day and seven days a week. If you cannot console yourself to this, get out of the profession.” During the 20th century, these famous words from Dr. Martin Henry Fischer (1879-1962) were often quoted to s…
Healing through books: bibliotherapy’s impact [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Attorney Andrea Sonnenberg joins us to delve into the transformative power of bibliotherapy. Join us as we explore how literature can be a potent tool for addressing mental health challenge…
Beyond resilience: the urgent call for “soul talk” in medicine
Burnout: “An erosion of the soul caused by a deterioration of one’s values, dignity, spirit, and will.” – Christine Maslach (The Truth about Burnout by Maslach and Leiter) “Shredding of the soul.” – Rita Nakashima Br…
Conquering childhood trauma: the power of EMDR therapy
I sat at my desk in my 6th-grade classroom, my anxiety mounting. I counted down the minutes until the big hand on the clock above the chalkboard finally reached noon. As my classmates emptied out of the room, headed to the cafeteria for lunch, my palms…
