Category: Psychiatry

Ketamine myths and facts: What PCPs need to know [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Carlene MacMillan, chief medical officer at Osmind, to explore the evolving role of primary care physicians in addressing mental health challenges, particularly in the context of emerg…

Physician burnout reimagined

While preparing yet another talk about burnout, I had a brainstorm. I created a counterpoint PowerPoint (or tongue-in-cheek complementary model) to The Stanford Model of Professional Fulfillment. Perhaps it was a particularly irreverent or flippant sta…

Bad grammar makes me mad. I can’t help it.

Some of the most brilliantly funny men have the saddest personal lives. John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Sam Kinison were all preceded by Jerome Lester Horwitz, otherwise known as Curly of the Three Stooges: n’yuk-n’yuk-n’yuk. Why, soi…

Mastering the art of physician work-life balance [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Sarah Samaan, a retired cardiologist and a Master Certified Physician Development Coach. We’ll delve into the complex world of work-life balance for physicians, exploring the dif…

The complexity of resilience and the role of medical improv

High incidences of burnout, quiet quitting, suicide, workplace violence, excessive and relentless stress, and chronic staffing shortages reveal a huge need for resilience among health care workers. Resilience is a complex competency involving flexibili…

Let’s close the gap between physician writers and writers who are physicians

“Oh, I didn’t know you’re a writer,” my neighbor said as I handed her a complimentary copy of my recently published book. “Not really,” I replied. “I’m just a physician who likes to write.” The conv…

From mental illness to maximum sentence

An excerpt from Mars Hospital: A Doctor’s Novel. “Patient’s ready. This one will be interesting,” Sally said with a smirk. “Mom brought her nineteen-year-old son in, and she says he’s the devil.” I rolled my ey…

The fine line between childhood illnesses and Munchausen syndrome by proxy

“Fine lines” in medicine often refer to situations where decisions are not clear-cut and require careful judgment. Perhaps the most tenuous of lines is the one between “real” childhood illnesses and those caused by Munchausen sy…

Adolescent exposure to alcohol may predispose to addiction

Have you ever wondered why some people always seem to be in pain? Or why someone can receive a prescription for a minor procedure and immediately feel drawn to drug use? Scientists may have recently figured out one of the reasons for these behaviors, a…

Meditation: the ancient practice with science-backed benefits

Meditation is a hot topic with deep roots, but sometimes it feels like it’s being pushed as a modern-day version of snake oil for what ails the spirit. Often touted as an antidote to burnout, many of us know that a meditation app won’t solv…