During my fellowship in palliative medicine, I have learned the value of home visits. I learn more about my patients’ lives in two minutes of seeing their homes than I could in a lifetime of clinic visits. During home visits, I get to pet dogs, t…
Category: Psychiatry
The transformative power of kindness: Uplifting individuals, strengthening communities, and inspiring global change
Kindness is a quality of being considerate, compassionate, and generous towards others. It is a virtue that has always been valued throughout human history and remains an essential quality for creating a harmonious and compassionate society. In today&#…
Burnout and compassion fatigue: chronic workplace stress and emotional withdrawal
Over the past five years, the term “burnout” has become closely associated with the health care field. It has reached the point where more than 60 percent of surveyed physicians reported experiencing burnout in 2021, indicating that it has …
The impact of medical traumatic stress on families
Jacob, a father from a low-income, rural background, has vivid flashbacks of seeing his newborn intubated. Confused at why his mind keeps replaying the scene, he struggles to concentrate at work and earn the paycheck he needs to make ends meet for his …
From physician to survivor: My inspiring journey through burnout, mental illness, and triumph
I am a physician, specifically a urologist. However, what most people do not know about me is that I am a survivor of multiple suicide attempts. My essay attempts to tell my personal story—a story of burnout, mental illness, and suicide—and to discuss …
From darkness to healing: a urologist’s journey through suicidal ideation [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this poignant podcast episode, we welcome guest William Lynes, a urologist and survivor of physician burnout, who shares his personal journey through multiple suicide attempts. Join us a…
An alarming rise in military suicides: Unveiling hidden crisis and urgent need for action
During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, suicides among active-duty troops were frequently reported. Since then, news reports have subsided but the suicides have not. In fact, a 2022 report from the Defense Suicide Prevention Office revealed that there we…
Unveiling the mental health crisis in health care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us for a thought-provoking podcast episode as we dive into the critical topic of mental health and suicide among health care providers. Our guests, Jessica Singh, an experienced emerge…
Unlocking physician resilience: the mindfulness cure for health care burnout
An excerpt from Mindful MD: 6 Ways Mindfulness Restores Your Autonomy and Cures Healthcare Burnout. For Mira, the inner chatter started when her alarm buzzed at 5:15 a.m.—and it was anything but calm and friendly. When she didn’t get out of bed t…
Advice for the hospitalist caring for a patient after delirium in the post-anesthesia care unit
You are called by the bedside nurse that your patient arrived on the floor from the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). The nurse tells you that the patient was delirious and agitated after anesthesia, pulled out their IVs, and was sedated by the PACU te…
