I am naturally a problem solver, and I share this characteristic with most of my fellow physicians. When I felt burned out at one point in my career, I was certain that a literature search would help me solve the problem by giving me answers I could us…
An excerpt from Twenty-Six. 5 a.m. “Reminder to everyone, morning round at 6, lots of new patients,” flashes a message from Puta on the residents’ WhatsApp group. It’s dawn, and the first rays of sunlight illuminate the corner o…
I saw a patient recently with a new brain tumor. She came with an internet search that suggested she had five years to live. I cannot beat that predictive confidence. The best I could do was to poke holes in the assumptions that servers and algorithms …
At one point, many of us will ask the questions, “Am I going to die? Am I safe? Who can I count on? It could be as you face your mortality or find yourself in a dangerous situation. Or, as it has been for many frontline health care professionals …
Every day, in my job as an anesthesiologist, I am called upon to manage conflict. Sometimes, it’s between two members of my team, sometimes it’s between coworkers, and many times it is a conflict I may have with my own co-worker or peer. Wh…
An excerpt from The Heart of Fear: A Surgeon’s Collection of Stories on Adversity, Passion and Perseverance. Each step is calculated. Each step is deliberate. Each step is taken with the goal of saving a life. Everyone needs a hobby, but skydivin…
An excerpt from All Bleeding Stops. Megan continues to take his blood pressure every few minutes. With growing tenderness Denis watches her fidgeting with the IV, biting her lip, eyes flitting from one machine to the next, desperately seeking the reass…
Advancements in health IT have created ease and efficiency in delivering health care that has never been seen before. Electronic ordering and prescribing have reduced medication errors from misinterpreting handwritten information. The interoperable tra…
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, we’re joined by Emmanuel K. Konstantakos, an orthopedic surgeon, and Jeff Morris, an attorney and CEO of the American Board of Physician Specialties. They discuss the…
Working with and supervising residents takes a certain degree of trust. Empowering residents with trust can be a difficult proposition for educators. There’s a moment early in the career and education of an anesthesia resident where they earn the…
