Category: surgery

Beyond red flags: Beware of black butterfly warnings

I’ve just discharged a kid with a cough, and there are no patients waiting to be seen. “I’ll be back,” I tell the nurse, as I slip away to the hospital kitchen and unlock the door. I steal two frozen grilled cheese sandwiches from the freezer and throw…

Keep insulting doctors, and good luck finding a physician in 10 years

If physicians are “muggers” and co-conspirators in “taking money away from the rest of us,” then journalists and economists are pontificating parasites who produce no goods or services of any real value. I don’t think either is true, but the recent att…

In the midst of physician burnout, remember the privilege of being a doctor

I read the recent article on KevinMD: “I’m sorry: Why I lost my love for medicine” with great sadness. My heart goes out to the author; many of their concerns echoed deeply within me. I am sorry that we, as physicians, haven’t effectively succeeded in …

Why intangible skills are so important for surgeons

As a fourth-year orthopaedic surgery resident, we had some surgical autonomy.  Always at arm’s length from the attending oversight, this was just enough to push us past our comfort zones. My problem was I loved my comfort zone. The single most influent…

5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you

As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation,…

5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you

As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation,…

5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you

As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation,…

There is a global anesthesia crisis

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. There is a global anesthesia crisis: too few people trained to give anesthetics for surgery and obstetrics worldwide. The Lancet launched a commission to look at the…

A paradoxical fix to physician burnout: more patients, less supervision

Most physicians recall the rigors of their residency training through a mixed lens. In prior generations, a single-duty shift could stretch to 36 or more consecutive hours, but the exhaustion was buoyed by the camaraderie of sleepless on-call nights in…

An orthopedic surgeon goes to a bar. Here’s what happened next.

I went to a bar last night — and I looked good: red coat, black dress, knee-high suede boots.  I was feeling pretty good. I met my best friend at this bar — he lives elsewhere now — but this is his favorite spot in the world.  Like No…