Episodes

"It makes sense that the body’s reaction to the onslaught of perceived threats would have a detrimental effect on physical and mental well-being. Perceived threats trigger the exact same physiological response as actual threats, activating a fight,...

"Certificate of need (CON) laws purport to lower health care costs, increase patient access and ensure quality by managing the distribution of private resources, but none of these gains has materialized. A joint report from two federal agencies—the...

"My take on the Task Force statement is that clinical judgment should rule as to whether or not screening is indicated for glaucoma. Family history, race, diabetes, and other risk factors should be considered for such screening, especially in the face...

“In my medical training, we were taught five ways to treat pain: lifestyle modifications, physical therapy, medications, injections, and surgery. Lifestyle modifications are positive changes in diet, exercise, sleep, and stress levels. This is the...

“Very few are talking about workplace bullying, yet many are benefitting from it. It acts contrary to the principles of care at the heart of medicine — and we need to do something about it. How many physicians have wanted to leave medicine because...

“Change is overdue. Physicians who need help for mental health issues or substance use disorders need to get it in a manner that is free of financial and other conflicts of interest. They need to be able to go to academic centers and/or the best...

“We are in an epidemic of gaslighting in medicine. The best definition I heard of gaslighting is transferring your authority on yourself from you to someone else. We give up our authority on ourselves to everyone else but ourselves. We leave our...

“I never thought social media hacking would offer such important reminders and lessons, but here we are. By the way, I am the first to admit that it’s easy to gloss over phrases and lessons because you’ve heard them a million times before, and...

“My wife is a urogynecologist lucky enough to get through her seven years of residency plus fellowship with “only” $124,000 of student debt. When we discussed how we were going to get rid of this debt, she had always assumed that it was going to...

“For many health care professionals, the stresses of their roles routinely take a heavy toll on their mental and physical well-being. It did for me. The pandemic and the unprecedented loss of life were more overwhelming than any of us could have...

“Teaching medical students entrepreneurial and business skills is invaluable as the need for leadership in medicine grows in every single sector. Many physicians already engage in managerial and entrepreneurial-like practices without labeling these...

"Stigma surrounding mental illness often prevents patients from seeking the mental health care they need, delaying care and prolonging suffering. Fear, embarrassment, and impaired quality of life are a reality for many patients suffering from skin...

"We owe it to our patients to do better. Every time I picture the couple leaving the pharmacy unvaccinated, I am reminded that true health care requires accountability and a willingness to challenge the status quo. That means challenging a 'no' or...

“Diabetes uniquely requires patients be experts in their own care and demands 24/7/365 vigilance. Close communication with a health care team eases the burden and improves outcomes. Glucose management revolves around numbers. Unfortunately, numbers...

“Lifestyle medicine is part of regular medicine but stands apart in that it is health care that directly benefits patients through the restoration of vitality and health, primarily by lifestyle interventions. And its healing capacity does not stop...

“The bottom line is that while you can’t predict exactly which MMI prompt you’ll be given, you can absolutely start preparing for the MMI. Become familiar with the format, practice your delivery, start reading about issues in health care, and...

"The tech giants of Silicon Valley – love them or hate them – have put incredible personal technology tools into homes and pockets of our patients and their caregivers. Now, we must activate those instruments for our own sustainability, and for...

"I had also used arts and crafts previously in my own experience to help with healing. Including the previous year when I had a breast cancer recurrence did many crochet projects and took classes in mosaics making as I navigated from victim to...

"In their hearts, her daughters just wanted their mother to make the most of the time she had left. She never made it to the beach or hugged her grandchildren. From diagnosis to death, it was two short months. During those weeks, she waited for test...

"It’s time to flip the script on evaluations. How can we shine a light upon the strengths of the wonderful peers we are blessed to work with? How can we amplify their greatness, help them work in their own zone of genius? How can we recognize that...

"It is a time to ponder on those essential questions: What is your purpose in life, and how can you follow it? What talents can you share with the world, and what are you grateful for? When we deviate from this true calling, when we deviate from love,...

"2022 is well underway, and we are still unclear about exactly where this virus is headed and what the lasting impact it will have had on all of us. We have self-driving cars, drones delivering food, and most of us spend our entire day on video calls,...

"It’s been over twenty years since clinical inertia was coined a term, and since that time, experts have debated on how to define it, and where and when it exists across the treatment paradigm. Every year, scores of information cross HCP’s desks...

"When people think of eating disorders, the image is often of an emaciated, white teenage girl in the hospital hooked up to feeding tubes. In fact, eating disorders are varied in how they present in a person, and they certainly do not 'look' a certain...