Making the decision to leave clinical medicine was not an easy one for me. As a medical oncologist, I was honored to have the opportunity to play such a significant role in my patients' lives. But I also recognized that this work can be incredibly draining. Telling someone they have…
We need to embrace our creativity in order to truly understand our patients. This means using our imagination to consider what might be going on beneath the surface of what they are telling us, and to listen closely when they struggle to find the words to express their feelings and…
I have spent my entire career working to build more diversity in the orthopedic profession. So that would mean that oftentimes I would see patients in women who felt basically their orthopedic surgeon didn't listen to them, didn't take their complaint seriously, minimize their degree of pain and that they…
Never had one woman patient ever asked me what the hip or knee replacement was actually made of. Like, what are the metals? And I've had plenty of men ask me this question, which I always found astonishing because I'm thinking, what are you, like a metallurgist or something? What…
I have spent my entire career working to build more diversity in the orthopedic profession. So that would mean that oftentimes I would see patients in women who felt basically their orthopedic surgeon didn't listen to them, didn't take their complaint seriously, minimize their degree of pain and that they…
"Women rely on the internet more heavily than men do to understand health concerns, engage with others about health, and use technology to support health goals for themselves and their families. This is not surprising considering that women have more health needs, are more often caregivers, and make 80 percent…
For anybody who has an obese patient that's really struggled, look past the idea of them not trying to consider the possibility that there's more to it. And even for doctors who are not obesity specialists and who have not previously prescribed weight loss medications, this is different. This is…
What always kind of draws me to those patients in my examining room is this feeling of heaviness and defeat and lack of self-worth that just is clearly tied to their weight. And I think those patients, those who have been there, did it, tried it, and now are at…
"Obesity is not the consequence of bad behaviors it is a disease that finally has effective, safe, lasting treatments. Patients with obesity have been marginalized long enough. We, especially health care providers, have got to start taking down barriers for these patients — not adding to them." Christine Meyer is…
“What improvisational technique can I use in the exam room to help me become a better physician communicator?” The primary principle of “yes, and.” If you stick with that, that means, “Yes, you're gonna validate the person first.” It's a listening skill, but whatever somebody says to you in the…
Are we going to change our behavior when we have this constant stress? And I think the place to start is, I'm going to respect myself, and I'm gonna respect you. I'm going to respect the limits that I have. I'm going to respect the limits that you have. I…
"While patients, the workforce, and key outcomes are way better off in a culture of safety, the process from toxic to healthy culture requires a challenging shift from relationships rooted in distrust to trusting ones. To ensure long-term meaningful change, leaders must steadfastly create a foundation of trust. An apology…
“You mentioned in the studies of the women who had hysterectomies they may not have asked the right questions, so talk more about that.” I think, number one, that it's always good for women to say: What else could this possibly be? When they get a diagnosis, is there another…
Doctors assumed that patients understood that their illness had a biological cause and that they had very little control over it. On the other hand, patients assumed that their illness was their fault, and as a result, they had a lot of control that they could exert over it. So…
"Shame has no place in illness or in health. The first step to eradicating shame is to openly speak up about symptoms and concerns and for health care providers to commit to acknowledging and interrogating the needs of every individual thoroughly." Susan Salenger is a writer. She shares her story…
“Tell me, in general, some demographic characteristics of those who choose to go to medical school in the Caribbean.” So the students that we have in the Caribbean, about 85% come from the U.S. That's something that I think many people don't know. We do have higher percentages of underrepresented…
One of the strongest misperceptions is that the students who go to international medical schools, particularly in the Caribbean, are not qualified. There is a misperception that the students there somehow are, you know, not as good as their U.S. counterparts. I think there is also a perception that the…
"If we want to achieve a physician workforce that mirrors our population, medical schools must collectively understand that we have created an admissions system that selects against Latinx and BIPOC students. We need a new system. But a new admission system will not be enough. More medical students of color,…
If you are noticing that it's hard for you to keep a job or it's hard for you to be in the workplace because there are too many people in the room that you feel uncomfortable with the lighting in your office, that you feel really out of sorts by…
So what a sensory processing disorder is is that we have five senses. There's either a heightened sense of one of those five senses, so that sight, smell, touch, hearing, things like that, or they have a lower sense of it so that they can be either what we call…
"Understanding and recognizing sensory processing issues may help improve functioning and quality of life for many individuals, starting with children in school. While many are preparing for back to school, it is important for parents, teachers, health care providers, guardians, and policymakers to be aware that millions need funding to…
Suicide is one of the major causes of death from firearms, as well as homicide. So we need to be addressing suicide prevention and asking about depression and suicide, and we also need to be talking about firearms because they may not come up. If you wait to talk about…
We are not powerless. Unfortunately, there is another shooting every week, which is awful and shocking, but we can move from that and do something about it at any level. Clinicians: Talk to your patients. Parents: Talk to other parents, vote, and look up those candidates who vote for gun…
"As a parent of elementary school children, every mass shooting, particularly ones killing school children like in Uvalde, jolts my doing-the-mom-thing-just-keep-busy-can’t-stop denial. On the last day of school before summer vacation, when the bus doors squeaked open, and my kids hopped off, I experienced a momentary sense of relief. They…