Medical
A medical student’s 100 days of COVID
March 11, 2020. The medical school officially made all classes remote until the end of the semester. Tom Hanks and his wife have coronavirus. The NBA is suspended; Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert has corona. Travel to Europe is suspended. The renal midterm can be postponed if you choose. Not going home anymore. I don’t…
Read MorePhysician personal development and growth [PODCAST]
“COVID-19 has given all of us the opportunity to live in extremely challenging times. We can choose to run away from this challenge or decide to acknowledge it as part of our journey to grow and transform. So, will you face your habitual reactions, biases, and unpleasant emotions and turn these COVID-19 related challenges into…
Read MoreAn alternative to the current model of primary care
What does a primary care visit look like from the patient’s point of view? I often wonder this myself, as a resident physician currently seeing patients at an FQHC in Austin, Texas. A brief look at the process reveals an often tumultuous ordeal for patients and providers alike. Consider the following steps: Finding an available…
Read MoreHow a physician can learn to be an expert witness
When I was a full-time partner in a large radiology practice, I worked days, nights, evenings, and weekends without control over my schedule. Doing the laundry, I washed days’ worth of my children’s outfits that I never saw them wear. I saw them in PJs in the morning before I left for work, kissed their…
Read MoreVeering away from the predetermined path of training in medicine
With the advent of GPS, the need for self-directed navigation has all but vanished. We find ourselves at the mercy of and indebted to the wisdom of our devices. Occasionally given choices for route preference based on directness, speed limits, or tolls, we are otherwise taken on a course of someone else’s choosing. Agreeable for…
Read MoreIs it safe to reduce blood pressure medications for older adults?
“Doctor, can you take away any of my medications? I am taking too many pills.” As physicians, we hear this request frequently. The population most affected by the issue of being prescribed multiple medications, known as polypharmacy, is the elderly. Trying to organize long lists of medications, and remembering to take them exactly as prescribed,…
Read MoreWhat has colon cancer screening got to do with self-driving cars?
An excerpt from Scope Forward: The Future of Gastroenterology Is Now in Your Hands. Over a decade ago, many of us still used landline phones, watched cable TV, rented DVDs, called for taxis, took photos using cameras, and drove over to Borders to browse and buy books. During the past 10 years, we watched each…
Read MoreWhen the best care is a comfortable death
I am no stranger to death. I have gently closed the eyelids of a woman dying from liver disease, blasted Led Zeppelin by request during a man’s last breath, and exchanged dog photos with an elderly gentleman on his final day. Although I cared for these patients deeply, our relationships were defined by illness. Ms.…
Read MoreChallenges female physicians face in medicine and the strength of vulnerability [PODCAST]
“I know I am not alone in my thoughts; I am just echoing sentiments of other female physicians. We are mothers, wives, patient advocates, and educators. And we’re all suddenly finding ourselves in unchartered waters. In weathering this pandemic, I’ve taken time to reflect. I wish I could say I emerged from this introspection having…
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