Anatomy of locum tenens contracts: A physician’s guide to understanding contractual provisions to maximize opportunities and minimize risks

Locum tenens means “to hold the place of, to substitute for” and locum tenens contracts are a common form of agreement for physicians who provide temporary medical services in place of full-time physicians. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased demand puts physicians in a better position to negotiate their locum tenens contracts.  However, too many…

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Healthy headphone use: How loud and how long?

As our society and culture become more connected through technology, the use of headphones has increased. Headphones allow people to enjoy music and have conversations from anywhere at any time. The ease of headphone use and the mobility that they afford cannot be overstated. This is particularly true currently, as our society spends more time…

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Writing tips for physicians from a health care editor

Ever since I entered the publishing world as a bottom-feeder editorial assistant in 2001, I’ve gotten all sorts of questions about “how to become a writer.” (Spoiler: Pick up a pen.) As my career progressed, I’ve edited lots of physician-authored material. Over the last few years, I’ve become an avid consumer of physician-written books and…

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Using plasma to fight COVID-19

We’ve gotten used to a life of restricted menu options during this pandemic, an analogy that extends all the way to our treatment if we contract COVID-19. But there’s an item still on the list at most medical institutions, and if it strikes you as familiar, it should: It’s been around – and working –…

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Unethical policy: Resuming federal lethal injections during a global pandemic

The United States government has resumed capital punishment after a 17-year hiatus. Even setting aside questions of whether the death penalty is legal, ethical, or humane, the renewal of the practice of lethal injection poses some grave concerns, particularly in the context of the global pandemic. According to Department of Justice documents, the government is…

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Discrimination kills: What to do about implicit bias training

An African American female had been to the hospital three times in the last week for severe abdominal pain. Yelling for pain medication, she returned with the same complaint. The abdominal imaging two weeks ago was normal, and doctors had labeled her a “drug seeker.” Now, after a few hours, the physician reluctantly ordered another…

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Be an upstander and not a bystander

I am a female immigrant gastroenterologist from Pakistan, practicing in the city of Minneapolis. Having lived in this country for 22 years and married to a white man, I generally feel that I fit in pretty well. A couple of weeks ago at work, I walked into a procedure room and introduced myself to a…

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