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We sit down with Michael Pessman, a gerontologist, to discuss the unique risks older adults face with alcohol consumption. We’ll explore the enhanced physical and mental health benefits of participating in Dry January, …
Exploring the benefits of Dry January for older adults [PODCAST]
Those who know me well and even those who don’t are aware of my passion and commitment to the Kansas City Chiefs. As an avid fan who was born and raised in KC, I can assure everyone that there were many dark years and even decades prior to the current situation that have allowed us to live on high for the past few years. Football has been an outlet for …
Chiefs fan to gun violence advocate: How football and tragedy reshaped my mission
In the quaint New England town of Scituate, Rhode Island, with a population of 10,000, a health care revolution was brewing. Dr. Michael Fine, a passionate family physician, had moved to Scituate with his family in 1992 to serve a quiet, rural community with significant health care challenges. By 1999, though, Scituate’s residents had become very worried about the cost of health care. Two insurers packed up and left …
Kim Downey:
I recently had an enlightening conversation with Dr. Sarah Wittry. We enjoyed learning about all that we share in common!
As a physical therapist, I was delighted to hear that Dr. Wittry’s medical career began in physiatry/PM&R.
Having friends and relatives who have benefited from hospice care, I have tremendous respect for her current work in palliative medicine and hospice.
We spoke of how it has felt to each of us to …
Ditch the guilt and stress: Embrace your core values like this inspiring doctor mom
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We explore the intersection of high-profile legal cases and social media with renowned psychiatrist and author Doug Bremner. In this episode, we’ll be discussing the impact of social media on public perception, the …
High-profile legal cases: social media’s role in modern justice [PODCAST]
The first book I ever read was The Last Angry Man. I could never have imagined then how it would influence me now.
It is about a fictional character, Dr. Samuel Abelman. He is a general practitioner practicing in New York City during the 1950s. He is in the twilight of a career that spans fifty years of commitment to the Hippocratic Oath.
In the 1950s, the emerging professional trend is specialization. …
Malpractice lawsuits: a data-driven approach to risk management
“Medicine is a form of art.” Those are the words my grandfather told me as I embarked on my journey through medical school. Medicine resembles literature; we, physicians, enter into people’s lives, and we become part of their life tales. The way we do our work influences how these stories are told. Some tales speak of loss and sorrow, while others resonate with healing and joy. It’s akin to sculpture, …
Burned by the system, sparked by surgery: a resident’s odyssey
Humans are naturally attuned to various biological rhythms, such as daily (circadian), weekly (circaseptan), monthly (circatrigintan), and yearly (circannual) cycles. These rhythms not only govern our sleep, eating habits, and energy levels but might also influence the design and functioning of systems we create, like technology and organizational processes.
For instance, it’s commonly advised to restart computer systems weekly to maintain optimal performance. This practice mirrors the circaseptan rhythm, suggesting that …
The power of syncing life with nature’s yearly cycles
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Join us as we sit down with general surgeon Scott Ellner to discuss evidence-based strategies aimed at improving the well-being of those on the front lines. In this insightful conversation, Scott delves into …
Prioritizing self-care for health care workers [PODCAST]
In elementary school, we read an essay named “The Man Who Was a Hospital” by Jerome K. Jerome. This is a humorous essay in which the writer describes his misadventure in a humorous way. He says that once, he was reading a liver pill circular when he suspected that his liver was out of order. He went to the British Museum Library to study the details of liver disease. He …
The humorous essay that predicted today’s medical anxiety epidemic
I remember when I first decided to step away from medicine. While I wasn’t burned out like some of my colleagues whom I would later coach, I did have what I now understand to be compassion fatigue. It was a familiar feeling I had felt before, and I knew that if I continued down the path, it would take me right back to the night I almost ended my life.
Called …
Psychological safety: an overlooked factor in clinician burnout and moral injury in health care
Escape rooms have become very popular. Entering a room of seemingly unconnected clues with a group of family members or coworkers creates a sense of fear and excitement that ultimately leads, if successful, to a great sense of accomplishment and relief. The entire experience is designed to enhance trust among team members and inspire confidence in working together to solve difficult problems. When it comes to improving the health care …
Panic button: Escaping the broken health care escape room
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Join Tod Stillson, a family physician and entrepreneur, as he shares his journey from traditional hospital employment to forming a micro-corporation. Discover how Tod regained professional autonomy and boosted his net worth through …
Unlocking physician autonomy: the path to career freedom [PODCAST]
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As of January 29th, the Elon Musk startup Neuralink delivered its first brain implant to a human. As described in initial reports, the patient seems to be doing well and is already benefiting from increased interneuronal communication. The goal of this application is to empower those with disabilities, specifically those with sensory and motor deficits, to be able to control a keyboard or a cursor using their brain. This …
Elon Musk’s Neuralink aims to empower disabled with brain implants
My first clinical rotation as a nursing student was on the same floor where my mother died of cancer. And my very first patient was a young Hispanic man with four children. I was asked to tell him that he had pancreatic cancer and very little time left. I was 21 years old and the only Spanish speaker on the floor – back in those days, interpretive services were rarely …
America’s nurses have PTSD: Will anyone listen to them?
“When are you expecting?” Eighteen months after my third child was born, I was tired of hearing this question. In addition to the embarrassment I felt, I became increasingly worried that something was wrong with me as my body stubbornly held its postpartum shape.
Within a year of delivering each of my first two children, I was able to lose most of the weight I had gained and maintain a normal …
A surgeon said no: the catalyst for my evolution
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Join ophthalmologist Paul Pender delves into the results of the annual KFF survey, focusing on employer attitudes towards employee satisfaction, the increasing costs of healthcare, and the emerging trends reshaping the landscape of …
Health benefits under the microscope: What employers aren’t telling you [PODCAST]
I recognize your anguish. Long COVID is new, and I will do my best to support you through this new and confusing illness. This is all I wanted to hear in my countless doctor’s visits. Some came close. The rest were baffled, given how healthy I was prior to a “mild COVID” infection.
I felt patronized by my own colleagues for trying experimental therapy. When activities of daily living are a …
Critical care physician battles long COVID with hope and grit
Chance meeting
In the fast-paced world of medicine, characterized by long hours, administrative burdens, and burnout, I’d like to share a story about an OB/GYN physician who discovered a path to professional freedom that revolutionized his career. Dr. B.A. had spent almost a decade working as a W-2 employee after finishing his residency. However, just before committing to a new contract with a substantial $500,000 annual salary, he came across an …
Physician employment 2.0: Unveiling the secret world of employment lite
“I could have saved him,” the intensivist murmured, reflecting on a recent patient’s death. His silhouette was framed against the fading evening light that spilled into the ICU. His words, heavy with regret and resignation, floated over the hum of life-sustaining machines, recounting the tale of Caleb Stratford.
When Caleb Stratford (not real name), 61, was rushed to the hospital last June, the shock trauma team at the University of Maryland …
The burden of choice: Navigating the complexities of surrogate decision-making in medicine
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