How cancer transformed this physician

--------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [How to stop making patients pay the price for poor communications](. 30% of malpractice lawsuits cited communication as a contributing factor. Learn how you can improve your hospital’s communications to enhance care team coordination and patient care. [Read now](. For every hour with a patient, doctors spend two more hours on EHR documentation -- and [this increased burden has introduced patient safety risks](. How can practices [reduce these unanticipated consequences?]( More than 51% of physicians attribute burnout to excessive administrative burdens and bureaucratic duties, among other things. Learn [simple changes]( in daily workflow that one doctor made to add up to [5 hours back]( into each day to create healthier patients and happier doctors. [Survey]( Do mobile communications at your hospital have you jumping for joy … or pulling your hair out? Either way we want to know: Share your thoughts and you could win a Starbucks gift card! [Take the quick survey](. [Patient misidentification can lead to medical errors, patient harm, and costly inefficiencies]( for providers. Get the facts on patient misidentification, and [learn how to avoid it]( from organizations that use biometrics to do so. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Mar. 5, 2018 [How cancer transformed this physician]( “Wouldn’t it suck if you made it all the way through residency and then got cancer at the end?” my buddy Ron, a fellow medical student, and master of dark comedy, joked. I winced at the thought. God has a funny way of foreshadowing. Three-quarters of the way through pathology residency I noticed my feet […] [How psychiatrists became lesser physicians]( Recently, a form showed up on my desk to sign, approval for something or other. Not uncommon, given my role at the time as a chief psychiatrist, I signed dozens of such letters, memos, or forms, drafted by an administrative assistant. I signed so many; I never looked at the last line — at how […] [Building our care team made me lonely]( I began practicing cardiology a decade ago caring for a cadre of young adults with congenital heart disease. I got to know their families (parents often still accompanied them to office visits), and I learned about their lives in addition to their hearts. “How do you remember the patients so well?” trainees often asked me. […] [Patients lose when physicians burn out]( Despite loving my patients, I burned out. I chose my own quality of life over continuing to work with the chronically mentally ill population that I adored. This patient population is frequently shortchanged with their quality of care, and I have joined the ranks of people failing them. This is my experience working in one […] [The unjust prosecution of physicians is not unique]( Dr. Pramela Ganji had just finished her lunch when she was told that the appellate court had reversed and vacated her conviction. At first, she didn’t believe it. After all, this whole experience had been surreal. Dr. Ganji, a 68-year-old well-respected medical doctor and married mother of 3 children, had practiced medicine for 40 […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [This new podcast offers practice, support and protection for practicing medical professionals](. Episodes this week include [perspectives of a doctor recovering from addiction]( and [in-depth analysis of a closed malpractice claim](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Introducing Physician Speaking by KevinMD: a boutique speakers bureau]( I’m so excited to introduce my new boutique speakers bureau: Physician Speaking by KevinMD. I personally match you with select physician speakers who I have personally coached or handpicked. These physicians are not only amazing speakers, but are also practicing physicians who have experience in sharing their story at acclaimed venues like the Toastmasters International World […] [This is what’s missing from medical education today]( When my classmates and I returned to Boston to continue our first year of medical school early last month, we returned to a very different type, of course, called “Essentials of the Profession.” In it, we explored health policy, social medicine, ethics, and other topics outside the realm of traditional physiology and disease but just […] [How to incentivize higher quality and lower cost in U.S. medical care]( U.S. health care costs are high – over $3 trillion annually and about 18 percent of our GDP. Estimates suggest that our costs are rising. Concomitantly, we are entering an era of extreme biomedical promise, where research breakthroughs are translating into unprecedented clinical benefit. Luxturna from Spark therapeutics, for example, remarkably restores vision loss in […] [Where is the love in medicine?]( Hippocrates is quoted to have said, “Where there is love of medicine, there is love of humankind.” But in today’s health care, is there still a love of medicine? Does our practice demonstrate a love of humankind? I must admit, as a physician I don’t see us always exhibiting a love of medicine. And if […] [We cannot afford to lose more doctors to drug addiction]( It is a miracle that more doctors have not succumbed to substance use disorder at some point in their training or career. It is a fact that many have. The number of doctors and other healthcare providers who have struggled with substance-related issues is probably far greater than we can imagine. This is because of […] [A code, a trauma, and our fragile humanity]( Somehow, I made it to my 4th year of medical school before I saw my first code blue. I had no experience in emergency medicine before medical school, and my chosen specialty is about as far from critical care as you can get. It wasn’t until my rotation in the emergency department that I got […] [You’re a physician and a parent. Which comes first?]( If you’re a physician-parent, no doubt you’re familiar with the helplessness associated with the phone call informing you that your child is sick — and needs to be picked up within the hour. You know, the one that coincides with when you were about to start a procedure or a time where there’s no backup […] [3 medical student tips to improve patient communication]( Medical school rotations afforded me incredible opportunities to bolster not only my knowledge base but also my patient-related skills. The following information has helped me provide better patient care; hopefully, it can be of some benefit to you as well. 1. Safety and no violence are not synonymous During one of my outpatient rotations, I […] [How to unite medical students in the preclinical and clinical years]( The contrast between the first two years and last two years of medical school are unparalleled to any other graduate field of study. You progress through a period of relentless studying through case-based, team-based, and lecture-based curriculums for two years with very little, if any, patient interaction. Afterwards, the script flips and you’re staring nervously […] [Physician burnout: When work is not the cause]( When it comes to physicians burning out, for the most part, it is assumed that work is the primary cause. After all, physicians work long hours, have demanding schedule, and have to deal with the endless politics that comes with medicine. However, I often encounter burned out docs (many of who wear multiple hats outside […] [A consistent and clear picture of significant barriers to mental health care]( As part of the interview for my book, I asked about the role that mental health plays in healthcare. Responses were unequivocal: It plays a vital role. All of these doctors have patients who are depressed, anxious, traumatized, or otherwise in need of mental health services. My doctor interviewees frequently added comments about lack of […] [Is apathy needed to survive medical school?]( I’m about two-thirds of the way through my 3rd year of medical school, and I have hit my wall. I have become so fed up with the set up of medical school. I think a decent amount of this comes from the fact I am on my 6th week of an eight-week surgery clerkship (an […] [For medical school graduates, the entrance strategy is more important than the exit strategy]( Two years ago I fielded a call from a surgeon I knew of but had not met. Raised locally, she had left the state for undergraduate school, returning to Texas for medical school and North Texas for her fellowship. Heavily recruited, she wanted to stay close to home and her family, and accepted a position […] [Here are some things that patients wish doctors knew]( A partial excerpt from What Patients Want: Anecdotes and Advice. To complement posts regarding what doctors wish their patients knew, here are some things that I as a patient wish doctors knew: We’re not here for the magazines. We’re here because we’re sick, which often means we’re scared too. We’re often embarrassed. You’re wearing clothes. […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [Physician keynote speaker]( "World class! Anytime a presentation keeps physicians of all ages and specialties both engaged and entertained, you know it is something special." Make your event memorable with an [inspirational KevinMD keynote](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [MKSAP: 67-year-old woman with degenerative joint disease]( Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 67-year-old woman is evaluated during a routine examination. She has a history of hip and knee pain related to degenerative joint disease. The joint pain is now well controlled with diclofenac, which was started 3 months ago. A previous trial […] [The bureaucratic myth harming American health care]( There is an accepted storyline in American health care that is so ingrained in our culture that it is almost beyond question. It goes like this. The chief culprit underlying the high-cost, low-quality American health care system is the traditional fee-for-service payment model, which rewards physicians for the volume of services they provide with no […] [If physicians are burned out, why don’t they just quit? Here’s why.]( Those of you that follow me know that I write and speak often on the topic of physician burnout. About a year ago, after my grandmother passed away, my extended family and I got together for a few days. One night, my cousin and I got to talking about my work, and he pressed me on a question that so many have asked […] [5 must-haves for great physician online profiles]( Patients have a lot of choices when it comes to physicians. Making sure your online profile is up to date, complete, and contains these five items will improve the chances that a website visitor will become a patient. Create a personal connection. Having good rapport with patients is important, and that process starts before patients ever […] [The role of telemedicine in monitoring blood pressure]( Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke that has escalated to alarming rates in recent years, affecting nearly 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. In an attempt to reduce its prevalence, the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC-8) released a set of hypertension management guidelines. However, various concerns […] --------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the KevinMD e-newsletter. If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 345 Hudson Street New York NY 10014 USA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](