Advice from a "xennial" physician to aspiring physicians

--------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors Alarm fatigue is a serious issue: 87% of clinicians say alarms for non-actionable issues occur frequently in their hospital. [Start combating it today]( by downloading this essential guide. [Get it now](. U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, discusses the [opioid epidemic's huge impact]( on communities and health services in the U.S. Tech-savvy practices are [ditching manual phone calls]( to communicate with patients. Here are [5 ways]( you can too. [Case study]( Discover how University of Maryland Capital Region Health improved staff communications and reduced the time to deploy critical codes by 50%. [Read now](. Health care needs a purpose-built identity governance strategy. [Find out why](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Nov 29, 2018 [Don’t miss this adverse drug reaction when tapering benzodiazepines]( “Alice Woods” is dying of metastatic breast cancer, but she cares little for awareness efforts like pink ribbons and catchy hashtags like #stage4needsmore. You see, Alice has akathisia due to an adverse effect from discontinuing Klonopin — a condition that has caused her far more suffering than her terminal cancer. It has also prevented her […] [Advice from a “xennial” physician to aspiring physicians]( I am considered a “xennial” physician. Not quite a millennial — but also not fitting into the generation of the respected preceptors I had in medical school and residency. I took my MCAT via paper and pencil. My mini boards during my clinical rotations were on paper and pencil. All of my licensing and board […] [How sickle cell anemia influences a medical school journey]( “Where there is no struggle, there is no compassion.” -Frederick Douglass Growing up with sickle cell anemia exposed me to the field of medicine. As I go through the pain and complications, it humbles me to the point that motivates me to work harder to be the doctor I want for myself. I want to […] [5 reasons why this male physician went part-time]( Recently, Crispy Doc ran an interview with Vagabond MD that highlighted his road to part-time work. This struck a chord with me as I’ve considered doing the same despite being in my second year as an attending physician. In fact, Crispy Doc and I had a conversation about achieving work-life balance through part-time work in Orlando at […] [5 health care lessons from the mid-term elections]( This seems to be the big take-home message from voters the mid-term elections, which bodes well for preserving gains from the Affordable Care Act and expanding coverage. Health care was the number 1 issue for voters according to several exit polls, beating out immigration, the economy, and gun violence, among others, with voters strongly favoring Democrats as the party […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [Conference planners!]( Find vetted, handpicked physician speakers that shine on stage. Now booking for 2019! Physician Speaking by KevinMD: [Your audience deserves the best](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [A medical student as a patient. She thanks her support systems.]( Two weeks ago, while I was helping with an emergency medicine course that I’m a teaching assistant for, I started feeling extremely light-headed, and the chest tightness that I had dismissed as heartburn earlier that morning got worse. I was tended to by the emergency medicine doctor who I was teaching with, admitted to the […] [The surprising thing this patient was missing]( She had everything she needed. Her husband had died long ago. But the fortune he left her would suffice. She had given up on mansions long ago. There were no children, so who needed the space? She was happy as can be in her little condo in the city. The building had the most lavish pool, […] [Before ordering a genetic test, get to know GINA]( Health care providers and even consumers who order their own genetic testing should really get to know GINA. Who or what is GINA? Is it some new virtual voice-activated personal assistant? Is she a new Italian superstar? Neither choice is correct. GINA stands for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, a U.S. federal law that was […] [Why this physician never considered any specialty other than family medicine]( I never considered any specialty other than family medicine. I always saw the other specialties as necessary but supportive adjuncts. I always thought that the other specialties were all fascinating in their own way but saw them more as a part of a library that I could access when needed rather than ever feeling the […] [A proximate cause of wrongful death]( An excerpt from Wrongful Deaths. “We will name Memorial Hospital, Dr. Julie Stone, Dr. Vijay Gupta, and ICU nurse Tracy Miller in a malpractice suit involving the wrongful death of Ivy Jackson.” Venjer appeared apologetic. “But Dr. Torrins is correct. It is early, and we will pursue all the facts and revisit our plans in due […] [What is the fundamental dilemma in medicine?]( In observing trends among my patient encounters, to me, there appears to be a distinct difference in clinical encounters between more “holistically-minded” patients and more “traditionally-minded” patients, for lack of better terms. One is not necessarily better than the other. There are definite benefits and risks associated with either group. Whereas the “holistically-minded” tend to […] [3 ways pharmacists can change your prescribing habits]( As the health care landscape evolves, health care provider roles continue to shift. Industries recognize the power of collaboration and the strength of communication between different providers; among those, the pharmacist and the physician. Unfortunately, doctors and pharmacists have historically had strained relationships. In many cases, communication suffers, which can lead to adverse drug events […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](