A parent shares health care lessons with her son as he begins medical school

--------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [Over 450 health care professionals]( shared their firsthand insights on how hospitals support their care teams with communication technology. Read this extensive visual report to better understand the challenges and opportunities for [mobile communications in health care](. [How can an analysis of 649 closed malpractice claims]( against physician assistants and nurse practitioners help you? It identifies underlying issues, provides insights, and outlines strategies for [mitigating risk](. [More logins, more problems](. Lack of integration between multiple tech solutions ranks as health care providers' biggest technology frustration. [Download our new data report for more insight](. 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Know that […] [The orthopedic objectification of women]( A recent uproar in Twitterverse regarding the publication of certain images has sparked further debate after the response from publishers. The images represent scantily clad women with socially “ideal” body-types, seductively eyeing the camera and would, unfortunately, be commonplace in glossy magazines meant to sell products using these women’s sexual appeal. Body positive activists in […] [Getting into medical school: Q&A with an admissions officer]( Whether you’re hoping to become the first doctor in your family or you hail from a long line of physicians, navigating the path to medical school can be a daunting experience that takes years of preparation. Providing a peek inside the mind of an admissions officer, associate dean of admissions, Karen M. Murray, MD from […] [7 questions every doctor asks about locum tenens]( When it comes to locum tenens, doctors have a lot of questions. Maybe you even have some of your own. But first, let me ask you a few: Did you know that there are more than 50,000 doctors working locum tenens in the U.S.? Or that 90% of health care facilities use locum tenens each […] [A psychiatrist closes his practice]( After practicing psychiatry and behavioral health for nearly 25 years, I’m done. I feel sick, and especially sicker from my occupation. Not merely burned out, but ill. Primarily mentally. I’ve always had complex post-traumatic stress disorder. And depression and generalized anxiety, and many other diagnoses from the DSM. But, I’ve covered my illnesses so I […] [Clearing up the confusion surrounding Medicare for all]( The Democratic debates this summer demonstrated massive confusion around Medicare for all. Does it mean Medicare for all who want it? Medicare Advantage? A “public option” on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange? Democrats need to get their story straight. The confusion is understandable. Medicare for all has been an aspiration since at least the […] [The randomness of cancer: bad luck or something else?]( Randomness in life is inevitable because the universe is a pretty random place, although the extent to which you believe that depends upon your own value system. This notion comes into play almost every day of my practice in the PICU because many of the critically ill and injured children I care for experienced a […] [When hospitals are like prisons]( Some weeks ago, this writer visited with a friend who had been admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit of a New York hospital. The friend had been there for a few weeks. Other patients have been there for longer. After spending approximately an hour with his friend, this writer was not allowed to leave the […] [Overcoming the challenges prosperity can bring to teens and young adults]( They received a call that their 19-year-old son had been transported to the local hospital, extremely agitated and intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of .245. What they learned over the next few days was that this wasn’t the first time their son had been drinking heavily on a weeknight. He confessed that the pressure […] [Invest in real estate with money you have already saved for retirement]( So you’ve done your research and you are sold on the idea of investing as a limited partner in real estate syndications such as apartments, mobile home parks, or self-storage facilities. “But,” you lament, “that means I need to have at least $25,000 just lying around!” Once you have decided to start investing in real […] [My patients teach me, guide me, and remind me that I am here]( It’s an odd thing doing what I do sometimes. Dichotomies of highs and lows, life and death, joy and sorrow. In the past 15 years that I have been in health care — a nurse’s assistant, to registered nurse, to now pediatric nurse practitioner — I have had the strange experience of all this emotion. […] [Health care facilities are difficult to navigate for older adults]( A month ago, during a visit to her doctor’s office in Sequim, Wash., Sue Christensen fell to her knees in the bathroom when her legs suddenly gave out. The 74-year-old was in an accessible stall with her walker, an older model that doesn’t have brakes. On her left side was a grab bar; there was […] [How better nutrition helps this physician get through the day]( Take a stroll through any emergency department or hospital break room, and what do you see? Chips, pop, candy bars, and different flavors of junk food. Working in the trenches of medicine requires stamina and mental fortitude. Fueling the body and mind is critical for optimal performance and patient care. Unfortunately, many health care professionals […] [MKSAP: 52-year-old woman with chest pressure]( Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 52-year-old woman is evaluated for a 6-week history of chest pressure. The symptom occurs when she walks up an incline on her daily 2-mile walk and is relieved with rest. She also had chest pressure during a stressful meeting at […] [Is it physician burnout or perimenopause?]( I am an experienced OB/GYN, well-versed in obstetrics, infertility, gynecology, surgery and — yes — menopause, or so I thought. So why was I so blindsided by my own menopause transition? I thought I was going through burnout, with anxiety, anger, mood swings, irritability, and depression. I was at a point in my career as […] [Why pediatricians must talk to their patients about diversity]( “I don’t understand, and no one will explain why it happened.” Jake, my adolescent patient, lamented his experience to me during his well-child visit. “Those boys say that people like me are the devil. They don’t even know me. I’m a good person.” Hours before seeing me in clinic that day, a group of minority […] [Resiliency in the face of despair, as told by an orphaned Drexel fellow]( I was on my honeymoon in the Bahamas when I first heard the news: Hahnemann hospital was closing, and so was my child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program — along with every other fellowship and residency program in the hospital. I was actually running outside enjoying the beautiful weather of the tropics and getting ready […] [Neurosurgeon keynote speaker joins Physician Speaking by KevinMD]( I’m really excited to introduce Mark McLaughlin, MD, the newest speaker at Physician Speaking by KevinMD. Mark is a practicing board-certified neurosurgeon, a national media commentator, author of the book Cognitive Dominance: A Brain Surgeon’s Quest to Outthink Fear, and acclaimed keynote speaker. He is the founder of Princeton Brain and Spine Care where he […] [Vapers may be using more nicotine than they realize]( Lucas McClain started smoking cigarettes in high school but switched to vaping after he heard e-cigarettes were a safer alternative. His vape of choice became the Juul, the king of electronic cigarettes — which comes with a king-size nicotine hit. Now 21, McClain wants to quit so badly that he’s turning back to the problem […] [It takes a village to be a physician today]( After my second child was born, I realized a harsh truth: I could not be everything to everyone. It took me almost 30 years to understand this. I was working as a full-time physician with unpredictable hours. I was trying desperately to make it all work; juggling hospital burdens with the ever-demanding job of being […] [Should the government regulate hearing aids as consumer electronic products?]( As a pharmacy technician, I watched countless individuals speak with a pharmacist about how different drug therapies work, and what they should know before taking any pharmaceuticals. But I also have a hearing loss, and as a patient myself, I am struck by how confusing it is for consumers to find the right treatment. Hearing […] [An American doctor in Rome]( An excerpt from Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome. When I migrated from the banks of the East River to the Tiber shores the path was strewn with bureaucratic boulders, land-mines, and pitfalls. I offer the tale of my odyssey as an object lesson to would-be fellow cosmopolites in that art of abandoning all hope the […] [A mercy killer in the ER]( An excerpt from Mercy. I love kids. Pretty kids. Nice kids. Normal kids. Not this. This is not a kid. This is thirty pounds of human flesh kept alive by devices. Peg tube, tracheostomy, ventilator. He’s got contractures everywhere. He’s so folded he’d fit in my carry on. Not that I’d want to take him anywhere. […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](