It's scary as hell to be a doctor right now

Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on [KevinMD](. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [How can you improve communications to enhance the provider experience]( and pursue the quadruple aim? Explore how better communications can help make positive impacts on 3 important issues facing providers today. [Read now](. A well-constructed [infection control preparedness plan for coronavirus (COVID-19)]( is essential for facilities where patients receive care, such as physician offices, dental offices, long-term care facilities, and [ambulatory care centers](. [Struggling with too little time and too many responsibilities?]( This whitepaper offers critical strategies for alleviating burnout. It's time to [heal health care](. [Thousands of physicians are browsing this job board](. They love its selection of over 12,000 openings across the U.S. [Physicians are finding opportunities they almost missed](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Mar 23, 2020 [It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now]( I’m not gonna lie. It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now. In Italy, which is our projected immediate future, up to 10 percent of infected people are health care workers. Health care workers are also more likely to experience severe and critical diseases. There’s not a great explanation for why this is, […] [I am a physician and I am not isolating emotionally]( I am a physician, and I am not isolating. Like the Vietnam War defined my parents’ generation and World War 2 defined the generation before that, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely define mine. My father and grandfathers went to battle – I am now called to be a soldier. My small group of orthopaedic trauma […] [How to avoid COVID-19 Infection at work: tips from an infectious disease physician]( The physician workforce is one of the most valuable resources of any hospital, and in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, we need to do everything possible to ensure that physicians stay healthy. Like other hospital epidemiologists, I spend a lot of time thinking about practical ways to reduce the risk of infection. So to […] [COVID-19 is not a cause for panic. It is cause for action.]( As many of my Facebook friends know, I have posted a great many updates about COVID-19, both public health recommendations and news updates, but this is my personal plea. As a physician with a public health degree, looking at the data, looking at what’s happening in other countries, and looking at how things are progressing […] [Frontline clinicians deserve hazard pay]( These are interesting times. Our schools are shut down. Transportation halted. Businesses shuttered. Public spaces abandoned. Cities locked down. Stock markets crashing. It is the greatest disruption to life we have faced since 9/11, and this will last much longer. It’s not hyperbole to say that we are on a wartime footing, and every aspect […] [I’m grateful my father never lived to see the COVID-19 outbreak]( My dad was a baseball enthusiast and a connoisseur of fried calamari and dark chocolate. He had a genius-level IQ and knew the answers to obscure Jeopardy questions. He would beat you at any trivia game. He was an avid reader, typically reading at least three books at once and still able to follow the […] [Please protect all health care workers: Make PPE a priority]( For most of us, we have never experienced a pandemic as unique and widespread as COVID-19 during our lifetimes. There is ample data suggesting that the novel coronavirus is not only more infectious (R-naught 2-3) but also associated with increased severity of disease (average case fatality rate of 2.3 percent) than the seasonal flu. We […] [7 dangerous myths about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic]( The coronavirus (COVID-19) is the single-most important topic on the minds of Americans, and it remains the subject of regular updates from health officials. And yet, despite the abundance of scientific facts and guidance surrounding the disease, misinformation abounds as confusion persists. Avoiding many of the worst consequences and doomsday predictions will depend, in part, on the ability of […] [I’ve been on a ventilator before, so I’d like to sit this pandemic out]( I have bled out during emergency surgery and been revived by the expert trauma and transplant team who raced into my operating room. I have had liter upon liter of donated blood transfused into my grey lifeless body. I survived months on a ventilator in an intensive care unit. I have had my lungs fill […] [God bless us all and help us to destroy you, COVID-19]( I, like many of my physician colleagues, nurses, and healthcare workers, have spent my entire adult life sacrificing everything to help others, trying to serve the sickest of the sick. However, for every patient I have saved, you have seemingly multiplied by thousands your vast net of suffering. It takes me just seconds to visualize […] [In the midst of a pandemic, this nurse feels betrayed]( This nurse notified his hospital unit director testing availability for novel coronavirus on January 26, 2020. This nurse asked his hospital unit director if signs could be posted discouraging visitation unless necessary on March 10, 2020. The response was, “People need to take care of themselves.” She said this standing next to the signs that […] [Preventing depression in the wake of COVID-19]( As I drove back home from the hospital yesterday, I noticed that traffic was lighter. Then tonight, as I walked my dog in the early evening, I cannot help but notice the lack of foot traffic, the relative emptiness of the street. There are others like me walking their dogs, but as I pass the […] [Pollution in China and Iran are worsening the coronavirus]( The baffling spread of the novel coronavirus has given many scientists and policymakers pause. There may be some important clues in the patterns the disease is leaving that tell us quite a bit about what conditions can hasten its spread and even worsen its lethality. So far, the areas of the world where most people […] [Innovation in the time of COVID-19]( Necessity is the mother of invention, and in no time is invention more necessary than during a global pandemic. Starting with the drive-through testing clinics pioneered overseas that spread to the United States (big shout-out to the University of Washington for putting step-by-step instructions for how to start your own drive-through clinic on their COVID-19 […] [Coronavirus can be controlled, but we must embrace sacrifice]( In the midst of this coronavirus pandemic, a friend of mine relayed a troubling story to me recently. My friend is a dermatologist who is 9-months pregnant, living and working in a county with no known community spread of the novel coronavirus. After spending time examining a 19-year-old with acne, the patient told her that she […] [The worst-case scenario for our hospitals in a severe pandemic]( I wish that I didn’t have the experience of working 34 years as a nurse. I know the big picture in a hospital. A recent article stated that the Twin Cities, where I live, has 500 ICU beds, 450 ventilators. As of last Friday, those were 95 percent full. Apparently, there are new CDC guidelines […] [Medical community recommendations for a better COVID-19 response]( We have lost our chance to contain this pandemic and are now facing an unmitigated medical disaster. This administration’s response has actively undermined our ability to care for patients by perpetuating misinformation and downplaying the looming threat this infection poses to the public. Ensuring health security is the fundamental duty and responsibility of government at […] [On the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic]( Coronavirus has officially hit the United States. The estimated numbers of infected are likely a gross underestimate of the actual number of cases, as the U.S. has only tested a small proportion of the population. Researchers at Johns Hopkins estimate there could be between 50,000 and half a million cases in the U.S. at this […] [COVID-19 and the physician’s oath]( COVID-19 started to really hit home this week. I hadn’t been aware of its severity because, honestly, I was too busy balancing residency, being a husband, and a father to keep up to date on the daily news. Now it’s unavoidable with school closures, travel restrictions, and limited grocery store stock. With worried texts and […] [A letter to President Trump from an emergency physician]( Dear Mr. President, I write to you now to congratulate you. You are at the cusp of a moment that historians will note catapulted you into one of the great chapters of the American story. Your name will forever be listed among the great men of the ages. The businessman turned TV star turned chief […] [The COVID-19 breakthroughs are coming]( An excerpt from The Physician Inventor: The Doctor’s Handbook to Patenting Medical Devices and Methods. Recent New York Times articles document the growing concern that the United States will not have enough ventilators to fight the coronavirus pandemic. In one article, it is estimated that the state of New York may be thousands of ventilators short. […] [COVID-19: You may be bored, but others are scared]( Earlier this morning, I received an email regarding a “quarantine party.” The event description read: “We are young people who don’t take this BS quarantine seriously. Let’s crowd in this condo and have a good time. I promise, you won’t get sick.” I am 21 years old, healthy, and, subsequently, very unlikely to succumb to […] [On the front lines of a COVID-19 assessment clinic]( March 15, 2020. The luke-warm water burns my hands for a few seconds; maybe this is how a snowman feels as it disintegrates on the first day of spring. Soon, my fingers loosen, but the sensation is fleeting. I dry my hands, put on another pair of gloves, then clean the stethoscope I’ve been using […] [4 injuries every physicians face]( For weeks, the news has been all about COVID-19 and its impact beyond Wuhan, where it emerged. Just two days ago, in fact, the first case reports surfaced in the county where I live. Overnight, preparations have leapt a notch. Many will work from home. Students will learn online. Even the gym where I climb […] [Treat your sleep like the vacation it is]( It’s common knowledge that a good night’s sleep prepares us for a successful day, but I like to think of it the other way around: Good planning for sleep during the day can ensure successful sleep at night. As a neurologist who specializes in sleep, I tell my patients that what they eat during the […] [An interruption from an evangelist]( Charles looks older than his sixty-one years; he is very thin and quite stooped, and his eyes are what I guess are described as “lazy.” One goes one way, and one another. He is badly in need of dental work. He has emphysema, though he continues to smoke heavily. His coloring is not right, and […] [The dangers of opioid addiction in the medical industry]( The Joint Commission of Hospital Accreditation requires hospitals to ask the patient for their level of pain, just subjectively. They require we use a 10-point scale, from 0 for no pain to 10 being the worst pain ever. I knew instinctively that this was a bad thing and would lead to more narcotic addiction, as […] [Interested in locum tenens? Beware of fees.]( Eighty-five percent of health care facilities used locum tenens temporary doctors in 2019 to address their staffing shortages or gaps in coverage. Physicians are turning to locum tenens work to allow them more flexibility, extra income, the ability to travel, and exposure to new and evolving patient care environments. But what they are likely not […] [The vast ethical void between primum non nocere and the customer is always right]( First, do no harm. For physicians, these are hallowed words. Within religion, they are akin to the Golden Rule and are, in fact, quite similar. In the realm of ethics, Kant’s categorical imperative, to only do what you would have seen done universally to all people, comes to mind as a suitable comparative axiom. Other […] [A critical first step in helping physicians cope with the stresses of practice]( The rapid advances of medical science, patients’ expectations, the loss of autonomy, insurers’ regulations, fears of litigation, and the documentation burden of recording patient data on electronic medical records all contribute to widespread physician dissatisfaction, and cynicism with medical practice referred to simply as “burnout.” Some have reduced their hours, some have quit medicine. Some […] [Independent practice and the lost art of touch]( I am a geriatric psychiatrist and am an osteopathic physician. The art of touch is a major part of my practice. I am the medical director of an inpatient geriatric facility. The patients that I see on the unit are typically suffering from dementia with behavioral disturbance. They are often agitated and anxious. For me, […] [7 ideas for an alternative Match Day]( As a cardiologist, a mom of three school-aged kids, a physician’s wife, and associate dean of student affairs, I am acutely aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our communities. In this time of constant change and concern, it is important to find joy in whatever we can. This week is Match Week. Instead […] [Independent practice and the lost art of touch]( I am a geriatric psychiatrist and am an osteopathic physician. The art of touch is a major part of my practice. I am the medical director of an inpatient geriatric facility. The patients that I see on the unit are typically suffering from dementia with behavioral disturbance. They are often agitated and anxious. For me, […] [Be the physician who supports other doctors]( Medicine is a difficult calling. You already know the sacrifices. As an undergraduate, you gave up time with friends and family so you could be accepted into medical school — where you worked even harder. You understand that the practice of medicine requires you to take responsibility for the care of others … and the […] [The opioid crisis is real. But so is pain.]( “I’m not impressed with his pain.” “I only give Norco if I see a bone sticking out.” “She says her pain is a 10/10 but …” On any given shift in the emergency room, I hear some version of these said by residents or fellow attendings. And whenever I hear these phrases, I think to […] [What’s to blame for the obesity epidemic?]( Obesity is a topic that literally hits home for me. For the past two years, the website WalletHub has voted the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX metroplex as the “fattest city in America.” As a health care provider, this is deeply disturbing because it puts my community at high risk for a wide variety of health problems, including but not […] [What is human-centered health care and why is it important?]( An excerpt from Health Design Thinking: Creating Products and Services for Better Health. Design is the ancient practice of shaping materials to achieve goals and express beliefs. Human beings and other creatures make tools and build structures in order to survive, thrive, and dominate their surroundings. Unlike other organisms, people learn from each other, creating […] [Why this doctor became a psychiatrist]( Serving others My career path has been non-traditional, but my mission and values as a psychiatrist emerge from the traditions of medicine and religion. Although I studied visual arts in college, I was drawn to the challenge and meaning of a career serving others. Understanding patients During residency at Hopkins, I was trained in a […] [Physicians need to step into their calling, even if it’s not directly in medicine]( If you follow me for any time, you know that I’m about physicians owning your value, recognizing your strength, and balancing your life. I was doing that before it became popular to talk about. While it has a catchy ring to it, what you don’t know is that it was not always that way for […] [Riding the hospital common elevator]( The elevator area on the ground floor of our hospital is split. As you enter, the common elevators are on the left, and to the right is a set of double doors, with a sign posted reading, “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.” And behind those doors are the employee elevators, elevators for hospital beds, and large elevators […] [A physician leaves concierge medicine after 13 years]( Much is written about the advantages for primary care physicians and patients of working within a retainer model, direct primary care, concierge-type care model. Little is written about the downside or disadvantages. It is time to shine a light on the benefits and challenges of concierge and standard models through an experienced lens, particularly as […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](