My journey parenting with chronic depression as a physician mom

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 [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. In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, clinicians identified their [top concerns]( in the volatile post-Roe landscape, including medical emergencies, training shortages, and more. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Jan 9, 2023 [My journey parenting with chronic depression as a physician mom]( I remember feeling like I was on an island, and any time I separated from her and put her down, I frantically looked around for her, daydreaming she was lost at sea. When I was pregnant, everything was contained and controlled. Her womb gymnastics, even at night, were welcome interruptions to my sleep. It was [...] [Timely treatment decisions: the promise of surrogate markers]( Driving around, searching for children’s Tylenol and a pharmacy that had the antibiotics my son needed, was not how I wanted to spend the holidays. I am not alone – shelves are bare, and antibiotics are in short supply as we head into the new year in the midst of a triple threat of COVID-19, [...] [Care aides in long-term care were traumatized during COVID-19]( The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on long-term care in Canada. During the first two waves in 2020, over 80 percent of all Canadian COVID-19 deaths happened in long-term care homes. While vaccination and policy changes have helped to reduce the number of deaths, long-term care homes are still experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and severe staffing shortages. [...] [Breaking the silence: a doctor’s plea for clarity in end-of-life care]( Six years ago, I met a man who was 93 years old. I sat down to listen to him, something we physicians don’t do as often as we should in the long-term care setting. “I want you to treat me like I’m 73,” he said, “What do you mean?” I asked. “I don’t want to [...] [Treating rare, multi-system illnesses [PODCAST]]( “If patients had an accurate diagnosis and their physicians knew the root of their illness and could treat it effectively, then the medical care costs would go down. The effect on patients of being diagnosed years earlier and having a shorter diagnostic odyssey is [...] [The emotional side of CPR: Reflecting on the challenges of resuscitation in the wake of Damar Hamlin’s collapse]( First, I want to extend my thoughts, wishes, and prayers to Damar Hamlin, his family, and his teammates. Seeing his collapse on television stirred many emotions in me; I can’t imagine what those who were on the field or in the stadium experienced. As a pediatric emergency physician, I can tell you that anything related [...] [How to prevent a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit]( There are 50,000 medical malpractice lawsuits filed per year. Each doctor has a 5 percent chance of being sued each year, and every doctor will be sued at least once in 20 years. 70 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits are non-meritorious and are dropped. These represent 35,000 frivolous lawsuits. Until now, there is no way to [...] [Clinicians serving under-resourced populations should seize opportunity for free lifestyle medicine education]( As a pediatrician serving under-resourced families in Washington, D.C., I was glad to see health leaders converge for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Solutions to food insecurity and diet-related diseases are urgently needed to address the crisis of chronic disease, which afflicts six in 10 Americans. One of the important issues [...] [How a positive staff helped an uncertain hospital stay [PODCAST]]( “Hospitals and health systems should bolster the skills of care teams through education to improve patient outcomes by minimizing variations in obstetric care and being equipped to prevent, identify, and address any possible maternal emergency. Our obstetrics team provided invaluable care through communication, physical [...] [Learn to earn end-of-life respect]( Pele, the famous Brazilian soccer star, reportedly stopped medical treatment for colon cancer. Media outlets stated he was receiving various iterations of comfort, hospice, and palliative care which were perceived as criminal and disrespectful. His daughter denied these allegations on Instagram. How often are those with serious illnesses treated like criminals for wrongdoing? When medical [...] [How to deal with challenging patients]( Dealing with challenging patients can be difficult and stressful for doctors and health care professionals. It can be helpful to remember that they can be difficult for a variety of reasons, such as pain, fear, confusion, or unmet expectations that were expressed or not — reasonable or not. To effectively handle challenging patients, a few [...] [Understanding patients’ religious and spiritual beliefs promotes healing]( Religious and spiritual experiences have shaped my worldview since I was a teenager. At age 13, I celebrated my bar mitzvah. Later that year, I underwent an appendectomy. A priest asked my mother if he could pray for me prior to the operation. My mother did not hesitate to accept the priest’s blessing. I learned at [...] [Absent-Father Syndrome: Overcoming the trauma of a fatherless childhood [PODCAST]]( “My father’s struggle to exist as a father after getting married was evident. But at the same time, the birth of his children changed his world forever. His march towards success through hard work, unmatched anger, and repression prevented him from rising out of [...] [How you can thrive despite the looming physician shortage]( A perfect storm is brewing in the U.S. health care system, and we must prepare to counter the rushing waves. America is facing a potentially catastrophic physician shortfall. All indicators point toward unprecedented times ahead. If I were an attorney, I would state my case something like this. Exhibit A According to the Association of [...] [Maternalism: a better approach to psychiatric care]( Patient autonomy, one of the pillars of medical ethics, now shines brightest of the four pillars in modern medicine. While medical ethics was meant to take beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy in equal consideration, the balance is now offset by the digital age and an increasingly skeptical population that has hurdled American culture into striving [...] [The worst illness this physician ever had]( An excerpt from Fifty Years a Doctor: The Journey of Sickness and Health, Four Plagues and the Pandemic. Our favorite internist and chairman of the internal medicine department was lecturing us on sensitivity to patients’ suffering when they have a serious illness. He stressed that our sensitivity would increase as we got older and had [...] [What can hospitals learn from luxury hotels?]( Hospitality in health care refers to providing high-quality, compassionate care and support to patients, focusing on meeting their individual needs and preferences. This can involve a variety of strategies, such as providing clear and accurate information to patients, involving them in decision-making about their care and offering support and resources to help them manage their [...] [Let’s focus more on caring, rather than coding [PODCAST]]( “With the shift to value-based care models, it will be more important than ever to give clinicians a diagnostically focused view for each patient and each of their medical problems. Clinicians need these details instantly, without having to randomly search through unrelated sections of [...] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](