The tragic case of the anguished physician

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[Meet Doc2Doc Lending]( financial lending platform created for doctors, by doctors - providing personal loans at rates as low as 8.74%. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Feb 20, 2023 [The tragic case of the anguished physician]( In his “Nicomachean Ethics,” the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle points out that anger is not always a moral failure. To be sure, it is usually wrong to give in to it, but situations can arise when a good person naturally experiences a sense of moral indignation. The human mission is not always to hold anger [...] [Revolutionizing vascular surgery: How embracing endovascular techniques saved the specialty]( An excerpt from The Medical Jungle: A Pioneering Surgeon’s Battle to Revolutionize Vascular Care and Challenge the Medical Mafia. Still no matter what anyone said, I knew in my heart that endovascular grafts and endovascular aneurysm repair were going to be a game-changer and that vascular surgeons had to get involved to prevent interventional specialists [...] [Lessons from a civil rights icon: How to lift as we climb]( Mary Eliza Church Terrell famously wrote, “And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ‘ere long.” Lift as we climb. Terrell lived her life by this motto, as an organizer in the women’s suffrage [...] [Navigating the new norm: a physician’s perspective on caring for sick patients in the age of COVID]( I have three adult daughters, all college graduates. All are in long-term relationships with men, children, dogs, and careers. I am “Dad” and will always be Dad. I additionally happen to be a physician who cares for adult patients. If they are ill or have a medical problem, their first phone call is to my [...] [The fall of the patient-doctor bond: How corporate medicine is changing health care]( Fifty years ago, medical graduates’ licensing required membership in the AMA, the state, and the local county societies known as organized medicine (OM). Physicians, through their OM, wrote the rules and guidelines of the practice of medicine, controlled the hospitals through their medical staff organizations, and jointly approved what health insurance covered with the insurance [...] [Breathing your way out of stress: the simple solution to a growing epidemic]( Stress is ubiquitous, and Americans are struggling to deal with it effectively. The tag #mentalhealth on TikTok has amassed 65.5 billion views and counting. Still not sure about that? Answer this question quickly: What do you do when you’re hungry? Many would respond that they eat; it’s a straightforward answer to a common experience. But what [...] [Why doctors must speak out on political issues impacting patients]( As a physician, I was taught to remain neutral in the public eye regarding political issues. My viewpoints and opinions do not enter my work because the work is not about me but about the person sitting across from me who seeks help. As a psychiatrist and ethicist, I treat all people with respect, compassion, [...] [Empowering Type 2 diabetes patients with innovative insulin management tools [PODCAST]]( Our guest today is James Malone, an endocrinologist and health care executive with over 30 years of experience in the field of diabetes. James has seen firsthand the challenges that many people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) face when it comes to daily insulin [...] [Golden years, golden risk: the startling increase of STDs in seniors]( An excerpt from Never Too Late: Your Guide to Safer Sex after 60. The sexual revolution that began in the 1960s challenged social norms and traditional concepts, promoted acceptance, and liberated individuals from sexual repression. It effectively transformed society and how we, in the United States, thought about sex. Today, those same people are helping [...] [Food allergy tragedies: the reality that haunts us]( Food should not kill, but in the last three weeks alone, the food allergy community has grappled with three food-induced anaphylaxis deaths. All were young adults in the prime of their lives; one in middle school, another going to a school dance, and one just engaged to the love of her life. No one is [...] --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [Quickly compare and buy physician disability insurance](. Eliminate confusion. Save time. [Purchase Prepared Physician suture kits]( and save money and time! Physician-owned and operated, sourced from U.S. suppliers. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Understanding the memory loss of aging: How to tell normal forgetfulness from brain disorders]( An excerpt from Why We Forget and How To Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory. “I’m so worried about my memory,” says the 82-year-old accountant and mother of three. “All of my friends are having memory problems. Many of them have dementia, and some even have Alzheimer’s disease. I think I’m getting it too…I know [...] [Is medicine right for you? Exploring the benefits and challenges of a health care career.]( As a current medical student, I often encounter students considering a health care career. Understandably, this career is appealing. Being a physician lets you make a positive impact on people’s lives, along with many other benefits. However, becoming a physician is not a straightforward decision and requires a lot of thought, consideration, and sacrifice. This [...] [Earning trust in anesthesia: How recognizing limitations can improve patient safety]( Working with and supervising residents takes a certain degree of trust. Empowering residents with trust can be a difficult proposition for educators. There’s a moment early in the career and education of an anesthesia resident where they earn the trust of their faculty and supervising attendings. This moment is not contingent upon the memorization of [...] [Don’t fall for the Medicare Advantage hype: the realities of coverage for low-income enrollees [PODCAST]]( We’re joined by Aniyizhai Annamalai, an internal medicine-psychiatry physician. Dr. Annamalai’s patients are mostly indigent, not employed due to disability, and have serious mental illnesses. Most of them qualify for Medicaid. In this episode, Dr. Annamalai shares her insights on Medicare Advantage plans and [...] [Against all odds: How two cities tackled the COVID-19 crisis]( An excerpt from On Medicine as Colonialism. In Central Falls, Rhode Island, where I work, the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard. People who live in Central Falls, the smallest and poorest city in Rhode Island, live in densely packed houses, often eight or ten people to a two-bedroom apartment, sharing one bathroom and kitchen. Many are [...] [From diagnosis to digital health advocate: Navigating lupus in the era of technology]( It’s been over ten years since my life changed forever. In 2012, I was out to dinner with a friend when I developed a rash across my face. Little did I know, this was an early sign of what would soon be a life-altering discovery; I have lupus. Receiving this diagnosis was both challenging and [...] [5 simple ways for physicians to create mindfulness and improve well-being]( Physicians hit the ground running every day with myriad tasks related to patient care that place us in a hyper-stressed state. Let’s not forget that life’s stressors outside work are equally demanding and beyond equally important. What are physicians to do? The myriad of little (and sometimes not so little) frustrations that we encounter daily [...] [Don’t neglect the power of clinical examinations in modern medicine]( I intended to write an essay endorsing the clinical examination (CE), but recent personal events have made me reconsider. I had outpatient sinus surgery and developed chest pain the next day, leading me to my local rural hospital’s emergency department (ED). The ED physician diagnosed atrial fibrillation, and a CT scan revealed a small pulmonary [...] [Discover the power of occupational therapy: a solution for doctors and patients]( Many of us physicians are starting off 2023 with various new resolutions, including efficiency and “doing better,” but how do we get there? Our variable training experiences may prevent us from working with health professionals around us who can make our life easier and more efficient. Occupational therapists (or OTs) are that magical unicorn you [...] [Breaking the communication barrier: a survival guide for doctors, nurses, and patients [PODCAST]]( In this episode, we sit down with attorney and author Michael J. Grace to discuss his book, The Mumbo Jumbo Fix: A Survival Guide for Effective Doctor-Patient-Nurse Communication. As a defense lawyer representing health care providers, Michael discovered that many of his clients didn’t [...] [Mostly miserables: a physician-mother’s struggle during COVID-19]( It was the year 2020 — the month of March. The world shifted on its axis in ways we could not imagine. The job of a physician-mother is one of never-ending tightrope walking while juggling batons on fire and crystal figurines, all while herding cats. You see, the physician and mother are so intertwined in [...] [Assess your tech health in 2023: How screen use is affecting your life and ways to improve]( My patient, a retired teacher, looked embarrassed as he said it. “I don’t have a smartphone. I don’t have a computer.” I had to check the readings — somehow, despite this lack of technology in his life, his heart rate was perfectly normal. His oxygen reading was also in the normal range. Skin color looked [...] [Can personalized medicine live up to its hype in health care?]( The genius of Henry Ford was in his perfection of mass production. Ford’s assembly lines produced oodles of Model T, with economies of scale so that the cost of each car fell to the point that even those working in those lines could afford them. His method was copied by other car manufacturers and ultimately [...] [Why patients choose who they trust: Understanding the psychology of health care relationships]( Most people, should they be in need of a transcatheter aortic “valve-in-valve” replacement procedure for a failed aortic valve replacement, would be delighted to have one of the world’s foremost experts (who has performed over 6,000 of these procedures at one of the world’s foremost heart hospitals) perform the procedure. But not my father, despite [...] [Navigating complex medical issues: one family’s story of advocacy and hope [PODCAST]]( In this episode, we have a special guest, Laura Fernando, a patient advocate, who shares her heart-wrenching story of her daughter Lily’s medical journey with COVID-19 and other health conditions. Joining her and Lily is Linda Bluestein, an integrative medicine physician. Lily was a [...] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](