The Podcast by KevinMD

Omicron: 2 infectious disease physicians on the new COVID variant

28 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to this special episode of The Podcast by KevinMD, where I interview two infectious disease physicians on the COVID Omicron variant. They shar...

Fear of vaccines grows with the need for medical ethics

27 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"While individual doctors have obligations to both the individual and public health, their first concern is their patients. And these decisions have t...

Will the COVID Omicron variant change the world again?

27 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The variant keeps me up at night a little bit because it has 32 mutations in the spike protein, in contrast to the Delta mutation. But it's not just ...

Grieving our collective loss with compassion

26 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Cultivating compassion for ourselves and others is a practice in which we release judgment, anger and heal our emotional wounds. We can then move for...

To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Mr. Rodgers, I'm glad you're feeling well. This isn't altogether unsurprising given your younger age and elite physical fitness (though cases in youn...

Ignoring jaw pain comes at too high a price

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The COVID-19 pandemic challenged health care systems and patients' personal economic capacity, leading to approximately six million adults losing the...

A doctor turned Hollywood actor on physicians who struggle with suicidal ideation

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Thanks for gathering today in this anonymous detached space. Since it's unlikely that we'll ever publicly convene in a circle on metal folding chairs...

Should you stay or leave medicine?

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I left my primary care practice earlier this year to focus on life coaching. Why did I leave? Because I wanted to do more and make a bigger impact. I...

Why economics is the best pre-med major

21 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Economics taught me that I didn't have to culture cells in a dish to do interesting and life-changing work. I built a habit of being inquisitive and ...

Medical gaslighting due to weight stigma and bias: a viral TikTok study

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Disrupting weight stigma and bias in health care starts with calling it out. The power of stories and shared experiences highlights the collective vo...

How to preserve empathy in medicine

19 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"No matter how extensive or well-developed your capacity for empathy may be, you cannot feel empathy for everyone all the time. Whether we're talking ...

How can technology innovation save primary care?

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I believe there is a formula that can reduce the risk of burnout and save primary care, rooted in one key objective: Remove work from primary care do...

A new approach to orthopedic post-operative pain

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"My brain is still struggling to comprehend the battle for the status quo a physician faces each day; one who must, by default, be cognizant of the lu...

Black female physicians and the bias against them

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I am a woman of history who stands up and tells the truth, irrespective of what other people say. I remember the words of the late Representative Joh...

Physicians have gone from being heroes to villains

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I am exhausted and sad and disappointed and discouraged. I am losing faith in humanity. Where is the 'love your neighbor as yourself'? Where is the w...

Doctors are humans, not heroes

14 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The truth is, we were all drowning, alone, and hiding behind the image of perfection. Clearly, each of us secretly thought that the others had it all...

Alternative cryptocurrencies: 5 tips for physicians

13 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"What are altcoins, and should you be investing in them? I cannot speak to whether investing in altcoins is appropriate for you. Altcoins are a highly...

Physicians aren't all hanging in there. And that's OK.

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Go ahead, give yourself permission, summon the compassion and grace you'd bestow on your best friend, and tell yourself, "This is the breadth of the ...

Pamela Wible, MD on physician suicide and medicine's culture of betrayal

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"When the medical profession—a career you have pursued for years, a career you love and trust to do no harm does something to shatter the foundation...

Surviving medical school with depression

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder as a preteen after my teenage sister died. I attempted suicide three years later. This would be ...

How this physician built a direct specialty care practice

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I am here to testify that it is possible, and I am not alone in this specialist direct care market. There are other specialists' practices like mine,...

A physician's tribute to nurses

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"At the hospital, the nurse is the one who is at the patient's bedside around the clock. When the patient has to go to the bathroom or needs help to s...

Getting messy in the game of health care

07 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Many patients, doctors, nurses, and health care administrators appear to have a seat on the blimp with little concept of how the game has evolved ove...

A Black physician's perfectionism

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I did not realize I was a perfectionist. I was far from perfect. It was not until I listened to a master class on perfectionism from a physician coach...

Mitigating risks from care during COVID-19

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We have observed that delays in screenings and intervention for patients with certain common chronic conditions can contribute to claims. Now, clinic...

Diagnosis: malformation of a health care system

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The diagnosis is well-established. A cure is within our reach, and the wisest among our practitioners of the healing arts are offering valuable couns...

Professional gay: Charting a career in LGBTQ health

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"After much searching, I was fortunate to find a fellowship that though inexperienced in LGBTQ health recognized an opportunity. Faculty and mentors w...

How medical training teaches doctors to be financially unhealthy

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We physicians must come to terms with the trauma caused by the financial insecurity built into our training and the ripple effect it has even after w...

How to heal and revitalize our beloved profession

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We have to heal ourselves first. That begins with caring for our own minds and bodies, and souls. It means not avoiding (as I did) caring for our own...

Family meals' surprising power

31 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"If you are encountering families with feeding concerns, I strongly encourage you to ask them if sitting down together for meals is part of their regu...

Taking care of yourself during medical school

30 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Like some insidious conditions, feelings can fester. They can spread like cancer, and sap the spirit of nourishment until it starts to die, riddled w...

I bought into the stigmas about the mentally ill, until I became one of them

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Bipolar runs in my family, so I knew the harsh realities of this untreated illness. A family member faked his own death after a counterfeiting spendi...

Tomgirl and tomboy: Rethinking gender stereotypes

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"How do we create a world where all of us can express our unique selves the way we choose without derisiveness and shame? I am not here to criticize t...

I do not want to be resilient

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We all know watching a module on resilience, sitting in a lecture about mindfulness, being told to practice more yoga and breathing techniques does n...

Why now is the time to get patients back to in-person routine care

26 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As the next wave of the pandemic unfolds, the rise in cases is once again straining health care systems. But that's not the only reason hospitals and...

Carry on, my weary one: Persevering in the aftermath

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Frontline workers may have temporarily experienced a heightened sense of personal success and gratification, but I doubt many of us are still able to...

Physician suicide: Where are the leaders?

24 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As a mother, a physician, and an educator, I refuse to accept this as normal. It is not! What should we tell the parents of these young physicians? H...

Why clinicians can't keep ignoring care coordination

23 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Provider organizations may look at their budgets and think the traditional model of fax machines and landlines is serving their entity in optimizing ...

Technology's impact on dermatology

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"During COVID, the medical training system had to adapt because people couldn't meet in person and even those that could didn't have access to patient...

A son's brain cancer. A father's story.

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As you wait, you have a lot of time to think. You comb through the past in search of something you might have missed. If we had acted sooner on the s...

I was thinking about retiring, and COVID-19 gave me a push

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Last March, I was working in a small primary care practice on the west side of Denver. COVID-19 came to town. On Thursday, March 12, we were told the...

Why physician-owned businesses need our attention and support

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"There has been a growing wave of entrepreneurial physicians finding joy and value in starting consulting and coaching businesses. Many use their expe...

What we can learn from an orthopedic surgeon who publishes a novel

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Transections, eviscerations, exsanguinations, amputations, decapitations, disembowelments, penetrations, disarticulations, emasculations, enucleation...

A story of a physician photojournalist

17 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Her face is decorated in colors of the earth. With events on Earth Day and throughout the week, New York City celebrates sustainability and ways to l...

When celebrities attack children with food allergies

16 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"A child is born with a food allergy. They do not choose to have their immune system compromised. Parents do not get the choice to opt-in or out of ha...

Patient complaints have psychological repercussions

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I believe there is an art to medicine, a psychological connection to your patients through a hands-on patient encounter. There are nuances AI may tak...

Why the business school mindset doesn't mind physician burnout

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We can't expect those with a business school mindset to solve physician burnout. What is needed is leadership throughout health care organizations by...

A nurse's story of health care workplace violence

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I can imagine the horror of watching a colleague being attacked. I worry about the coworker who Lynne protected that day, since being a survivor can ...

When clinicians are bullied at a school board meeting

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The first amendment protects your right to free speech. But it does not make you more right, more ethical, or more kind. And nor does it give one lic...

How to recover from a bad electronic health records implementation

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Is your health care organization reeling from a bad EHR implementation? There have been rumblings from hospital leadership and congressional committe...

Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains?

10 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Scarcity has, in many ways, defined the COVID-19 experience in the U.S., from shortages in personal protective equipment to ICU ventilators and hospi...

Robotic surgery's impact on training the next generation of surgeons

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Technology continues to evolve every day. In the near-term future, portable and easily deployable robots will allow surgeons all over the world to pe...

Physicians and the importance of servant leadership

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Dear resident physicians: Soon you'll finish residency, and you may be wondering what's next. Some of you will start fellowships, but most of you wil...

Stop resisting the imposter

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The problem with feeling like an imposter is thinking there's something wrong with it. I know this is different from any way you have thought about i...

Aduhelm and how money and politics supersede science

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Sufferers of diseases, particularly terrible ones like Alzheimer's disease, and their loved ones need and deserve something better than science can d...

Physician identity: who you are vs. what you do

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"'Hi, my name is Kristin Yates, and I am the OB/GYN doctor.' This is how I greet most patients for the first time. It has never really felt natural to...

Why people diagnosed with cancer should get a second opinion

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Although people think of medicine as a science—the facts reveal the diagnosis, the diagnosis dictates the treatment—most physicians acknowledge t...

Medicine's science has advanced. Medicine's art has stalled.

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I was a bit nervous about how she would perceive my advice. She could find it inappropriate and report me for making personal remarks. But I believe ...

From a patient to health care workers: Always remember your humanity

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Always remember your humanity. You are not super-human. Make connections to your heart, to your mind, to others. Look closely at the situation that l...

Humane health care outcomes by creating therapeutic alliances

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"In fully-humanized health care, I envision patients as clients, with doctors as part of the health care team in a role more akin to expert consultant...

How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"While opposition to the vaccine may be hardening, pediatricians and family physicians enjoy an advantage the CDC and Dr. Fauci may not: namely, they ...

An American doctor in Rome

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The idea was to try working in Rome for a year and see how it went. This sensible American plan collapsed under the weight of Italian bureaucracy. Lu...

When it comes to bias, doctors need to do their homework

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I have no doubt, given my extensive experience in health care and being a Black woman in America, that we as health care professionals have made the ...

Dr. Lorna Breen's lasting legacy

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We have a chance to take a meaningful step in fighting burnout and mental health issues in the health care profession. We have lost too many valued a...

Burnout and bias? Or medical gaslighting?

26 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Five years into my practice as an academic allergist/immunologist, my perceptions continue to evolve. Though once primarily informed by my mentors' w...

What do physicians really want in life?

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"It is no wonder that in 2020, a Doximity physician compensation report revealed there were no specialties in medicine in which women earned the same ...

Our health care system may be failing, but it isn't broken

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The problem with health care isn't 'fixing' the system. The problem is continuing to ensure that profits can be made and millions can be employed whi...

Primary care: the variety and the intimacy of the problems I see

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Fifteen minutes for a checkup or urgent problem, thirty minutes for a physical. In the tiny gasps of time in between: Refilling scripts, checking lab...

Try this new technique when talking to vaccine skeptics

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"When we hear skepticism, our first instinct may be to end the conversation. After all, why spend our time trying to convince someone who has made up ...

Digital health equity is an emerging gap in health

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The pandemic has demonstrated the value of online platforms, especially in health care – but equitable access has not matched this growth. Sadly, m...

Compassion and patient rapport building in health care

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As we enter a year and a half into a worldwide pandemic, many of us working in health care are fatigued, over-worked, and burned out on compassion. B...

Racial disparities in surgical care

19 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As a practicing surgeon for 30 years in the super-specialized field of otology, neurotology and skull base surgery, I have been privy to some of the ...

Where does the joy and meaning in medicine dwell?

18 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The same question could be asked about the joy and meaning in medicine. Where does it dwell? And the answer may be the same. It dwells wherever we ch...

Who needs scientists? It's not like we listen to them anyway.

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I am a proud science-trained medical doctor and concerned mother. I am not going to remain silent when the biggest tragedies are yet to hit earth yet...

Dying after leaving against medical advice

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"This is where we are: Hospitalizations rising, new variants that are more infectious, and many people believing that this is all a hoax, or that mill...

Take back the power and joy of being a doctor

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"What can we control? Our behavior and our responses to circumstances. Focusing on what is in our power to control and putting all our energy and effo...

Eradicate the disability tax, before it's too late

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Some may say that we all come into this world with our own luck, and if we end up having to endure a disability, then other people in society should ...

Why physician-specialized private counseling practices are important

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Attending physicians struggling with a mental health issue should consider contacting a counselor first, rather than a department head or employer re...

An emergency medicine life

12 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I called my wife of 31 days, anxious and dazed. I told her that the pace I was on was crushing me. I told her I had done seven admits since 5 p.m. an...

Words of advice from a chief resident

11 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Chiefs, remember, one of those interns is going to fill your shoes in a few years. They may model you in that role, so you want to raise them well! A...

A heart transplant story in a 1-year-old, as told by his mother

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"In January of 1991, at twenty-two months old, Nick had another heart catheterization. Andy and I had started thinking about the next stage of surgery...

How I used social media to get promoted to professor

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"After my last promotion, my institution adopted new guidelines and criteria for incorporating social media into promotion. I understand several other...

A new paradigm for psychiatric emergencies

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Imagine this scenario: a busy mom struggles to balance work and parenting during the pandemic when suddenly her teenage son begins to anger. He gets ...

Meet the physician who became a medical thriller author

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How does a physician become a thriller author? Where do his stories come from? How long does it take to go from idea to finished product? How did his ...

How doctors can support medtech innovation

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Feedback in the assessment stage is always useful for improving the design of a device — especially as it relates to improving long-term aspects, s...

So, are you committed to medicine — or your baby?

05 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As I approach this last stretch of residency, still entrenched in the rigors of training and the intensity of raising three young children under five...

Debunking common virtual therapy myths and tips for new patients

04 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"While the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and normalized the need for increased mental and behavioral health services over the last year and a half, addres...

How shame tried to hijack my medical training

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I'm smart enough to be a physician. As if being the smartest person in the room makes you the best physician in the room. Hint, it doesn't. Being a g...

All physicians are leaders

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"In times of uncertainty, human behavior often makes people resort to less-than-stellar behaviors; unhealthy personal environments can become manifest...

You deserve a doctor who's a good fit for you

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I implore you — even if it's difficult — if you don't like your doctor, take the time and find a new one! How do you do that? Check your insuranc...

Structural racism in health tech

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"We focus on ensuring our solution works equally well for English speakers with any accent. We regularly hear from doctors how much of a difference th...

A physician takes action against an expert witness

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I bring this to your attention because, in 1971, I took an oath to impart precept, oral instruction, and all other instruction to all indentured pupi...

A data-first strategy to recovering surgical volumes

29 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The first step to hospital recovery is the collection and analysis of data. Organizations that effectively leverage data to optimize surgery can see ...

Behavioral health opportunities during the pandemic

28 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The dramatic uptick in mental distress, trauma, and substance use since last year has driven a corresponding rise in the use of virtual mental health...

Can doctors have personalities?

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"When I teach medical students who rotate with me at my clinic, I ask them to write about the single most negative and single most positive emotional ...

If Simone Biles were a doctor she would be vilified, not praised

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Just as Simone Biles has her detractors, there will always be physicians unable to empathize with their mentally ill colleagues, believing psychologi...

Scholarship tips for medical school

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"According to AAMC, the median debt for medical students in 2019 was $200,000. Unfortunately, fundraising for scholarships was difficult for many orga...

Doctors: You can increase voting in the U.S.

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Our country is facing a voting crisis with multiple layers: chronically low overall voter participation, even lower voter participation among physici...

Telemedicine in Nepal during COVID-19

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Currently working in a COVID ICU in a tertiary center in Kathmandu, I have experienced how difficult it is for the health system to manage the patien...

Menopause changes women's singing voices

22 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Until recently, voice changes from menopause and aging have been almost unmentionable. If a woman talked about her challenges, especially if she was ...