The Podcast by KevinMD

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 ...

How doctors think about financial independence is dead wrong

21 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"A rough career transition in 2019 followed by the pandemic highlighted how I was still financially tethered to my job — after 10 years of practicin...

How one word may have harmed my patient

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"With this single word, mom had now completely altered her willingness to see the deep suffering of her child. This single word watered all of this ch...

Does Aduhelm mark the return of science-based medicine?

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"While we still lack a complete cause and effect model of Alzheimer's disease, there is no doubt that the etiology is multifaceted and nonlinear. This...

A neurosurgeon's lessons on love, loss, and compassion

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Dehumanizing patients can lead to indifference in physicians. It is a privilege to be trusted to take care of every patient we encounter, yet we can ...

Physicians' sense of powerlessness and being a cog in a wheel

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Toward the end of my clinical career, I didn't feel like I had control over much at all. The patient safety issues loomed large. We used ridiculous w...

Robert Pearl, MD on doctors and the 5 stages of grief

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Physicians have had a rough century, so far. In addition to battling COVID-19, doctors have spent the past two decades fighting the health care indus...

Redefining traditional gender roles and the importance of a growth mindset

15 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Maybe it's a testament to a hardy relationship that there was no resulting argument. Without thinking, I blurted out, 'You are so sexist!' I could im...

A physician's journey to walk again and how she learned self-compassion

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Suffering something similar in my career, I know the detrimental impact of not having a voice or being heard in the medical community. Medical profes...

Let's look at what's right about nursing homes

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Extensive media coverage of the emotional and death tolls that COVID-19 inflicted on nursing homes has intensified concern for preserving the humanit...

Why it is essential to prioritize universal coverage

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Looking to other countries that provide universal coverage to see what works and what would fit well for the U.S. is an option. Countries like France...

Unconscious biases against vitamins and supplements

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Like many scary health scenarios where patients seek some modicum of influence, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to patient demand for 'immune-boosting'...

You have options when it comes to board certification

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Remember, board certification is supposed to be an option and not a requirement. Unfortunately, finding and keeping your dream job if you're not boar...

Put yourself in the shoes of a nursing home resident

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Visit a nursing home and talk with some of the residents. They are not only moms and dads, but also retired teachers, first responders, former athlet...

A pediatric infectious disease physician shares his pandemic lessons

08 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of society as we know it, and doctors in hospitals across America are at the forefront of those changes. As ...

My child wants to be a doctor

07 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As a family physician, guest lecturer at a local medical school, and creator of a pre-med curriculum for young learners, I'm often asked by parents h...

How to convince your health care colleagues to get vaccinated

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"When a colleague in health care mentioned hesitation to get the COVID-19 vaccine in two separate instances, I was shocked and dismayed. If we recomme...

Addressing racial disparities in health begins upstream with racial equity in society

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Our nation is at a crossroads, but one thing is clear – the health of our country depends on the health of all individuals in it, regardless of inc...

A daughter's addiction. A mother's love.

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I think back to the first time I ever brought Natalie to an emergency room. It was my fault. It was an odd accident. I had lifted her out of her car ...

Replaceable thoughts and essential books to help you survive burnout

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"If you don't ask for something you want, then you have already accepted the answer of no. Go ahead and ask for what you want and need. You may not ge...

How racial microaggressions lead to poor care outcomes

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"A few weeks ago, a white physical therapy colleague of mine unconsciously committed a racial microaggression. She was interviewing her patient, a mid...

How technology in the ER boosts the patient experience

01 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"When harnessing easy-to-use technology to provide answers to frequently asked questions such as the ER wait time, or the ER's address, for instance, ...

Medical school and the lessons learned from football

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"In the Spring semester of my final year as a football player, my college team faced necessary coaching, staff, and player position changes. At this p...

An underutilized way to relieve stress

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As a former hospitalist who transitioned out of clinical practice in 2015, I've been deep in the physician wellness space for years. Far and away, th...

Remote patient monitoring: a health IT perspective

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The primary benefits for mobile care units are the fact that they decrease patient travel times by arriving at their residences and ensuring that app...

President Biden's tax proposal and its effects on estate and income tax planning for physicians

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"While physicians provide a vital service to the U.S., they often have blind spots when it comes to maintaining their own financial health. Many in th...

Doctors beware: There's a $400,000 target on your back

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"President Joe Biden recently signaled that a multi-trillion-dollar spending plan for our country should be paid for by the rich corporations and weal...

Why it's important for physicians to change the system

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"What if I had access to real solutions? What if I had resources to provide to a person to help them overcome their problem? As a primary care provide...

Why doctors can't rest

25 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"I think doctors are just wired that way. We are productive. We get things done. It is expected. We are supposed to do more, do it all, and be all the...

Marshall Allen on how to contest hospital bills and avoid treatment you don't need

24 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"It's rare for anyone to try and tally the precise cost of unnecessary care. But when they do, the estimates are staggering. The Washington Health All...

How physicians can be better medical leaders

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"A sad truth is this: Most everywhere, health care is a low-margin industry that lacks resources to invest in leadership development. Although our bus...

How a homeless teen became a physician

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"During my medical school clerkships, an attending recognized a truth within me that I'd hidden for many years. Just a few hours into my pediatrics ro...

What this physician learned from medicine in developing countries

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"On a recent call with a small health organization in rural Uganda, I asked the director about the C-section rate in the community. In some private ma...

Using nanoparticles to treat polycystic kidney disease

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Excited by the promise our research holds for PKD patients, we have been packaging a variety of PKD drugs into our nanoparticles, testing their abili...

Hypertension is killing pregnant mothers. Blood pressure monitoring can help.

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"Hypertensive disorders with onset during pregnancies are among the leading causes of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity in the U.S. and can ...

Winning at parenting without losing yourself

18 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"As working women, we have an opportunity to be an example of living with passion and priorities, of working hard, of staying committed, not necessari...