The Podcast by KevinMD
Episodes
Being a pediatrician did not prepare me for parenting
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I hope being a parent will now equip me to be a better pediatrician. I hope I can teach them whatever I know about safe sleeping, breastfeeding, and ...
It's never too late for physicians to change directions and land new jobs
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As I approached retirement from medical practice, I had an epiphany to take up writing and attended the Harvard CME course on Writing, Publishing, an...
Solving major substance use disorder treatment gaps during COVID-19
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As if COVID-19 weren't bad enough during the pandemic, another public health crisis – substance use disorder (SUD) – has gone from bad to worse, ...
How 5-star reviews generated over $225,000 in practice revenue
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"With my natural affinity for numbers, I analyzed the reviews' precise impact after a few years, and the results were astounding. The system generat...
What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses: A forensic pathologist explains
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"You're a clinician. You had a patient die under your care, and now your hospital is being sued. You are not named in the lawsuit, but you are being a...
How this physician escaped the system
08 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"If you are happy with where you are in the current system – that is wonderful, continue what you are doing. However, if you are feeling trapped, fr...
Responding to the COVID pandemic: a lesson in coalescence
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"When faced with an existential crisis, any organization, as large as a nation or as small as a marriage, will go one of two ways. Either it will bond...
Gender disparities in medicine: How popular literature mirrors society
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Coffee in hand, I decided to try and collect my thoughts. I realized that a large portion of the literature we grew up reading has in many ways tried...
How reviewing medical malpractice claims made me a better gastroenterologist
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"When a patient is dissatisfied with his or her care, he or she can consult an attorney, who will enlist a physician 'expert' to determine if a doctor...
Rest in peace, primary care
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The corporatization of medicine has destroyed primary care as a specialty. The primary care physician is supposed to be your go-to doctor, your advoc...
End-of-life conversations: Embrace the responsibility
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"For physicians who lack experience in end-of-life counseling, the process can be daunting at the beginning. However, they can be confident that once ...
Falling in love during a pandemic: a medical scribe's story
02 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Nowadays, I go on long walks through the city alone. I make dinner for one. When I go on bike rides, it's a solo activity. I find comfort in myself, ...
An acupuncturist's take on the doctor-patient relationship
01 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Every professional I have done the exercise with admitted that their ideal patient was inspired by someone they were close to in their personal life....
What role does the science of complexity play in medicine?
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The science of complexity lays a conceptual foundation for understanding "complex adaptive systems." What all complex adaptive systems have in common...
What medical professionals can do to take climate action
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As health professionals, we have the platform to enact change within our own institutions, as well as local and federal governments. We must elect le...
Our work as physicians and healers is to see the whole patient
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Instead of focusing on one organ system, I want to know everything. The diagnostic challenge is to discern patterns of insults, symptoms, and lab tes...
Physician suicide: We need safe spaces to talk about it
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Suicide is a path, whether fast or slow, that a person chooses to take because of their own reasons. We certainly can never predict suicide or truly ...
My Klonopin withdrawal story
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Our relationship with Big Pharma is a dangerous, nasty, and abusive one, and it can prove to be fatal too. Benzos aren't limited to a specific class,...
Focus medical education on training the whole person
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Had I understood the nature of my struggles and felt permitted and supported in actively addressing them, I would have been more effective, a better ...
Leadership lessons from Dr. Fauci
24 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Dr. Fauci navigated the delicate balance between his obligation to the American people as one of our most respected physician-scientists and holding ...
A nurse shares her story of sexual assault
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am a nurse who has worked at a rural hospital. My husband is a board-certified family medicine doctor. In the fall of 2020, I was raped by my massa...
Don't forget about influenza and the lessons learned from COVID
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"When the public was made aware of the risk of transmitting the virus and the far-reaching measures of social distancing, closing schools, and lock-do...
Expressing grief through the power of story
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Now the room is silent as if nothing at all occurred. I stand watching the red stain forming on the pristine white sheet, mocking me in my failure. I...
How essential workers cope with COVID
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I really shouldn't complain. I haven't lost my housing or job. I have plenty of food and toilet paper, and so far, no close friend or family have die...
Physician morale and the doctor's voice
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"It is dangerously unfortunate that the use of masks has been politicized in many parts of our nation. The Dakotas (or North and South COVID as they w...
PCPs could counter virtual plans by increasing telehealth visits
18 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"If PCPs want to meet the new competition from virtual primary care plans, I suggest that they gradually increase the percentage of their visits that ...
My first end-of-life conversation
17 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Looking back on these words at the end of my rotation, I understand what I had felt, and I feel confident naming it: the futility of medicine. We can...
Advice to pregnant surgical residents
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Motherhood has been the biggest gamble of my adult life thus far. How was I going to operate for 12-plus hours while 39-weeks pregnant? Where would I...
President Biden's quest for a public option
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"COVID-19 disproportionately impacts those with pre-existing conditions, and our health care system leaves one in five Americans with a pre-existing c...
Patients don't need quick diagnoses. They need accurate ones.
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The patient knocking on your door is not your enemy. They're sick. They're scared. They're in pain. They don't know why, and they're hoping for an an...
Meet the orthopedic surgeon who stopped taking insurance and does house calls
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I can tell you what I don't want to do. I don't want to mill through 50 patients a day, mindlessly clicking through EMR checkboxes so an insurance au...
Harness the power of the humanities to counteract burnout
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Humanities can be seen as part of the fabric, society, and culture of human experience. In many ways, they might be seen as the disciplines that make...
In gratitude to our nation's residents
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Most residents are young, often in their mid to late 20s, having spent years ensconced in libraries, research labs, and classrooms learning pathophys...
How to find sparks of joy
10 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Keep it Simple is a bumper sticker slogan. Life during a pandemic has been anything but simple, and the holiday season presents (not the gift kind) i...
What physicians should know before they're interviewed by the media
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Lights, camera, action! You get a call from your hospital's public relations office asking you to speak to the local news. Even though this isn't you...
Why medical students should be taught the business side of medicine
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Ultimately, patient care is at the center of medicine and is the main reason many physicians chose to go into the field. A good understanding of the ...
End medical school grades
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"There should be no grades in medical school. Forty-something percent of applicants get accepted to one or more medical schools. To even apply to medi...
Film and television continue to depict psychiatrists as heartless swindlers
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Have you ever watched a movie, television show, or read a book where the villain is a medical doctor? If you are a psychiatrist, you will be alarmed ...
A letter to Black America for those who do not want the COVID-19 vaccine
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As a Black physician, I urge you to consider taking the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to you. Vaccines save lives. Preventing poor outco...
We must address glaring disparities in treatment
04 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"It is not enough to say we are anti-racist; we have to modify our systems to recognize that we have placed individuals of color at risk of poorer out...
An unexpected COVID-19 vaccine side effect
03 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Just a few seconds after the needle penetrated my arm, I felt a mild soreness, kind of like a flu shot. But as I sat for the required 15 minutes of o...
We need to broaden the definition of what "counts" in careers
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Many colleagues in medicine already talk about medicine never going back to its state pre-COVID-19 – be it telehealth for patients, new flexibility...
Keep insulting doctors, and good luck finding a physician
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The tragedy that's happening in medicine today is that the loss of respect and the constant threats to fair payment are making physicians regret that...
Self-care is the Rx we were never taught to write
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"This is our call to action. I have the experience, knowledge, expertise, and deep passion for teaching every medical student these skills. I cannot d...
Why socialized health care is not right for America
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We need full transparency and empowerment of patients and doctors to make wise decisions. We must renew and restore the sanctity of the patient-docto...
How to protect your resilience
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Health care delivery will always be inherently unpredictable and challenging. Those drawn to medicine are among our most resilient, but the current l...
You don't have to drown in the paperwork
28 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"This is not what I signed up for. Have you ever said this when you are rushing home 1.5 hours after the last patient left and you still haven't finis...
How divorce helped this physician
27 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I now say getting divorced was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Through that painful circumstance, I rediscovered me. I learned more ...
Put nutrition counseling in primary care
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"One of the best solutions to rising obesity and non-communicable disease rates lie in primary care. Medical professionals can influence the U.S. food...
Why this plastic surgeon chose to become a high school science teacher
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I have closed my practice, but I have no plans to retire at the age of 52. I have started the journey to become a high school science teacher. There ...
Words matter: Definitions ground us in our profession and in our world
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Definitions ground us in our profession and in our world. Definitions matter because they help us pause, give our body a moment to settle, and our br...
Solving imposter syndrome in physicians
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The good news is that imposter syndrome can be quieted with increased awareness and replacing negative internal messages with positive ones. In our w...
Vulnerability is challenging but necessary for health care professionals
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"In the world of medicine, inordinate stress is instead accepted as just part of the job. If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen- or see...
One physician's journey from burnout to bliss
21 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As a young girl, I'd stand on my tiptoes, craning my neck to watch her sweep cerulean eye shadow across lids and smear foundation on sunken cheeks. W...
This physician loves primary care. A pandemic isn't going to change that.
20 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I just started laughing. It was early on Monday morning during our COVID surge. I couldn't help myself. Phones were not on yet, but I already had tri...
How COVID changed this physician forever
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As a professional woman who most identifies as a physician more than any other title, I know that I run the risk of losing myself to this disease. ...
Executive presence for women leaders
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Research conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI), a nonprofit research organization in New York, defines the three pillars of executive p...
Life in a rural emergency department during COVID
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am grateful that I work in a small rural hospital that is like a family. I am grateful that my organization has done everything in its power to pro...
Weight stigma in children and teens
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Let's meet in the middle and listen to what's happening in communities. All across U.S. communities, there are pockets of promise and programs focuse...
Medical school interview secrets
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"When you're applying to medical school, it's remarkable how much four years or more of intense work can come down to one single day. The medical scho...
A physician deals with uncertainty during the pandemic
14 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Despite forces not within our control, namely the thoughts and actions of others, headway has been made in my local practice area: the decline in m...
End the draconian hospital visitation policies during COVID-19
13 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"At the start of the pandemic when hospitals were overrun, testing and PPE were scarce, and unknowns about COVID-19 transmission abound, such restrict...
What this physician says to vaccine-doubters
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"A scientific achievement can never have success on its own unless if it has acceptance in the social context by the masses. I think that the concerns...
Addiction medicine during COVID-19
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The rapid change-over to telemedicine in March of 2020 brought predictable challenges to health care at large and substance use disorder treatment in...
Using technology for behavioral health integration
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"While behavioral health integration (BHI) has been a long-standing conversation in collaborative care or health's team-based approach, it hasn't alwa...
High-tech holistic medicine is the future of whole-person care
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"When we think about holistic medicine, many assume that it requires human-to-human touch points and, therefore, doesn't lend itself well to technolog...
Sexual harassment in medicine
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I would encourage you to see amazing women on social media for who they are in the future. Maybe figure out where they have been and what they are ...
What are your health goals for the coming year?
07 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Yearly physicals are usually afforded a longer time than regular visits. If I can use most of that time focusing the discussion on what a healthy lif...
Captions on the COVID vaccine selfie matter as much as the picture
06 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"For a vaccination campaign to be highly effective, we need to be open to having difficult conversations with people who disagree with our perspective...
Do politics have a place in medicine?
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"In addition to being a pediatrician, I am Jewish and the granddaughter of a sole Holocaust survivor. My grandfather's family perished in Auschwitz, a...
An introduction to medical-legal consulting
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"There is a unique non-clinical consulting opportunity any physician can learn to do full-time, as part of your existing practice, or in lieu of retir...
We need to work together to help schools reopen
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Children cannot afford to wait, especially our youngest learners who have difficulty engaging on a screen. We need to all work together to help sch...
Health care from the trenches: Change must come from us
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We, as a profession, must accept some blame for many of the developing problems in health care delivery. No, I am not suggesting that we caused the p...
Why I trust the COVID vaccine
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Many friends have asked for my perspective on the COVID vaccine. Answering this requires both an explanation of clinical trials and an understanding ...
How physicians can emerge stronger after 2020
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"With 2020 behind us and the pandemic still raging, it is incumbent upon us to take a close look in the rear-view mirror. While the vaccines' approval...
Samuel Shem, MD on how can we put the connection back into medicine
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"There is a frenzy of trying to use technology to re-establish the healing human connection in the doctor-patient interaction. These efforts range fro...
How residents can create a positive clinical learning environment
28 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"For me, the team room became a safe space filled with light, stories, laughter, and food. There, my residents helped me read CT scans, interpret CBCs...
Is there a role for vitamin D in COVID-19?
27 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic causing spiking numbers of cases, the scientific and medical communities continue to search for eff...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Chadwick Boseman: a tale of two cancers in America
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Separated by less than a month (Boseman on August 28th and Ginsburg on September 18th) and both due to gastrointestinal cancers (Boseman had colon ca...
Interstate licensure for telehealth can fuel medical practice growth
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"When it comes to using telehealth to treat patients out of state, most physicians are mindful about licensure issues. But some are not aware that if ...
How books influence the medical student experience
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I will never forget these words. This physician validated my efforts to emotionally connect with patients. This message will indelibly shape the way ...
Letizia Alto, MD on why to become a semi-retired MD
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Something had to give, and it would either be clinical medicine, or my business. I finally had to admit I was no longer fulfilled to the same level d...
Overcome COVID vaccine hesitancy and boost vaccine confidence: How you can help
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vaccine hesitancy can have a negative impact on rollout. A striking example comes from long-term care facilities. Approximately 78 percent of resident...
How technology is a weapon in the fight against COVID-19
21 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As the COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the globe, companies are working hard to develop innovative solutions to fight the coronavirus pandemic...
Everything physicians need to know about Bitcoin
21 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"It is still extremely early in the Bitcoin story. This is due to the same network effect that Facebook, Amazon, and Apple have had as adoption of new...
How the pain of unexpected and tragic deaths lingers with physicians
20 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The memory of these patients, and their families' utter anguish, stays with me. There was nothing I could have done to save them, nothing I did wrong...
Expanding the osteopathic concept for the health of all things
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We are all interrelated. This is the foundational basis of osteopathic medicine. Whether considering internal relationships of the systems of the bod...
Telehealth in underserved populations needs telecommunication expansion
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"COVID-19 has propelled the nation into widespread telehealth services to provide consumer-based care, especially for those who access this technology...
A dermatologist reflects on his career
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"At that point, I realized Thanksgiving came early this year, and I missed it. It was a reminder of why many of us go into medicine. I didn't go into ...
To MBA or not to MBA as an MD
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The first thing my husband said when I told him about MBA school was, 'the NBA has a school?' It didn't help that we first had our conversation abo...
Suicide in veterinary medicine is a huge problem right now
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am a veterinarian. More specifically, I am a veterinary specialist, board-certified in emergency and critical care. I don't play with puppies and k...
Infertility and the physician journey
14 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am a medical doctor—a hospitalist working in an environment with many talented professionals. We share our knowledge and our approach to medicine...
Train in the United States. Practice medicine abroad.
13 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Oh, Canada! Every presidential election cycle, my colleagues joke that if the election result is not to their liking, they will move to Canada. On el...
Empty chairs at the table this pandemic holiday season
12 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"It is often difficult to reflect on the holidays when we are grieving positively. One thing to keep in mind is that the loved one/ones we lost would ...
Positive growth from the COVID-19 pandemic
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The pandemic has been difficult, but it has managed to change my perspective for the better. I mourn for the suffering and loss we have experienced a...
#ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Vaccines have been around as early as 1776 when Edward Jenner first pioneered the smallpox vaccine and Louis Pasteur produced a rabies vaccine. As a ...
Nephrology and kidney care during the pandemic
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"COVID-19 wreaks havoc on multiple areas of the body, and myself and my fellow frontline workers across the globe have been forced to quickly identify...
Reforming the peer review process
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The peer-review process is fallible, slow, and biased, and it takes advantage of the scientific community's altruism. We need to keep pushing the con...
Doctors are killing themselves, and who is taking notice?
07 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I can do better. We can do better. Please partner with me and advocate for the ability for doctors and residents in our profession to receive medical...
Why the preservation of the Affordable Care Act should matter to you
06 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Is the ACA perfect? Not by a long shot. In Kentucky, where I live, there are only 2 insurers selling individual policies on the exchange. A Silver pl...