The Podcast by KevinMD
Episodes
Being a neonatologist and a mother
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Being a neonatologist and a mother is living with the knowledge that the question 'What would you do?' could so easily become real, not hypothetical....
Thank you pediatric medical professionals
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As the mother of a child born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, besides going through four open-heart surgeries and coding, my son has also had e...
Prison medicine during the pandemic
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Rumor has it that the SARS-CoV 2 virus was brought into prison via inmates who were on a work-release program. Allegedly, they boarded a city bus w...
Stuck between a virus and a cold place: A choice for homeless Americans
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"What form the incoming winter will take depends on the location and status of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each city must find a method that will provide t...
I will be a doctor because I was once a patient
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Everything I ever have and ever will accomplish is in part due to the doctors, nurses, administrators, and security officers who gave me safe, compas...
Nisha Mehta, MD on why physicians should consider side gigs
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"At first, it may seem strange that 'physician' and 'side gig' are even used in the same sentence. After all, the average physician in the United Stat...
Death is personal for this physician
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"In Wooster, Ohio, where I practiced, a small not-for-profit hospice agency relied on local physicians, clergy, and many other volunteers to supplemen...
How doctors are losing money every time a patient pays a bill
30 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"A practicing anesthesiologist for the past 14 years, when COVID hit, and the ORs came to an abrupt halt, I needed to occupy my mind. An opportunity t...
Health care's tech renaissance during the pandemic
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Just as the pandemic has forced massive technology adoption in the delivery of care, we will see the rapid, widespread implementation of innovative s...
Zoom is foie gras of the brain
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We lack the necessary signaling of the nonverbal cues when only looking at one's face. The presenter's large face only a few inches from our screen m...
Peer-to-peer support and the second victim syndrome
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone, especially those of us in health care. Our way of practicing medicine has been changed; some would say...
Why medical students should not let medicine define them
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Doctors are indeed noble for what they do. Their work is undoubtedly physically intense and emotionally taxing. But the notion that they are 'superhu...
A medical student's story of racism and bias
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am left wondering what would have happened if I was the patient's daughter, niece (who she said I reminded her of), or friend. The nurse made a qui...
Lessons learned from a combat doctor in Iraq
24 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"My own dream-induced pain started at the same time this child was mowed down. Then and there is when and where my faith in God died because God, the ...
How health care organizations can tackle racism in patient care
23 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The new American Medical Association policy recognizing racism as a public health threat and providing an anti-racist approach to equitable care will...
How to (almost) never have a bad shift
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"To understand how to create good shifts irrespective of external factors, I turned to the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. One of its core tenets is t...
Unmasking inequality: the power of community organization during COVID-19
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Touted by some as a 'great equalizer,' the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront long-standing disparities in access to health for Black, La...
General surgery, palliative care and the new meaning of the phrase, "going viral"
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Today and for the foreseeable future, COVID-19 is a serious threat, virulent and contagious, not only leading to an impressive display of human vulne...
How shame almost ruined a physician's life
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I do want you all to know that shame is a very familiar brain track (like an 8-track tape, if you know what that is), but not one I am stuck in. The ...
COVID vaccines, overcoming skepticism, and pandemic theater
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Environmental cleaning rightfully plays a more prominent role within health care facilities to control the spread of other diseases, but even hospita...
How ocean plastic picking made me a better pediatrician
17 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"It has been over a month since I started this new hobby. I told my middle-school-aged daughter tonight, 'I am going to write a post about how ocean p...
This physician is overwhelmed. She is not alone.
16 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am overwhelmed right now. I know I am not alone. I hear it in the voices of my friends, family, colleagues, patients. We are all feeling it. I am o...
Tips for medical students starting their clinical rotations
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Each year, medical students across the country prepare to start the long-anticipated core clinical rotations. Suddenly, we're thrust into a world of ...
Do doctors make great entrepreneurs?
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We in medicine are experts in delayed gratification. We've been in school for what, about 21 years before residency? Then we finally become an attend...
A crisis of physician intra-professional respect
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"What has become of medicine today? What has become of the sacred patient-physician relationship? What has become of medical offices- aren't they supp...
Dear medical community, it's time to engage in the climate movement
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I plan to reach out to climate organizations and see what I can do to get involved. Whether that means writing more op-eds like this one or writing t...
Women physicians and pivoting from medicine
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We must continue to work to create gender equity as here is where we stand today: A significant gender pay gap still exists in medicine where women d...
How this surgeon beat a medical staff disciplinary action
10 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I recently represented a physician in a noteworthy peer review case at an academic medical center. The medical staff president initiated a complaint ...
When an epidemic of violence against health care workers meets a pandemic
09 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated factors that cause violence in the workplace. At no time in recent history will you find clinical health care w...
When your institution has a less than 1% hiring rate for Black residents
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As soon as I realized we had so few Black residents, I began to ask around to find out if there were reasons why. One person brought up the fact that...
Medicine must create inclusive clinical trials
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Researchers should make clinical trials more accessible by providing patients with simple explanations of studies at a variety of locations, includin...
Beyond the medical lessons learned from COVID
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"I am thankful to you SARS-CoV-2 virus as you allowed me to be human again, to make mistakes, and learn from them. You taught me to slow down so that ...
Care is no longer personal. Care is political.
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"To care for dependents, the carer must be cared for, both for the sake of her charge and for her own sake. Without such basic infrastructure, we have...
A medical student's 100 days of COVID
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The first 100 days of COVID made me confront and reflect on a lot of aspects of myself and life, as philosophical as that sounds. Often times, I'm ex...
Why flu vaccines are more important than ever in this pandemic
03 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"The flu vaccine can strengthen your immune system, prevent the disease spread among those closest to you, protect your children, and reduce the healt...
Climate change, cardiac arrest, and the price of inaction
02 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"We have to start understanding these as the real costs of climate change. We are paying these costs now. In my state of Oregon, people are going to s...
COVID-19 vaccines: Channeling the 7 habits to get from vaccines to vaccinations
01 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"As we get excited about vaccine news and results, we need to evaluate our messaging and how we can get to high enough COVID-19 vaccination rates to a...
Bottles and pacifiers: advice from a Latinx pediatrician
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Growing up in Puerto Rico, 'babas' (bottles: biberón/botellas) and 'bobos' (pacifiers: chupetes/chupón) were very common among the families and c...
Why COVID is so emotional for physicians
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"These encounters made my evening shift much more emotional than usual. I am still not sure what it was exactly that evoked such strong feelings of sa...
Think you have an iodine allergy? You may want to reconsider.
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Iodine-based contrast agents are widely used for CT and other X-ray studies. They light up blood vessels and enhance perfusing tissue. These agents a...
Behind the scenes of a hospital's COVID response
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, getting a flu shot has never been more important. Many people are staying indoors, wearing a mask, and washing t...
Food allergies are not funny
27 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"If we do not raise objections to this kind of comedy, we are teaching those around us that food allergies can be funny. It is no that surprise that d...
Surgical smoke evacuators and inertia in the time of COVID
26 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Early in the pandemic, in thinking of and discussing possible solutions to help protect health care workers, two of my former colleagues and I recall...
Talking politics in the exam room
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The medical profession now understands that social determinants of health are probably the most important driver of a patient's overall health, and t...
Why corruption is ruining your health care
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Doctors help patients, and they love us for it. We fix bones, replace joints, cure killer infections, and control diabetes with insulin. We use painl...
How to develop a mission-driven personal brand
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"When it comes to social media, embrace a micromedia mindset. That means sharing entertaining, informative content that provides value. Think of yours...
Understanding critical care in the ICU: then and now
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I write this as a caregiver, patient educator, and clinical researcher. The coronavirus pandemic has shone a spotlight on intensive care units (ICUs)...
Does your doctor's age matter?
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"If I had $100 for every time I walked into a patient's room, introduced myself as the doctor, and was immediately asked, 'Hey, how old are you?' I mi...
Don't underestimate the value of intergenerational relationships
20 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"With the rapid growth of modern medicine and awareness in lifestyle and environmental influences, individuals can live longer and healthier lives. Ap...
Issues faced by LGBTQ individuals in the operative setting
19 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Studies have repeatedly demonstrated a vast majority of pain physicians don't feel like they have adequate training in meeting the unique needs of th...
How to be a transformational, supportive leader during COVID-19
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The behavior of managers and supervisors in organizations affects the mental health of their employees. This is especially true during times of uncer...
What it's like to be pregnant in a pandemic
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"What has kept me comprised during this entire time has been the realization that this whole situation is not normal. It's not normal for me; it's not...
What does colon cancer screening have to do with self-driving cars?
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"We can clearly see that exponential technologies are disrupting cars and phones. So why wouldn't these technologies find their way into health care a...
How can we redefine locum tenens?
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Hiring locum tenens clinicians often proves to be more efficient, and when a position goes unfilled, health care organizations are potentially leavin...
When coaching physicians with wellness, don't lead with mindfulness
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In my work with physicians and physician leaders in academic medicine, I learned that physicians are highly self-reflective and aware of the pressure...
Turn 2020 into an opportunity by changing your mindset
13 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"A few months ago, I signed up for a virtual conference for women in medicine. It's a group of women, over 10,000 of us, who have watched me and suppo...
Proponents of independent non-physician practice make a dangerous assumption
12 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Most Americans have remained dangerously unaware of this revolution in health care. Being treated by a non-physician is not on the radar of the avera...
Can there be hope amid politics?
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Humans are complex. Humans are multifaceted. Humans are capable of grit and determination. This means that humans are also worthy of hope. If I learn...
Mental health in medical professionals and the power of sharing stories
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Frontline medical professionals must collectively share what they experienced as a whole. We must piece together these narratives and unearth commona...
How to decrease your dread of being on-call
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Have you ever wondered how much time we spend worrying about call, versus the amount of time that we actually spend being on call? What about the Mon...
Mental health in our youngest healers
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I was admitted to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation and stabilization just after my third year of medical school. Leading up to my episode, I t...
How to bring joy and be valued while avoiding burnout
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"When I was regularly working 80+ hours a week, and was on call almost every day, I had to admit that something needed to change. I stepped back and d...
How to be sick: challenges faced by those with chronic pain and illness
06 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I write in my book, 'I know from experience that nothing positive comes from directing blame at yourself.' When it comes to chronic illness (which in...
A message to medical interns, in the midst of a pandemic
05 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Ultimately, our job is a difficult one. It's hard to take usual comfort in heartwarming statistics or hollow promises of prosperity when you find you...
This is what a successful health care system looks like
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"If we are serious about supporting the optimal health and well being of our nations' patients and physicians, we need to start believing and implemen...
Who are the doctors who end their own lives?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Recently, a fellow physician mom ended her life. While outwardly, a very vibrant, lively, and happy woman, she fought her own internal demons for som...
COVID-19 highlights chronic oppressive job conditions
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In medicine, the guise of 'professionalism' is an example of how an oppressive system has led us to believe that we ought not to advocate for our rig...
Why physicians need personal loans designed by doctors for doctors
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is brought to you by Doc2Doc Lending (https://www.doc2doclending.com/), a novel lending platform created for doctors, by doctors, with th...
How physicians can find jobs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I'm now CMO at a private biotech company focused on developing therapies for patients with rare endocrine diseases. We are conducting a trial in the ...
How this physician's first experience with death affected her
29 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"My sister called me. I answered. And, then, I lost it: 'He died. He died,' I repeated. 'Our patient died. I literally did CPR on this guy. We tried t...
A physician moves from the exam room to the C-suite
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The dictionary definition of learning is 'the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.' For leaders, the mos...
Essential tips for the physician-entrepreneur
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely road. Everyone dreams of life after a successful round of funds being raised, staff being hired, and plunging h...
COVID-19 is a war on two fronts
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I'm exhausted. As the pandemic rages on, the mental toll of dealing with COVID-19 has started to wear on me. As a practicing hospitalist in the Midwe...
Ballad of a sober man: an ER doctor's journey of recovery
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Now, in her afterlife, she occasionally accompanied Maggie on excursions into my head, usually at night. Make that a double vodka. I thought I had fi...
Parenting in a pandemic: Making the best decisions for your family
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"You have made difficult choices about your family's health and safety already. Pediatricians help parents make these kinds of decisions all the time....
Financial tips that resident physicians need to know
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"These strategies on how the rich get richer do not only apply to the wealthy. These same opportunities and strategies are open to us as well. If we w...
Essential physician communication tips to improve the patient experience
22 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"A majority of physicians see between 11 and 20 patients per day, and among all practices, the majority of doctors spend between 17 and 24 minutes w...
Why spiritual health is so important
21 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Around the time of the coronavirus outbreak, 2019 also marked a full century since the death of Sir William Osler, who revolutionized medical trainin...
Mental health care in children during COVID-19
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Our country, and the world, is beyond exhausted by COVID-19 and the utter chaos and destruction of lives it has caused. All people, including physici...
Declaring racism as a public health crisis from the lens of two Latinx student doctors
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Antiracism requires action-oriented work and calls us to ask, how will we work to become antiracist? How will we change our institutional culture and...
An inflexibility and inflammation root-cause approach to treatment
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"In medicine, empiric therapy is treatment that is administered based on the probability of success because we don't have all of the information. We m...
Why the pandemic is the perfect opportunity to introduce meditation to children
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"While there is a myriad of expert opinions on what long term effects this pandemic will have on our children and their physical and mental health, we...
Appreciation in the personal finance world
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Appreciation in the personal finance world has two different components to it: Quantitative: increasing value of net worth and financial assets Qual...
COVID-related stressors and increasing instances of substance abuse
15 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"While the rise in substance use disorders during COVID will become more apparent as the pandemic eventually ebbs, the silver lining is that this is n...
Let's make compassion go viral
14 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"We are social beings. Evolution has taught us that in order to survive, we must work together. Community trust (trusting your fellow citizen) is a ve...
Hassle-free real estate investing for busy doctors
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Why real estate? By having a 'why' you want something, it'll help keep you motivated to pursue your goals when setbacks and mistakes occur. For our f...
A nontraditional approach to fear and stress
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Like 9/11, we have a new reference point touching everyone on the planet: life before COVID-19 and life after. Regardless if you get it or don't, the...
A call for a moratorium on the sale of inhalable products
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The inflammatory response elicited by the novel coronavirus can do great damage to the essential function of lungs. People with underlying lung disea...
Palliative care and the importance of holding space
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Holding space means being physically, mentally, and emotionally present for someone. It means putting your focus on someone to support them as they f...
How to balance family and professional needs during the pandemic
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The reality of being a medical practice owner is that we are small business owners and very vulnerable to the impact of COVID. Having previously work...
Medical aid in dying is not assisted suicide
08 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"To help the reader understand the issues better, I would like to relate some stories. A friend of mine was dying of pancreatic cancer. He had an impl...
Imagining a pandemic as a physician novelist
07 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"There are some things that we are living through as a result of COVID-19 that I did not imagine in my fictional account. For example: the timeline. A...
Moral injury and practicing oncology during COVID-19
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"As our office begins to return to pre-COVID operations, it has been uplifting to have a relative sense of normalcy, even though morale seems to be re...
Examining the duty of physician officials in the government
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The duty of physician officials in the government exceeds that of other officials. As physicians, they have a unique moral obligation to do more than...
An Indian doctor with vitiligo shares his story
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Growing up, my family sheltered and protected me with everything related to vitiligo. People never really asked me what happened to my skin. And, if ...
COVID-19 amplifies health disparities
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The daily email update on COVID-19 affecting our hospital system is a glaring reflection of the health disparities amongst those in marginalized grou...
How improv helps physician leaders
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Signing up for an improv class was unchartered territory. It was far beyond my comfort zone, like skydiving, for a little thrill. I'm not an adrenali...
Health misinformation from a patient perspective
01 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"What on earth are we doing here, folks? To try to save a tanking economy, workers were sent back to their jobs much too early, causing again a spike ...
Depression vs. burnout: A physician goes through both
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"I have been depressed. I have been burned out. I have been both. I have been neither. How do you know if you are depressed vs. burned out when your c...
Telemedicine in COVID-19: Disparities still exist
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"An increasing number of institutions are relying on telemedicine to continue delivering care to patients in lieu of typical outpatient visits in resp...