"Lifestyle medicine equips practitioners with the tools to affect change. One of the biggest job satisfiers for physicians is positively impacting the trajectory of their patients’ lives. Having a parent tell you that their child is 'a different...
"As an oncologist, perhaps the hardest part I play is as witness. I am there to give a diagnosis that, more often than not, will alter someone’s life forever. For some, I see resignation—a sense that they’ve known something was …
"Grocery shopping is not optional; it’s necessary. But if you go every day and to multiple stores, you are increasing the chance you will be exposed. From my informal survey, this practice is extremely common. Yet, experts advise to consolidate...
"Advocacy by moms is not new, but advocacy by physicians has been less common. Moms have been fierce advocates on a variety of causes ranging from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to Moms Demand Action, the anti-gun violence mom activist...
Why should we reform the health care system to a physician-led approach? How will that look like? Would a Medicare for all system cure what ails the system? What are some obstacles to implementation? is a journalist. He shares his …
"There are two battles waging from the COVID-19 virus this year: the obvious fight for human life but also the attack on science. During philosophical and political debates, one steadfast weapon has been the scientific method. Opinion doesn’t...
"For the past six months, I’ve spent my free time becoming a certified life coach. I’m a hospitalist, but a little more than a year ago, I was introduced to life coaching. I love the changes it has produced in …
"Both clinical and direct-to-consumer genetic testing have become significantly less costly and more common, providing people with access to a wealth of information about everything from their ethnicity and family lineage to their risk for certain...
"Locum tenens means 'to hold the place of, to substitute for' and locum tenens contracts are a common form of agreement for physicians who provide temporary medical services in place of full-time physicians. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic,...
"Misinformation about COVID-19, if propagated, can be deadly. The stakes are high. Physicians need to have a voice in this discussion and work towards impacting policy in a positive way. Physician-led groups such as IMPACT aim to advocate for...
"When doctors ignore the evidence showing that a support system doesn’t have to be traditional in order to be effective, that’s not a medical judgment. It’s a personal prejudice that puts singles at serious risk. Classifying patients as married...
"Single payer is the solution. And the time for it is now. A single-payer system would guarantee health care coverage immediately to every American. So whether a loved one gets sick from COVID, has a heart attack, or gets in …
"Doctors are people, and people are capable of prejudice and discrimination. But, in medicine, there is no place for prejudice and discrimination because a patient’s life is at stake. Stereotyping a customer and assuming that they cannot afford a...
"My experience with recent knee surgery that left me significantly disabled for over a month brought this to my attention yet again. I was completely dependent on others for basic self-care since I was unable to get in and out …
"With COVID-19, all of those memories have come flooding back. It is as if I am back in the NICU staring at that tiny infant and worried that she would get sick. Only now I have to pull myself out …
"As a runner, my pulse rests around fifty, but the ICU team had worried when it dipped to thirty-five, and my blood pressure hovered around ninety over fifty. Understandably, bags of saline were hung, and steroids were added. My headache …
"I called the locum agency in the morning to air my concerns. To their credit, they admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event for which no one could have planned. They had developed a fund through which they …
"COVID-19 is a tragedy that could have easily been prevented if our leaders cared more about the well-being of their citizens instead of economies, stock markets, and their political campaigns. To all those arguing about how the economy is more...
"I suppose those of us between zero and ninety-three are blessed in our own way as well. We are here, swirling in a jumble of the inconsequential and consequential. We’ve enjoyed some of the world’s beauty and reserve the potential …
"There are roughly 221 million people — including 48 million kids — in states where marijuana has been named a medicine. These include patients who suffer from depression and could see their symptoms worsen. Mothers who could give birth to …
"While Imperial County faces a confluence of vulnerabilities that have led to its susceptibility during COVID-19, it is not alone. Like an insidious undercurrent, these deficiencies are lurking in every region of the United States. Structural issues...
"Physicians are steeped in a noxious culture that seems to be averse to creating healthy physicians. We ignore mountains of evidence that show exercise, sleep, and healthy eating is beneficial for cognitive function, learning, and performance — all...
"Advocate for the children in your community. Studies show that one of the most powerful buffering factors for kids experiencing toxic stress is having at least one supportive, caring adult in their lives. Who in your circles needs you to …
"The pharmacy department plays a vital role in hospitals. They prepare and dispense medications. Sometimes the pharmacist will receive an order from the doctor on a med whose written dosage he is not sure of. In some cases, the pharmacist …