"How do we manage this? All patients meet with the physical therapist before surgery and within two days after surgery. They use transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) before and after surgery. They get a regional anesthetic block from one of our anesthesiologists, supplemented with local injection during surgery. They use a cold machine to provide continuous cryotherapy. Standard medication prescriptions include a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), acetaminophen, and gaba...
Nov 26, 2022•21 min
"Scientific research impacts our lives, however, and much more profoundly than we generally appreciate. Considering the wide-ranging benefits, science is not just for scientists. Research discoveries are often translated to tools and applications down the road, usually without reference to the original science behind them. Without science, we would not have electricity, antibiotics, clean water, cell phones, nutrition labels on food products, eyeglasses, cars, cancer therapy, microwaves, vaccine...
Nov 25, 2022•19 min
"My quality of life is outstanding. I leave work every evening only after every call is answered, fax addressed, a prescription delivered, then retreat to my home a mile away. The proximity makes it easy to see patients after hours, on weekends, and on holidays; I promise to see patients within 24 hours, but I go in less than once a week. Because all patients have my office, cell phone numbers, and business email, patient questions are often answered quickly without a visit." John Machata is a f...
Nov 24, 2022•22 min
"Being a transactional lawyer for physicians is never dull because the more the regulations, guidance, and laws change, the more questions everyone has. But it’s more than just getting an answer to a question and being in compliance. Doctors are feeling overly worn down and out of control, and the risks that face their practice are real. It contributes to burnout and apathy, as it’s hard enough to keep track of the changing landscape of clinical medicine. Now you have to become a financial, empl...
Nov 23, 2022•19 min
In this special episode, I'm on the other side of the microphone. I'm interviewed by CMEfy's Brian Cohen on the Co-Learning Clinician podcast, and we discuss the concept of physician co-learning, opinion pieces vs. gold standards in medicine, what I learned from interviewing physicians, physicians being more than their degrees, and how CMEfy has impacted my learning. VISIT THE CO-LEARNING CLINICIAN PODCAST → https://podfollow.com/1640151854/view SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com...
Nov 22, 2022•21 min
"The art and craft of being a physician and finding meaning in our care of others are to make poetry out of our lives." Steven Kamajian is a family physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, " As doctors, caring is our poetry ." The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience . With a growing physician shortage, increasing burnout, and declining patient satisfaction, a dramatic change is needed to make health care more efficient and effecti...
Nov 21, 2022•23 min
"My lifelong quest to become a healer — over 40 years as a family physician, scientist, and researcher with the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and the Department of Defense — has led me to conclude that the best way to forge the strongest, most effective doctor-patient partnership is not to limit my questions to 'What’s the matter with you?' in an attempt to make a medical diagnosis. Instead, we must attempt to get to the...
Nov 20, 2022•20 min
"It’s not that physicians need to be more resilient. We’ve failed to provide them with the goodwill to be human and embrace their “whole selves” (people who are resilient often but not always), access to safe and consistent relationships to heal, and systems that support their well-being. Physicians have persevered despite hardships. They have shown grit. Now, let’s give them supportive spaces, relationships, communities, and systems so that they may have the ingredients to feel resilient more o...
Nov 19, 2022•20 min
"If you did not have a colonoscopy, I would still recommend that you do it in a conventional way and get that IV sedation. But if you are an adventurer as I am, I would highly recommend that you do a colonoscopy the same way I did without anesthesia. I heard there might be only one patient out of 1,000 who is doing colonoscopy without anesthesia as I did. So in a way, that’s some kind of crazy record, and I will tell that one day to my grandchildren. I am already bragging about that. God bless, ...
Nov 18, 2022•18 min
"Suppose you’re getting ready to send your young adult off to college for the first time. In that case, you’ve likely been spending the summer getting college dorm and apartment essentials lined up: bedding, storage cubes, first aid kit, extension cords, dry erase board and other room necessities. But have you thought about what could happen should they get ensnarled in a health crisis away from home?" Joanne Eason is an advance care planning expert. She shares her story and discusses her KevinM...
Nov 17, 2022•15 min
"Not too long ago, a circumstance occurred. I have experienced similar circumstances several times in my career. However, this time, my response was different. It was like a switch in my brain flipped. I was ready to leave clinical medicine. It was time for the next chapter. Wow! It was a moment of surprise, relief, and excitement, quickly followed by a WTF? Where was this thought coming from? There was no “maybe I should consider a change.” I was so sure that I was ready to leave that I was con...
Nov 16, 2022•19 min
In this special sponsored episode. I’m joined by Dr. Filip Dubovsky. He is an infectious disease physician, executive vice president, and chief medical officer responsible for medical and clinical affairs and related activities at Novavax. A recognized leader in vaccine development, Dr. Dubovsky brings more than 20 years of infectious disease experience to Novavax. He gives a Fall 2022 COVID update, and we discuss the various vaccine options, how to address COVID misinformation, what we can lear...
Nov 15, 2022•22 min
"Without a strong rural health care system, our nation’s ability to expand and contract with surges in demand will become very limited. When hospitals work together, they can better ensure that no community is left without a rural hospital for urgent care." Richard Watson is an emergency medicine physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, " Improving access to care in rural America: Keeping rural hospitals in the game ." The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuan...
Nov 14, 2022•19 min
"I have come to appreciate why doctors find self-directed patients challenging, if not downright difficult. I wish all docs would engage with us, hear us out, and offer an explanation and further discussion when they disagree. The doctors I choose to work with seem to understand and respect my efforts, which is why I entrust my life to their care." Murray Keith Wadsworth is a patient advocate and author of Prostate Cancer: Sheep of Wolf? He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, " U...
Nov 13, 2022•18 min
"With regard to health care in the USA, the quote from Dickens is twice correct. We are in the best of times for knowledge, capability, and potential. We also are in the worst of times with regard to the application of our knowledge and the outcomes achieved, especially when compared to other nations." Henry Buchwald is a surgeon. He shares his story and discusses his book, Healthcare Upside Down: A Critical Examination of Policy and Practice . The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nua...
Nov 12, 2022•19 min
"Yes, the opioid crisis in this country has caused a reckoning in the medical field about how to treat patient pain. Ignoring the pain will not make it go away. Options are available beyond opioids, and policymakers and health care providers need to be aware that attention to effective health care practices must move beyond silencing to solutions." Layla Parast is a statistician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, " It’s time to address pain despite the opioid crisis ." The ...
Nov 11, 2022•19 min
"It has now been almost four years since I transitioned to academia. I see fewer patients per day and take fewer call. I also have more time with each patient, more time to recharge, more time for other academic pursuits, and more time for creative outlets. My compensation has decreased, but I have never felt tougher." Jayson Greenberg is an otolaryngologist. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, " Toughness is not infinite and is not defined by a dollar amount ." The Podcast by...
Nov 10, 2022•14 min
"Doing medical-legal consulting is a great way to use your medical training in a non-clinical field that really helps people. One of the many things we can do is help attorneys refute the question of a pre-existing medical condition. Often opposing counsel will try to lay off accident injuries as not related to the accident or injury in question." Armin Feldman is a medical consultant to attorneys. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, " How a medical-legal consultant helped ref...
Nov 09, 2022•18 min
In this special sponsored episode, I’m joined by Ernie Wallerstein, CEO of Mental Health Technologies, or MHT. MHT is a cloud-based platform that enables health care clinicians to identify patients that may be suffering from undiagnosed or inadequately treated mental health and substance abuse disorders. As a primary care physician, I routinely see how behavioral health conditions like anxiety and depression affect more and more patients’ lives. This is especially true as we emerge from the pand...
Nov 08, 2022•33 min
Jay Baruch is an emergency physician and author of Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey Through Constraints and Creativity in the ER . We discuss his emergency medicine journey, poignant cases, the importance of stories in the doctor-patient relationship, why writing is so important, and how physicians can be creative. The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience . With so many demands on their time, physicians today report record levels of burnout. Burnout is ...
Nov 07, 2022•21 min
"It is impossible to fix a system with an unwillingness to bend. It means working together to accomplish a goal. Living in the gray requires a commitment to growth and discomfort. In the gray, it is possible to hold on to deeply held convictions while bending just enough, leading toward personal and collective liberation. That will save lives in a way that causes no harm." Cessilye R. Smith is a writer, speaker, and activist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, " Protecting B...
Nov 06, 2022•18 min
"If any of those people get infected, their illness will potentially impact dozens more. COVID infection may now be 'just a cold,' at least for the vaccinated. But no one should think this 'you do you, I’ll do me' approach to the pandemic affects only them. Not by a long shot." Diane Birnbaumer is an emergency physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, " The impact of a single COVID infection ." The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperie...
Nov 05, 2022•16 min
"Try incorporating the three small practices of your choice into your day-to-day for two weeks and watch your experience of your life transform. You have worked far too hard to just go through the motions forever. Starting today, you can begin to enjoy all that you’ve created with this simple infusion of pleasure." Allison Anderson is a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and life coach. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, " Want to stop going through the motions and actually hav...
Nov 04, 2022•17 min
"You received an interview invite based on ERAS filters the program set, so you already have your foot in the door. Don’t have them yawning at a two-page extravaganza of your life story that makes them wonder if you know what full stops are and cringing at thoughts that were better left unsaid. Because honestly (also don’t start a sentence with 'because'), who even reads these personal statements?" Maha Al-Ghafry is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. She shares her story and discusses her Kevi...
Nov 03, 2022•17 min
“No wonder doctors feel like hamsters running on an exercise wheel to nowhere. And this sense of futility is driving burnout. How much patient care will you get out of docs who have moved on to nonclinical jobs, retired early, or committed suicide due to burnout? The time for rumination and hand-wringing is over! It is time for medical organizations to cooperate, take prompt action, and avert a health care crisis by protecting one of their most precious health care resources.” Banu Symington is ...
Nov 02, 2022•17 min
"I am heartbroken at the loss of my sister. No, breast cancer didn’t physically kill her, and for that, I am grateful. Its presence in her medical history, however, quite possibly did as it was apparently used as the justification for all that went wrong. Perhaps the young hospitalist will remember her. Perhaps he will consider the harm that was done and how assumptions delayed what might have been life-saving treatment. If so, others may benefit. As a physician, I hope for that. As a grieving s...
Nov 01, 2022•27 min
"There is great hope for this bill to accomplish the stated goals in the medical and energy worlds. There are many excellent summaries regarding this bill, and I would urge any interested readers to find a review of the bill and read through it. We will hear much more about these initiatives in the future." Chris Kager is a neurosurgeon. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, " The Inflation Reduction Act: Can it build back medicine better and reduce climate change? " SUBSCRIBE T...
Oct 31, 2022•17 min
"Despite the terror of the Soviets, it was clear that not even their mighty tanks could eradicate the social tides that now, like a tsunami, could not be turned back. The power of the movement forced Ernő Gerő, just a few months into his rule, to step down the next day and communist officials appointed Imre Nagy as Prime Minister. Despite this acquiescence, the violence only escalated. The Soviets were intent on crushing the movement with as much brute force as possible, killing and arresting pr...
Oct 30, 2022•17 min
"Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and their allies will rally in DC, London, and Edinburgh this September to “demand bold, urgent governmental action” for the millions of people living with ME, long COVID, and other infection-associated, chronic diseases. As researchers continue to find many similarities between ME and long COVID, the history of ME offers crucial lessons for approaching long COVID and some pathways toward more effective research and care." V. Jo Hsu is an assistant p...
Oct 29, 2022•17 min
"I think it’s much more likely that my patients — some of whom are terminal and facing their own mortality; others who are suffering through a multitude of side effects from their cancers or our treatments – my beautiful patients haven’t let cancer compromise that core of humanity that allows them to care deeply about the welfare of another human being, despite what they are living through. They wanted me to heal just as much as I hoped for the same for them." Mikkael A. Sekeres is a hematology-...
Oct 28, 2022•16 min
