Medicine is a joke, except no one is laughing

Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on [KevinMD](. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors Nationally recognized [Set for Life Insurance]( has helped over 30,000 physicians with their life and disability insurance needs since 1993. Get the best available policies at discounted rates. [Request a quote today](. [Find your dream job with Careers by KevinMD](. Search 6,500+ employers and top physician jobs added daily. Connect with premier organizations and advance your career today. In this "[Interventional Radiology Wrong-Site Procedure: Case Review]( The Doctors Company explores factors contributing to a wrong-site procedure in interventional radiology and highlights strategies that can help practitioners mitigate risk and increase safety. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: May 8, 2023 [Medicine is a joke, except no one is laughing]( My brother and I like to swap stories about our medical encounters. I suppose our ages – 69 for me and 74 for him – lead to varied encounters and tales. “It’s a sh*t-show,” he tells me from his home on Martha’s Vineyard. “No one’s left here on the island. The doctors who remain have [...] [The joy of surgery: How one doctor discovered her passion]( When my now ex-husband and I first met, he asked me about my favorite things to do. At that time, I did not have a ready answer. It was my third year of general surgery residency, a time for proving that I could handle it all: being the in-house senior surgery resident on call, starting [...] [Disparities in health care: How physician heuristics can negatively impact patient outcomes]( Every physician, regardless of their specialty, vividly remembers their experiences during grand rounds as a medical student or resident. A preceptor, senior resident, or attending physician would lead a pack of eager students and residents from room to room on the clinical ward. Suddenly, the pack would stop, and the questioning would begin. “What are [...] [The underappreciated heroes of health care: a doctor’s appreciation for therapists]( As a doctor who has cared for countless critically ill patients, I cannot stress enough how important therapists are for patient recovery. Whether it’s occupational, physical, or speech therapists, these health care professionals play an integral role in helping patients regain their abilities and quality of life after an illness or injury. In my experience, [...] [The inherent problems with emergency medicine that make it contradict new values and behaviors]( There has been much hand-wringing about the 555 (18.4 percent) unfilled match spots in this year’s emergency medicine (EM) residency match. Several long-standing, excellent programs with outstanding patient pathology and well-known faculty in major metropolitan areas did not fill. Most hand-wringing has focused not on inherent attributes of the specialty, but temporal issues likely to [...] [Raising financially savvy kids: tips from a physician parent [PODCAST]]( In this episode, we explore the intersection of education and finance with guest Michele Cho-Dorado, a pediatric gastroenterologist. As physicians, we often prioritize academic excellence and lifelong learning, but one critical aspect of education that is often overlooked is financial literacy. In this episode, [...] [2023’s banking failures: a wake-up call for an unstable financial system and potential solutions]( The recent failures of major banks such as Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse have highlighted the fragility of the modern banking system. These events occurred within a week, unlike the drawn-out process of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The quick succession of bank failures underscores the inherent risks of a money system [...] [How popular culture has historically portrayed tech in health care and what we can learn from it in the ChatGPT era]( Well before the advent of chat GPT, popular culture has explored how technology might affect health care, often with a dystopian bent. Take, for example, the 2013 sci-fi movie Elysium, set in 2154 (spoilers ahead). Matt Damon’s character, Max, is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation when his factory supervisor threatens to fire him if [...] [Not treating addiction in criminal justice settings violates the 4 ethical principles in medicine]( As physicians, we are bound by four ethical principles. Beneficence (acting for the benefit of the patient), nonmaleficence (avoiding the harm of the patient), autonomy (respecting patients’ right to make their own decisions), and justice (fair and equitable treatment of patients). When people think of the ethical principles that guide physicians, “First, do no harm” [...] [Thriving in an AI-driven health care system: essential skills for medical professionals to stay relevant and make a difference]( As the health care industry continues to evolve with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies, it’s more important than ever for medical professionals to identify and develop skills that set them apart from their peers. Embracing these skills can help you survive and thrive in an AI-driven health care system. Here [...] [Love in medical education: Why it’s vital to nurturing empathy and compassion [PODCAST]]( In this episode, we sit down with Stevan Walkowski, an osteopathic physician, to discuss the impact of technology on medicine and medical education. With the recent news of artificial intelligence passing the USMLE, we delve into questions about the future of medicine, the role [...] [Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine]( No one feels sorry for American doctors. They are some of the highest-paid in the world and spend their lives in the country with the highest nominal GDP in the world. But why is it so hard to find any doctors who actually like their job? Why do so many dream of walking away? Here [...] --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [Quickly compare and buy physician disability insurance](. Eliminate confusion. Save time. Join All Global Circle and receive an [exclusive bonus of up to $50](. Share your professional opinions and insights by participating in our surveys and earn honoraria. [Doc2Doc]( offers personal and commercial loans up to $100,000 with fixed interest rates, no prepayment penalties, using a doctor-specific risk profile and a 4-5 minute streamlined application process. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Breaking down the link between social rejection and Black women’s health outcomes]( As ethnic diversity increases in the United States, it is important for physicians (and all in the health care delivery workforce) to keep in mind what factors play significant roles in the matter of ethnic health disparities. With a U.S. population of over 330 million, Hispanics—inclusive of Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and South Americans—now number [...] [Effective delegation: the key to unlocking more time and less stress in your busy life]( How many times have you wished that you had more time? Do you feel like you’re too busy? Feel frazzled, rushed, and stressed? No matter how much fame and fortune we may have, time is one thing that money can’t buy. One constant for every single one of us. Whether you are Jeff Bezos or [...] [Unwavering faith: a woman’s journey through cancer and beyond]( Her back was mottled, and she could barely sit up. She was weak from her invasive cancer. I visited her on Easter Sunday. Perhaps it was God’s will that I didn’t have an elaborate Easter dinner with ham, rolls, pies, and house decor filled with decorative bunnies. Instead, I went to visit this dear friend [...] [Treadmill of achievement: How it can be addictive and dangerous [PODCAST]]( In this episode, we sit down with Dawn Baker, an anesthesiologist and author of Lean Out: A Professional Woman’s Guide to Finding Authentic Work-Life Balance, to discuss the dangers of the treadmill of achievement. We explore the unwritten rules about success and praise, how [...] [Finding balance: How my practice became more Amazon than Etsy]( The other day, I spent an excessive amount of time trying to dry some lettuce leaves for a salad. After failing to act on my thought many times, I decided I needed a salad spinner. Due to my menopause brain (attention span: zero), I grabbed my phone, opened the Amazon app, and ordered the highest-rated [...] [The medical-industrial complex: Why physicians shouldn’t expect wealth]( The gradual influence of what’s called the “medical-industrial complex” has its tentacles wrapped around every physician’s medical career to the point that any practicing physician should expect no guarantee about becoming wealthy. Even the optimistic nature we carry along with our passion for improving our life circumstances and making a welcome difference in the health [...] [Physician burnout: the impact of social media on mental health and the urgent need for change]( Burnout is an increasingly common phenomenon affecting approximately 63 percent of physicians. The etiology is multifactorial, with excessive workloads leading to sleep deprivation and curtailed self-care. Social media is a significant contributor to burnout that we easily overlook. Perhaps we’re looking for an escape on social media, but is more screen time what we really [...] [The miracle cure: the world’s first successful bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia]( An excerpt from Living Medicine: Don Thomas, Marrow Transplantation, and the Cell Therapy Revolution. Late in the summer of 1960, Dr. Clem Finch invited Dr. Don Thomas to Seattle to give a talk about his early experience with transplantation. Clem, who had been Thomas’s hematology fellowship instructor at the Brigham in Boston, had since moved [...] [How healthism and moralizing health are costing us too much [PODCAST]]( In this episode, we will be joined by Kristen L. Cole, an assistant professor of communication studies. Kristen shares her personal journey with Crohn’s disease and how the pressure to control her health led her to accumulate significant credit card debt. We will dive [...] --------------------------------------------------------------- If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 345 Hudson Street New York NY 10014 USA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](