Medical school and the science of sleep

The article can be read or listened to. It is in the format of an interview between a radio host and the sleep scientist and director for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Matthew Walker. He takes the audience through the journey of sleep and the dangers of sleep deprivation. Some of Read more… Medical school and the science...

2h

Self-harm and eating disorders in teens

An excerpt from The Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse. How do you know if your teen has a substance problem? The inability to control substance use despite negative consequences is a classic definition of a severe substance use disorder. But substances aren’t the only thing afflicting adolescents. Another dangerous behavior...

14h

Questions about pharma pricing and marketing

In 2017, Allergan CEO Brent Saunders promised to reign in drug price hikes, and other Pharma companies followed suit. In 2021, it looks like all bets are off. In August, Amgen raised the price of its psoriasis med Otezla by 2.4 percent after raising the price of its oncology biologic Mvasi and chronic kidney disease Read more… Questions about pharma...

18h

Treating formula as medicine may increase breastfeeding rates

Currently, there is an outcry against the pressures of breastfeeding, with an underlying backlash against the stigma of bottle feeding. Commercials from formula companies, such as Bobbie, are playing at the hearts of struggling breastfeeding mothers. Touted as an organic European formula comparable with breastmilk, Bobbie is the solution. Famous stars,...

20h

5 myths about compassion and patient rapport building in health care

This episode is sponsored by the Rush University Series at The Podcast by KevinMD. As we enter a year and a half into a worldwide pandemic, many of us working in health care are fatigued, over-worked, and burned out on compassion. Burnout has been so widespread that the CDC published guidelines on how to cope Read more… 5 myths about compassion and...

1d

Racial disparities in surgical care [PODCAST]

“As a practicing surgeon for 30 years in the super-specialized field of otology, neurotology and skull base surgery, I have been privy to some of the most disturbing realities of surgical care. Often, these realities are bleaker than most people expect. One thing physicians, and the general population, need to be more aware of is Read more… Racial...

1d

Could a pause in screenings increase missed cancer diagnoses?

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. in 2020, most hospitals and physician’s offices paused elective and preventive care services to focus on treating large numbers of COVID patients, preserving medical supplies and bed space in hospitals, and reducing the risk of non-COVID patients being exposed to the virus. Cancer screenings were one of Read...

1d

The degradation and devaluation of nurses

Where do I begin? Maybe at the beginning. Let’s start with the degradation and devaluation of nurses across this country. For decades, I lived the devaluing of nurses. Daily huddles from our nurse managers, ER nurses, ICU nurses, and behavioral health nurses. Emails and huddles about downsizing. Nurse-patient ratios. Decreasing nursing staff and increasing...

1d

The fundamental question that encircles the whole practice of psychiatry

Mary (identifying information changed) was extremely pleasant, to say the least. By the time I met her on the senior unit, she had seemingly befriended even the orneriest of our geriatric patients. She wandered and danced about the unit, speaking with each fellow patient she encountered in a style one nurse called “cheerfully mad.” Her Read more… The...

2d

Where does the joy and meaning in medicine dwell? [PODCAST]

“The same question could be asked about the joy and meaning in medicine. Where does it dwell? And the answer may be the same. It dwells wherever we choose to let joy and meaning in medicine into our physician-healer lives. As I look back upon my career, it saddens me to know that those doors Read more… Where does the joy and meaning in medicine dwell?...

2d