The metaphor we use, almost universally, to describe the experience of illness is that of warfare. Someone diagnosed with cancer is said to be “battling” cancer (as if the diagnosis itself implies a fight). Family members often say that their hospitalized loved one is a “fighter” who “will never give up” or surrender. Doctors refer to the most potent antibiotics as “big guns” that are prescribed to “kill the bugs” ...
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Being a clinical student is not a walk in the park. When we get together for “Reflections on Clerkship” days every two months in our small groups, students let the floodgates open about the hardships they have been facing on rotations. I am no exception. Transitioning to a strict schedule in the hierarchical world of academic medicine has been no small feat. In fact I was planning earlier this morning ...
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We are fortunate in our country to have the best medical technology in the world. Unfortunately, delivery of this technology, reflected in a worldwide healthcare ranking of 37th, is a disservice to the American people and must be rectified especially when Cuba is ranked 39th.
As provisions of the Affordable Care Act are put in place, a daunting factor is the shortage of doctors who will be needed to provide this ...
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My hospital has just weathered an impressive upswing in patient volume. The house was full for weeks. The experience highlights an important aspect about quality care–an obvious one that doesn’t always make headlines.
What I notice when the hospital gets full is that patients are sent to units that they don’t normally go to. For instance, at my hospital, like yours probably as well, there are numerous different types of heart ...
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At last it was time for my cataract surgery. Having had one eye surgery done by a different physician in another New York eye and ear specialty hospital a few months earlier, I knew what to look for and could make comparisons from a patient perspective. As I noted months ago on this blog, I really had no choice of hospitals. If I wanted my trusted doctor to ...
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Hospitals are very focused on avoiding harming patients lately. They have been moving in that direction for a long time, but with health care reform legislation, payments are on the line, which makes something that was a very good idea into an imperative.
In the year 2000, the Institute of Medicine, a non-profit organization that monitors various aspects of medical care, reported that 44,000-98,000 people died each year due to medical ...
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When we told the patient and his family that the mass in his lung was highly concerning for cancer, he didn’t say anything. His daughter asked about his symptoms. His son-in-law asked when and how he could get a definitive diagnosis. His wife asked when he could go home. Finally, he spoke.
“I’m sorry for being so much trouble.” The tone was casually apologetic, ...
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The more I try to help people in this field of mine, the more I realize that it doesn't take a village. It takes a huge industrialized city, all its wires and arteries humming with constant activity, just to try and make one woman better. In this case, one smiling woman in her 50s, ethnicity I couldn't figure and of dubious relevance, who came to our clinic seeking advice about ...
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Years ago I worked as a registered nurse in a busy surgical pre-admission clinic, preparing patients who'd been scheduled for surgery for the upcoming operation and hospital experience.
My workdays were packed with back-to-back, hour-long appointments. Whatever surgery the patient was facing--oral, orthopedic or anything else--every interview followed the same format. I would greet the patient, who'd often bring along a family member, and quickly escort them both into my small ...
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Full Code. Do not resuscitate. Do not intubate.
Ask anyone without a personal or family history of a hospitalization on the implication of these terms and you’d likely get a blank stare in response.
Unfortunately, this incomprehension often rings true with those who need to know it most: the hospitalized patients themselves.
Many clinical reports (see here and here) have demonstrated that most physicians are not only inadequate in discussing code status with ...
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"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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Past 6 Months
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