Specialist

ASA: Need anesthesiology providers? Consider anesthesiologist assistants

6 comments James R. Mesrobian, MD | May 6, 2012

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. On March 28, 2012, Governor Scott Walker signed into law SB383, a bill to license Anesthesiologist Assistants (AA) in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (WAAA), the Wisconsin Society of Anesthesiologists (WSA), the Wisconsin Medical Society, numerous other medical specialty societies, the Medical Examining Board, and six major hospital systems supported the bill. Since 2001, seven states ...

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Being insured does not equate to being covered

3 comments Richard Just, MD | May 3, 2012

A few weeks ago, my wife and I attended “A Conversation With David ‘Sonny’ Lacks” at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The event was a sellout with 900 attendees. As it turns out, most of the colleges and universities in San Diego County designated “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” as the book discussed by students and ...

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A doctor has difficulty making sense of medical bills

5 comments Manoj Jain, MD, MPH | May 2, 2012

Rarely do people think about medical costs when there is a medical emergency or an urgent need for a test. Recently, I was in such a situation. A few days after a 22-hour international flight, the calf muscle in my right leg began to ache. If it were not for the recent flight, or if I were not a doctor, I would have just let it pass. But long periods of sedentary ...

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When a heart attack is textbook perfect, it can be a beautiful thing

1 comment Stewart Segal, MD | May 1, 2012

Participating in a patient’s first heart attack can be an extremely stressful event. Thirty years ago, I was an ER doc. At the end of a typical shift, I would come home to my wife and, often, would remark about how nervous family docs got when dealing with emergencies like heart attacks. Thirty years later, I’m the family doc and heart attacks are unnerving. Yes, I know what to do. We ...

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How money influences our decisions as doctors

7 comments Ido Weinberg, MD | April 30, 2012

When you ask young medical students why they want to be doctors, you will probably get all sorts of answers. Some may say they like people and want to interact with them and offer them help. Some students will believe this is their calling. Others still may state they are intrigued by the scientific mysteries the human body is filled with. From my experience, not many medical students just starting ...

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Why the physician shortage is worse than you think

48 comments Karen S. Sibert, MD | April 26, 2012

Only a generation ago, medical students thought about what specialty to choose simply in terms of what interested them most. All doctors made a comfortable income; money wasn’t a primary motivator. There was a sense that cardiac surgeons or neurosurgeons could make more than most other physicians, but in fairness their training was much harder and longer. Internal medicine was held up to us as the most prestigious and intellectually ...

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CME limitations and how we can improve Continuing Medical Education

2 comments Behnood Bikdeli, MD | April 16, 2012

Some people critique Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs as spoon-feeding. As a young physician struggling to learn a lot of material, I actually appreciate a bit of ready-to-consume content that I can learn quickly and effectively. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and other reputable institutions provide CME programs that, overall, help to keep physicians up on the literature and integrate new findings with existing knowledge. However, despite the basic ...

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Part time medicine and birth of the new normal

34 comments Dike Drummond, MD | April 16, 2012

One of the most common stressors for physicians is the sheer toxicity of what are considered full time hours. While the rest of the world considers full time to be 40 hours a week, we all know a full time doc starts at 80 plus, if you include all the hours you must be available on call. In physician surveys, schedule flexibility and the ability to function as a part time ...

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I must breathe for this patient

2 comments Felicity Billings, MD | April 12, 2012

Mostly it is just terrifying. I sat on the edge of the bed in my fleece pajamas and tried to describe the fear. “I’m sure you’ll do great,” my husband tried to reassure me. “But you don’t understand. Every time you induce general anesthesia, you’re basically almost killing someone. It’s … petrifying.” “But everyone always said you were a great resident Felicity, you’re going to be a great attending too. I’m sure everything will ...

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When doctors are called providers

22 comments Shara Yurkiewicz | April 7, 2012

Impersonal and self-absorbed as Manhattan may be, it’s still embarrassing to cry on West 32nd Street. I looked for a store, any store, and ducked inside. The pace of my steps and angle of my head as I buried myself into a back corner, thumbing through pants twice my size, gave me away. A store clerk walked over and asked if I was okay. I knew I’d have to meet ...

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