Physician

An excerpt from Are You the F**king Doctor?: Tales from the bleeding edge of medicine. The vein stands up proudly. It’s good to look at; it’s inviting. The tourniquet is satisfyingly tight, the syringe waits like a shark on the bedside table, the new orange needle catches a glint of ...

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A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” - Abraham Lincoln With these words, President Lincoln affirmed the government’s obligation to care for those injured during war and to provide for the families of those who ...

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We know the statistics. More than 50 percent of physicians are experiencing burnout at the hands of EMRs, a nonexistent work-life balance and regulatory constraints to name a few. This is causing physicians to leave clinical medicine and find other work. Some are opting for nonclinical administrative roles, and others are leaving altogether for careers outside of medicine. This is adding to the shortage of physicians that we were already ...

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This is not a story about anti-vaxxers. This is a story about primary care. Running a smaller practice, as I do, has inherent rewards and challenges. There is literature on both sides of the Atlantic that patients prefer small practices. Lately, consolidation of practices has been frequent, mostly under the auspices of hospitals, sometimes into larger private groups. Although vertical integration appears to have increased costs and by various mechanisms inadvertently ...

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I woke this morning at 3:30 a.m. My mouth was dry. I tried to urinate, but something roughly the color of quinoa came out in small quantities. So I assumed I was dehydrated. It could have been the bourbon and scotch before dinner — or the two IPAs at dinner. Or the four IPAs after dinner at trivia. Or the scotch after trivia. But something told me I was dehydrated. I ...

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I walk by the closed double doors and frosty windows of the ICU. You’re lying in there, intubated. It feels weird to go to work now. I can’t see you or talk to you, don’t know the drips, don’t know the plan ... and it’s killing me. I, along with many others, desperately want to express my love. So many feelings are swirling inside: Guilt. For having a chill workday that ...

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This article is sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com. When George W. "Billy" Campbell, MD, walks down the street, he never knows who — or what — he's going to encounter. Anything can happen when you're the doctor at Foothills Family Medicine of Westminster, South Carolina, a small town with a population of only 2,500. "I've had someone pull ...

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For longer than anyone could remember, he was the rural community's pharmacist.  A skilled compounder of prescriptions, he was conversant in chocolates, greeting cards, and how to obviate a trip to the doctor's office by using an over-the-counter remedy. A devoted family man, he was involved in many civic and church activities. Most have forgotten all the roles he once played in the community, but no one will ever forget that ...

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I was moved when a family entrusted me to give a eulogy for their beloved. This great privilege highlighted a hallmark of a physician’s service to humanity: “to cure sometimes, alleviate often, but comfort always.” But I was horrified to learn that his death at the hospital may have been the result of a preventable error — one that was withheld from the family. Sadly, that patient ...

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