The Podcast by KevinMD in 2020: every episode and take-home message

This page lists every episode of The Podcast by KevinMD published in 2020, 221 in all from June to December, with the guests and, for 188 of them, one sentence from the guest’s answer to the show’s closing question, in their own words. Each title links to the episode, where the full conversation is transcribed. Sponsored episodes, and answers with no sentence that stands on its own, are listed without a quotation.

It is part of Take-home messages: what physicians say when asked to leave one, the record that reads every closing answer together, one of the KevinMD records collected at What physicians say.

Every year: 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026

June 2020

• COVID-19 from the New York City frontlines

  June 1 · Ajit Rai

  “I just want to encourage other providers to be ready and available, to be a little bit more flexible than they previously ever had to be.”

• How this emergency room nurse got diagnosed with PTSD

  June 1 · T. C. Randall

  “I think that we need to open up a conversation on both sides, both from our side as the health care professionals and from the side of management.”

• Emergency psychiatry during COVID-19

  June 1 · Ruchi Vikas

  “And we’re not ever going to agree on everything, but if we can find one moment or one space to connect on in between, it might be better for everyone.”

• Dear AAMC: Please limit residency interviews

  June 2 · Jordan Hughes

  “We have been out of the hospital for months and months, and we’re going to have some rust to shake off.”

• The USMLE needs better pandemic communication

  June 3 · Colin Quinn

  “I think the biggest take-home message: Whether it be the USMLE, Prometric, or NBME, your constituents are frustrated.”

• Protect our medical trainees during the pandemic

  June 4 · Deborah Edberg

• Empathy is a crucial component when working with older adults

  June 5 · Mahesh Moolani

• How emotional antibodies can help recover from the impact of COVID-19

  June 6 · Jay Wong

• During the pandemic, faith keeps us together

  June 7 · Uzma Syed

  “I think the take-home message is that it’s been such a wonderful community to be part of, and I think we’ve done so much for each other as physicians.”

• Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy

  June 8 · Isobel Rosenthal and Daniel Arteaga and Lauren Tronick

  “So I’m excited for what the future of health care will look like.”

• The racial disparities of COVID-19

  June 9 · Ritodhi Chatterjee

  “So we need to continue to advocate at a public policy level for improvements in these conditions.”

• Don’t let the protests become last week’s news. It is our reality every day.

  June 9 · Brian C. Clark

  “We have to educate ourselves on the systems that are in place that still keep people in these situations of inability to have upward mobility.”

• How doctors can navigate the financial crisis

  June 10 · Cory Fawcett

• Ethical dilemmas in the pandemic era

  June 11 · Charles E. Binkley

  “Get back to this very basic principle of do good and avoid harm, and I think you’ll always find yourself on the right side of things.”

• Immigrant and minority physicians at the frontline of pandemics

  June 12 · Natalie Moreno

  “Use it to advocate, you know, for your co-workers and for your patients, and think about, you know, what you could do to bring someone else to the table.”

• Coronavirus through a storytelling lens

  June 13 · Frank Han

  “I think the most important message is to stay safe during the pandemic: Protect yourself, protect your families.”

• It’s time to flip the medical school classroom

  June 13 · David Chen

  “And so I think that we absolutely made the right decision there, and I think that there’s just so much more room we have to grow in medical education.”

• Giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic: an obstetric anesthesiologist’s perspective

  June 14 · Maria Sheikh

  “You need to find something that is uniquely yours, that really makes you feel like you’re doing something bigger than yourself.”

• Feeling guilty for not being on the frontlines of the pandemic

  June 15 · Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber

  “You never realize the impact that you have.”

• The healing power of art

  June 16 · Amy Oestreicher

  “So make sure that you all are taking care of yourselves, and that you’re aware of the dissociation you need to get some of the harder things done.”

• A physician in the venture capital world

  June 17 · Chris Kager

  “I think if you’re interested in doing something like this, if you have any interest in the finance world or the intersection of business and medicine, reach out.”

• A pathologist’s urgent pandemic message to the public

  June 18 · Michelle C. Hure

  “Don’t engage in a way that is going to be harmful for you or cause any undue stress.”

• Breaking bad news to patients when they are alone

  June 19 · Azam J. Farooqui

  “Continue to be aware of what’s going on with your patients’ lives, with your nurses’ lives and your other ancillary staff in your clinics, as well as yourselves.”

• Coping with fear as a physician

  June 20 · Kristin Yates

  “As a physician, and anyone really in medicine, you’re more than just your job.”

• How the pandemic is affecting the residents

  June 21 · Maggie Connolly

• Heroism and a global health COVID perspective

  June 21 · Mark G. Shrime

  “We take oaths to improve the health of populations and of our patients.”

• Physician finance tips in the year 2020

  June 22 · Brent Lacey

  “And I would encourage you to have some kind of an anchor point.”

• Will telemedicine make us better diagnosticians?

  June 23 · Hans Duvefelt

  “I think the take-home message is to focus on the true meaning of doctoring, the historical role that we have.”

• Why physicians need to diversify their incomes [PODCAST]

  June 24 · Christopher H. Loo

  “Don’t let society or someone else dictate your beliefs or your values upon yourself and force you into a career that’s not to your liking.”

• How racial issues affect both doctors and patients

  June 25 · C. Nicole Swiner

  “We tend to shy away from those uncomfortable conversations and things that make us feel uncomfortable.”

• An emergency physician explains the importance of being fragile

  June 26 · Shannon Sovndal

• How a physician finds laughter during this dark time

  June 27 · Nancy Yen Shipley

  “I have to remind myself of that all the time when I’m afraid to move forward from where I am.”

• In these times of crisis, remember the Golden Rule

  June 28 · Nicolo Geralde

  “Quoting Rodney King, way back in the LA riots, "Why can’t we all get along?" There isn’t a question in my mind that we can get along.”

• What’s to blame for the obesity epidemic?

  June 28 · Henry Herrera

  “You can either make those minor changes, or you tend to be more sedentary and things continue to progress.”

• Telemedicine pitfalls and direct primary care in the year 2020

  June 29 · Vasanth Kainkaryam

  “We have options in how we get care, we have options in how we deliver care, and we have options in how we pay for care.”

• Marriage and parenting tips in the year 2020

  June 30 · Maria Michaelis

  “I think that’s the way human nature is: You get 10 compliments to one complaint, and you’re always going to remember that one negative comment.”

July 2020

• How writing inspires this physician

  July 1 · Anthony Fleg

• Spare older anesthesiologists COVID-19 coronavirus risk

  July 2 · Becky Wong

  “I think really the spirit of the piece that I wrote is that we need to be kind and compassionate to our fellow people, our colleagues, anyone we meet.”

• This is a time for national unity, not sensationalism

  July 3 · Shady Henien

  “Nobody just wakes up and says, "I’m going to be a doctor tomorrow." You need to have committed your life to education, to learning, to dedicating your time and your energy and your thoughts on how to become a physician.”

• Pandemic behavioral health tips from a psychiatrist [PODCAST]

  July 4 · Chinenye Onyemaechi

  “My take-home message is to take care, take care of yourself.”

• A public health update on COVID-19

  July 5 · Nicolas K. Fletcher

  “I would say it’s important, especially for the KevinMD audience, that right now, physicians, we really need to be front and center, not just dealing with our COVID patients specifically.”

• The view from an infectious disease physician in Texas

  July 5 · Julie B. Trivedi

  “I think it’s important to know that it’s OK to not be OK.”

• The current state and future of psychiatry

  July 6 · Owen Muir

  “We’re here to help people who desperately need it, and we should take that seriously.”

• The guilt of physician-moms

  July 7 · Rebecca Elia

  “For those of you in survival mode, you really, really need to look at what you need and get your needs met in any way you can.”

• The medical basis of vampires and other medical myths

  July 8 · Michael Hefferon

  “Keep writing and keep reading, because honestly, we’re in a changing world.”

• The physician who treats depressed, anxious, and suicidal teens

  July 9 · Uchenna Umeh

  “Take-home message: If you think suicide, think mental anguish, not mental illness.”

• What we can learn from a palliative care chaplain

  July 10 · Geoff Tyrrell

  “We have to work with ideas in our job.”

• Strategies to foster meaningful connection during telemedicine visits [PODCAST]

  July 11 · Megha Shankar

  “We can learn so much from everyone, and that’s how we all learn.”

• A psychiatrist explores the mental health of physicians

  July 12 · Nicole B. Washington

  “My take-home message is don’t wait to do what needs to be done for you.”

• A medical educator shares his love for medicine

  July 13 · John F. McGeehan

• Real estate investing for physicians

  July 14 · Cherry Chen

• How to handle family and parenting stress as a physician

  July 15 · Jessie Mahoney

  “So whether you’re a parent, physician, or spouse, you can’t show up and heal and take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself.”

• The power of story and other essential physician speaking tips

  July 16 · Donald J. Palmisano

  “I don’t care how good you are at giving speeches or writing; you can always learn something.”

• Infection control lessons that we have learned so far

  July 17 · Michael Edmond

• How hospitals allocate scarce resources

  July 18 · Alexander Connelly

  “My take-home message is continue social distancing, continue personal hygiene, stay at home, and protect those around you.”

• How this physician discovered the power of mindfulness

  July 19 · Ni-Cheng Liang

  “My take-home message is, throughout all of this, the pandemic, your life, remembering that you get to choose.”

• A physician’s struggle with mental illness

  July 20 · Kyle Bradford Jones

• Obesity and the diet-microbiome connection: a conversation with a gastroenterologist

  July 21 · Supriya Rao

  “I guess my take-home message is, in this era of COVID, everyone’s trying to be healthier.”

• Meet the physician who left concierge medicine

  July 22 · Annie Moore

• Tips for applying to medical school in a pandemic

  July 23 · Elisabeth Fassas

  “The application process is rough, and for those of you that are doing it right now, I’m sorry.”

• Why storytelling and writing are so important in medicine

  July 24 · Giannina L. Garces-Ambrossi Muncey

  “For me, sort of in general as a person, I hope we can use this time of disruption and change and recognize that there’s a lot of growth.”

• Social isolation in the elderly

  July 25 · Vismaya Bachu

  “I think my take-home message is that not just right now, but at all times, advocacy is so important in many, many different ways, whether that be medical care.”

• Physicians and the psychological trauma of COVID-19

  July 26 · Sarah Bridge

  “I think that the most important thing for us to do right now is support each other.”

• What physicians today can learn from the history of surgery

  July 27 · David J. Schneider

• How physicians can share health information and manage dissent online

  July 28 · Jaclyn Lewis Albin

  “So when we choose the things that we want to champion as physicians, as advocates, as friends, and educators, we have to choose things that we feel excited and passionate about, that we believe are really important.”

• A physician embraces the power of the word, "and"

  July 29 · Rachel E. Hines

  “It’s kind of like we’re all living in this sense of dichotomy, you know, black and white, feeling like we have to be on one team or another around so many issues.”

• Pain management’s painfully fine line

  July 30 · Michelle Dang

• If you want to be a physician-inventor, here’s what you should know

  July 31 · Peter D. Sleman

  “I think that with the tools at everyone’s disposal now, YouTube, different forums, even people who are not traditionally trained or educated in a given industry can learn.”

August 2020

• Practice empathy and compassion for the critically ill and dying

  August 1 · Elaine M. Colby

  “One of the most important things in medicine is to listen to your patients with respect and empathy and bear witness.”

• Patient no-shows often have complicated reasons behind them

  August 2 · Erin Hoffman

  “I think the biggest thing that I want all physicians to think of, that I’m trying myself always to think of, is just to remember that our patients have a story, and that a lot of times they’re pretty voiceless.”

• Doctors shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting to protect themselves or their family

  August 3 · Jon Zaid

  “And it’s OK to not want to put your family in harm’s way.”

• It is not OK for physicians’ anxieties to harm their patients

  August 4 · Sami El-Dalati

  “I think that’s part of our responsibility as physicians and other health care providers: to do that work to understand ourselves, so we can be better for them.”

• How medical students can contribute during the pandemic

  August 5 · Pratik Doshi

  “There are a lot of things that you can do, and across the spectrum, you can be as little involved as you want or as much as you want.”

• A COVID-19 conversation with 2 cardiologists

  August 6 · Mrinali Shetty and Yuvraj Chowdhury

• The impact of COVID on the Hispanic community

  August 7 · Susan Lopez

  “I think it’s understanding the community you serve is going to help you better serve that community.”

• A screenwriting dermatologist shares the importance of creativity in medicine

  August 8 · Jules Lipoff

  “Keep writing, keep being creative, and put stuff out in the world, and it can only help you.”

• Flattening the curve of COVID’s emotional impact

  August 9 · Mary R. Talen and Deborah Edberg

  “And it is just as important as anything else, as any PPE, to be attentive to the emotional impact and to do what you can to protect it.” (Deborah Edberg)

• Gender inequities and being a physician-mom

  August 10 · Tamara Goldberg

  “I would say get involved in your institution.”

• How to manage pandemic anxiety

  August 11 · Christine Tran-Boynes

  “So my take-home message is that even before the pandemic, burnout among physicians was rather prevalent, that emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and that really affects not just yourself but patient care.”

• Coronavirus exposes income-driven health inequality

  August 12 · Harsh Bhavsar

  “At the end of the day, we’re all here for our patients.”

• Palliative care during the pandemic

  August 13 · Simran Malhotra

• Medical education and engaging children in wearing masks

  August 14 · Lauren Fine

  “I think that engaging each other, engaging our community, engaging our families and our children in a conversation about this as something that’s impacted all of us, and understanding how it’s impacting every one of us differently, is really important.”

• With COVID-19, a need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions

  August 15 · Megana Dwarakanath

  “My hope is that they’re not 50, 60, and 70 and still needing buprenorphine.”

• Why it’s so important for medical students and physicians to write and share their stories

  August 16 · Jennifer R. Hartmark-Hill

  “I think what I’d like to encourage is the importance of building emotional and ethical intelligence, not only for individuals but for all levels of leadership, especially during times of crisis.”

• A psychiatrist’s telemedicine experience

  August 17 · Allie Thomas-Fannin

• A medical student graduates with a lack of closure

  August 18 · Emily Masterson

  “I think it’s being aware of your own feelings and knowing that they are valid.”

• Why telemedicine needs to be a permanent part of Medicare

  August 19 · Magdalena Bednarczyk

• Do patients addicted to drugs truly have capacity?

  August 20 · Gregory Jasani

  “Don’t hesitate to put a pen to paper, send it in, and get it out there for the rest of us to read and enjoy.”

• Pediatric practices face financial strain

  August 21 · Nidhi Kukreja

  “We will have forfeited the distinctive characteristic of human beings, namely, to influence our evolution through our own awareness.”

• Why physician advocacy is so important

  August 22 · Jessica Kiarashi

  “I think my take-home message overall is probably just what I’ve been talking about all along, which is just don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard.”

• Now is not the time for medical students to be spectators

  August 23 · Adithya Sivakumar

  “So I think my take-home message is definitely to take time to understand those around you, and take time to understand how society functions around you.”

• Remembering Kobe Bryant and what basketball can teach us in medicine

  August 24 · Imamu Tomlinson

  “When we learned in medical school about our problem list, we’re very good at finding problems.”

• Challenges female physicians face in medicine and the strength of vulnerability

  August 25 · Shweta Akhouri

  “I really want my audience and readers to understand that there is no stigma to being vulnerable, and what goes on in our personal lives affects our work life, regardless of our gender.”

• Physician personal development and growth

  August 26 · Francis Yoo

  “I think physicians are not good at patting themselves on the back, but pat yourself on the back.”

• How COVID-19 impacts rural America

  August 27 · Erica Gillette

  “I think sometimes family medicine, you know, we call it the jack of all trades.”

• AI-powered, digital voice assistants in the exam room

  August 28 · Erin Palm

  “Really, that tech can do so much more for doctors, and that we shouldn’t be settling for less.”

• How to help families struggling to find their way in a foreign culture

  August 29 · Gabriella Gonzales

  “I think that we play a very special role in not only getting the health care that they need and the medications that they need, but also showing them that they are important and their health is important to us.”

• Estate planning and personal finance tips for physicians

  August 30 · Dewan Farhana

  “You’ll be surprised at how empowered you feel after you take a handle on your finances.”

• Making a career change for better work-life balance

  August 31 · James A. Quinn

  “You have to look at who you’re working for and what flexibility you have as far as your position.”

September 2020

• Virtual care needs to be designed for equitable usage and accessibility

  September 1 · Shantel Hebert-Magee

  “We have to be scrupulous as we honor our patients.”

• An infectious disease physician says: Wear a F-ing mask

  September 2 · Jesica Herrick

  “If I were going to change "Stay the F at home," I would probably title it now, in the world with what’s going on, "Wear a nothing mask." I think it’s that simple.”

• Blowing the whistle on health care fraud

  September 3 · Joseph Gentile

  “But I will say this: The majority of the time, the worst does not come to pass.”

• A journey from security guard to nurse, and why nurses don’t get the credit they deserve

  September 4 · Anthony Langley

  “Keep doing what you can do to keep patients happy and safe.”

• Recognizing childhood stress is so important. Here’s why.

  September 5 · Mary Illions Wilde

• Medicine’s culture forces us to ignore our health

  September 6 · Vybhav Jetty

  “So really finding some sort of outlet is the most important thing, I think.”

• Rural communities have unique vulnerabilities worsened by the pandemic

  September 7 · Eric Rafla-Yuan

  “But really, from a public health perspective, these are all communities that we could have mapped out and known that they were going to get hit harder.”

• Many medical marijuana program websites are silent about possible risks

  September 8 · Erik Messamore

  “And I think, to physicians and patients alike, from my years of doing this consultation practice, anybody can have any side effect from anything.”

• Anesthesia touches nearly every area of medicine

  September 9 · Hailey Amick

• Health care should be apolitical, but it isn’t

  September 10 · Rabia Jalal

  “My take-home message would be: Be kind.”

• COVID-19 reveals gaping holes in locum tenens contracts

  September 11 · Koye Oyerinde

  “I think it’s a good thing to be able to leave a full-time contract and go off somewhere and spend some time, and it’s helped me see the country.”

• A palliative care physician’s brain bleed

  September 12 · Eve Makoff

  “I think it’s really important to find something that gives you grounding, and for me, that’s writing.”

• COVID-19 is rattling the nerves of preemie parents

  September 13 · Deb Discenza

  “I think we need to let go of those legal shackles that are holding us all down.”

• When physicians get sick: We are just as human as the patients we treat

  September 14 · Rizwana Khan

  “There has been a vilification of science and public health.”

• Why cultural competency courses should be requisites for medical school

  September 15 · Shvetali Thatte

• Is now the time for single payer?

  September 16 · Toby Terwilliger

  “I think it’s our obligation, our moral responsibility, to stand up for our patients, to advocate for them, and I think that we can be the agents for positive change.”

• Patients without traditional support systems, and the doctors who stereotype them

  September 17 · Joan DelFattore

  “We need to give doctors permission to be human, because when we ask them to be superhuman, we’re actually getting in the way of full functioning.”

• Bridging the COVID-19 health recommendations divide

  September 18 · Inna Husain

  “And so if that is just telling a mother-in-law about something, or a neighbor about something, it’s OK to speak up.”

• Locum tenens contracts: Maximize opportunities and minimize risks

  September 19 · Jack A. Gordon and Andrew E. Sarti

  “I don’t care if you come to us or you go to somebody else, but don’t do this on your own.” (Jack A. Gordon)

• Genetic testing: Could there be unintended consequences?

  September 20 · Miles J. Varn

  “So my message is, let’s not let the science overwhelm that personalized part of medicine that we all know is critical.”

• Meet the physician who became a life coach

  September 21 · Trina E. Dorrah

  “I think that every physician should have a life coach, and there are all different kinds of life coaches out there.”

• In the age of misinformation, here’s how physicians can help

  September 22 · Alicia Billington

  “I think that every member of our society has a duty to engage in medical advocacy: the patients, the physicians, the nurses, everyone.”

• A new approach to Medicare for all

  September 23 · Ken Terry

  “And the cost trends are so onerous that we can expect some kind of a systemic collapse maybe in the next 10 years, unless we do something to control those costs.”

• Essential health messaging tips for physicians

  September 24 · Shikha Jain

  “There’s so much good that we can do in the health care world.”

• Incremental risk amid COVID-19 re-openings: What do we value most?

  September 25 · Sara L. Merwin

  “My message to clinicians is to include patients and their personal advocates, family members, loved ones, and friends.”

• Treating cancer patients in a pandemic

  September 26 · Don S. Dizon

  “I would actually say, just remember that your job is a job, but it cannot hug you at night.”

• Lifestyle medicine is a prescription to treat physician burnout

  September 27 · Cherie Chu

  “We are worth it, and we are going to be more effective clinicians once we take care of ourselves first.”

• Reflections of a critical care nurse

  September 28 · Debbie Moore-Black

  “Stop, like I said, rationalizing your way out of what’s really going on.”

• My mother has Alzheimer’s: a caregiver’s story

  September 29 · R. Lynn Barnett

  “I think you need to just, you know, take care of yourself, put one foot in front of the other, eat properly, take time for yourself.”

• This pulmonary physician has a message for you

  September 30 · Fady Youssef

  “I just hope that as a society we come together and everybody adheres to the strict guidance by our public health advisors, and hopefully we get past this.”

October 2020

• Inside the mind of the surgeon writer

  October 1 · Arthur Williams

  “Perhaps for the residents who are coming through and are interested in this kind of writing and decompressing in that way: Start a journal.”

• COVID-19 through the eyes of my kids

  October 2 · Miriam Zylberglait Lisigurski

  “Be healthy, be happy, be there for others.”

• How coronavirus took my grandfather’s life

  October 3 · Zaki Y. Azam

  “You’re helping family members, you’re helping other people understand what you went through, and you should never shy away from that.”

• It’s so important for medical students to share their stories

  October 4 · Daniel Azzam and Ajay N. Sharma

  “Know that you’re not alone, and that by sharing your story, you can really feel like a burden is off your shoulders and that you can move forward with the most positive experiences in medical school and your life.” (Ajay N. Sharma)

• Patient advocacy is more important now than ever

  October 5 · Bonnie Friedman

  “The advocate is not a visitor in the hospital.”

• A message from a pediatric emergency physician: Be kind [PODCAST]

  October 6 · Annalise Sorrentino

• Human trafficking survivors and trauma-informed care

  October 7 · Andrea Reilly

• How to minimize virtual medicine liability risk

  October 8 · David L. Feldman

  “I think we should embrace it, make sure we’re protected, and figure out what’s the impact on your practice, where you can incorporate this and where you can’t, what the issues will be for billing, and so forth.”

• Medical students are benched during the pandemic

  October 9 · Clayton Korson

  “Basically, I just think medical schools and medical students, we need to take ownership over our education.”

• What is the future of telehealth?

  October 10 · Cara Litvin

  “The notion that primary health care has to happen all within a 20-minute session in a doctor’s office is actually kind of ridiculous and archaic.”

• COVID-19 misinformation is a public health crisis

  October 11 · Jacob Uskavitch

  “We need to be able to communicate to our patients, you know, what are the pros and what are the cons.”

• How physicians can be activists

  October 12 · Karim Khan

  “My take-home message is talk to your colleagues.”

• A physician receives a derogatory email. Here’s what she did next.

  October 13 · Tina S. Ipe

  “The disparity of women physicians in clinical research, especially women of color, is a systemic issue.”

• Free speech, cancel culture, and taking down statues

  October 14 · Andrew Pickens

• A medical student volunteers with the medical corps

  October 15 · Mason Bennett

• What does a physician’s ideal life look like?

  October 16 · Gina Geis

  “My take-home message would be that every physician out there has the ability to really create the exact life and career that they want and deserve.”

• What it’s like to write about COVID-19 while it’s killing your mom

  October 17 · Debra A. Shute

  “But I understand you have an insurmountable job in front of you right now, but we have to keep going.”

• Be an upstander and not a bystander

  October 18 · Aasma Shaukat

  “My message is for every immigrant, any person who doesn’t fit the standard mold of a place where they work or live: If you see something and it doesn’t sit right with you, speak up.”

• Sexual offender treatment during COVID-19

  October 19 · Renée Sorrentino

  “My take-home message is that psychologic and biologic treatment is effective for decreasing sexual violence, and that we as physicians have a pivotal role in treating those individuals.”

• Can what you eat worsen your ADHD?

  October 20 · Uma Naidoo

  “I would say a really healthy way to get started in improving your diet is that there are several spices that hit the high notes in certain conditions.”

• Telehealth is the future but it is obscured by a dismal present

  October 21 · David Hanekom

  “Make sure that you can tell the difference between the necessary work and unnecessary work.”

• A physician experiences unprofessional behavior. What happened next?

  October 22 · Sarah M. Temkin

  “And it’s only by normalizing these, you know, the reporting of these incidents, that we can make progress as a community to create workforces where everybody feels comfortable.”

• A terminal diagnosis for my baby

  October 23 · Sophia Zilber

  “Sometimes things just don’t go as you want, and we should all just try to do our best, whatever happens with us, and we just don’t know.”

• 3 coronavirus facts Americans must know before returning to work and school

  October 24 · Robert Pearl

• How coaching prevents and treats physician burnout

  October 25 · Amelia L. Bueche

  “We need an external mirror to show those pieces of us to ourselves.”

• Search engine optimization for physicians

  October 26 · Andrea Paul

  “Think about what interests you and what your passions are, whether it’s medical or not, and do something to pursue those, whether or not you monetize it or create a business from it.”

• To better take care of patients, we need to take care of ourselves

  October 27 · Manju Mahajan

  “If you are feeling low, first of all, it’s OK to reach out.”

• How writing can change minds and make you a better physician

  October 28 · Rada Jones

  “I think there’s one thing that I want to tell people, which is that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself.”

• #MedBikini and medical professionalism

  October 29 · Jessica Pearce

• Telemedicine in COVID-19: Disparities still exist

  October 30 · Wenjing Zong

  “The take-home message is, telehealth is great.”

• Depression vs. burnout: A physician goes through both

  October 31 · Kara Pepper

  “You’re allowed to give yourself permission to try new things, to go off the beaten path, and to create a life that you really love, whether that’s in medicine or otherwise.”

November 2020

• Health misinformation from a patient perspective

  November 1 · Michele Luckenbaugh

  “Write, for example, an op-ed to the editorial section of your local newspaper.”

• How improv helps physician leaders

  November 2 · Terri Malcolm

  “What I wish that I had known before I really embarked on my whole physician career was that failing forward is really about leveraging your mistakes.”

• COVID-19 amplifies health disparities

  November 3 · Ni-Cheng Liang

  “That’s the take-home message, because with awareness, you can then help foster compassionate change.”

• An Indian doctor with vitiligo shares his story

  November 4 · Dhaval Desai

  “Establishing that human and patient connection, the human and personal connection with that patient, is something that we need to continue to value.”

• Examining the duty of physician officials in the government

  November 5 · Charles E. Binkley

  “You cultivate this idea of what the virtues are and what’s the right thing to do.”

• Moral injury and practicing oncology during COVID-19

  November 6 · Marc Braunstein

  “I think social media is such a powerful tool for connecting us.”

• Imagining a pandemic as a physician novelist

  November 7 · Teresa Fuller

  “I think the take-home message is, of course, a lot of physicians are dealing with burnout.”

• Medical aid in dying is not assisted suicide

  November 8 · Roger Kligler

• How to balance family and professional needs during the pandemic

  November 9 · Sharon M. Batista

• Palliative care and the importance of holding space

  November 10 · Faryal Michaud

  “In a way, palliative care does not mean giving up hope.”

• A call for a moratorium on the sale of inhalable products

  November 11 · Jayshree Chander

  “My take-home message, at least in terms of this article, is that addressing our underlying health is critical, and it has multiple benefits, including reducing the impact of COVID.”

• A nontraditional approach to fear and stress

  November 12 · Ruchi Puri

  “We are the system that we create, and therefore we can affect the system by being our own change.”

• Hassle-free real estate investing for busy doctors

  November 13 · Jeff Anzalone

  “The take-home message would be: Start with your why.”

• Let’s make compassion go viral

  November 14 · Aseem Desai

  “My take-home message is for those who don’t meditate to learn how to try, because it really makes a big difference, and especially during these times right now.”

• COVID-related stressors and increasing instances of substance abuse

  November 15 · Samoon Ahmad

  “As a medical student, I was never taught anything about what I would call the benefits or even therapeutic uses of marijuana.”

• Appreciation in the personal finance world

  November 16 · Latifat Alli-Akintade

  “My take-home message is, you know, your money life is important.”

• Why the pandemic is the perfect opportunity to introduce meditation to children

  November 17 · Ana Pal and Samira Hodges

  “Keep doing what you’re doing, and really try to utilize this time to focus on yourself and to provide the most resources for families out there.” (Ana Pal)

• An inflexibility and inflammation root-cause approach to treatment

  November 18 · Cathy Kim

  “So if you can improve that, then, in a meaningful way, a lasting way, you improve your well-being.”

• Declaring racism as a public health crisis from the lens of two Latinx student doctors

  November 19 · Yesenia Salazar and Camila Hurtado

  “And also, even as medical students, we can make a difference by being part of organizations like LMSA or SNMA, and we can advocate that race is only a social construct and not a biological construct.” (Yesenia Salazar)

• Mental health care in children during COVID-19

  November 20 · Ann L. Contrucci

  “One of my favorite sayings is "We’re all just walking each other home." And I think, when we talk about being healers as physicians, being a healer is helping make somebody whole.”

• Why spiritual health is so important

  November 21 · Elizabeth J. Berger

  “We’re in an unusual place in 2020, because we’ve doubled life expectancy, and we’ve traveled in space, and we can clone sheep, but not one among us can artificially reproduce a single blade of grass.”

• Essential physician communication tips to improve the patient experience

  November 22 · Anthony Orsini

  “If you’re a physician out there, the best thing that you can do to improve your clinical outcomes is to improve the patient experience by building rapport, being a genuine person, and communicating well.”

• Financial tips that resident physicians need to know

  November 23 · Altelisha Taylor

  “I think that learning about personal finance and trying to build wealth will set you up tremendously in your life.”

• Parenting in a pandemic: Making the best decisions for your family

  November 24 · Kelly Fradin

  “We know the moral distress that so many are facing when they see their hospitals filling up with an illness that we may have been able to prevent.”

• Ballad of a sober man: an ER doctor’s journey of recovery

  November 25 · J. D. Remy

  “My take-home message is, we will always be better off allowing ourselves to be a little more vulnerable and not hiding our secrets.”

• COVID-19 is a war on two fronts

  November 26 · Clarissa Barnes

  “I think my take-home message really is that this job is a calling.”

• Essential tips for the physician-entrepreneur

  November 27 · Akash Sharma and Amelia L. Bueche

  “The take-home message would be: Explore, be open, find a partner, somebody who’s going in the same direction with you, set goals for yourself, and also make sure you’re helping each other.” (Akash Sharma)

• A physician moves from the exam room to the C-suite

  November 28 · Priti Golechha

  “You’ll get love for it, and you’ll get hate for it, but as long as you’re aligned with your values, do it anyway.”

• How this physician’s first experience with death affected her

  November 29 · Maseray S. Kamara

  “The take-home message would be: Be well.”

• How physicians can find jobs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries

  November 30 · Nerissa Kreher

  “One, if you’re interested in the pharmaceutical industry, really build out your network of people that work in our industry.”

December 2020

• A doctor-centric approach to evaluating if a loan is the right decision

  December 1 · Zwade Marshall and Kenton Allen

• COVID-19 highlights chronic oppressive job conditions

  December 2 · Eden Almasude

  “We can be that change within health care.”

• Who are the doctors who end their own lives?

  December 3 · Fariha Shafi

  “I would say the most important thing is that it is OK to say no.”

• This is what a successful health care system looks like

  December 4 · Lillie Rosenthal

  “Please remember that medicine is a human science and that there’s a person sitting in front of you.”

• A message to medical interns, in the midst of a pandemic

  December 5 · Sumner Abraham

• How to be sick: challenges faced by those with chronic pain and illness

  December 6 · Toni Bernhard

  “So protect yourself, and when you protect yourself, you’re protecting others.”

• How to bring joy and be valued while avoiding burnout

  December 7 · Sabrina Runbeck

  “I want everyone to realize you have to say no to almost everything; then you can say "heck yes" to the only things that truly matter.”

• Mental health in our youngest healers

  December 8 · Mattie Renn and Thomas Pak

  “It’s that it’s OK to ask for help.” (Mattie Renn)

• How to decrease your dread of being on-call

  December 9 · Katie Townes

  “If there is something that you can do to manage the way that you feel, and to improve your career satisfaction and improve your fulfillment with your job, then please try to do that before you consider leaving medicine.”

• Mental health in medical professionals and the power of sharing stories

  December 10 · Vibhu Krishna

• Can there be hope amid politics?

  December 11 · Anjani Amladi

  “In general, even in the most heated elections, day-to-day life for most people doesn’t change that much.”

• Proponents of independent non-physician practice make a dangerous assumption

  December 12 · Rebekah Bernard

  “We need to work together, but we need to make sure that we’re practicing safely and effectively, because these are patients’ lives on the line.”

• Turn 2020 into an opportunity by changing your mindset

  December 13 · Nicole M. King

  “I don’t think you have to leave medicine to find your passion.”

• When coaching physicians with wellness, don’t lead with mindfulness

  December 14 · Cory Colton

  “You wanted to help people, you wanted to give care, and it may be that you might have to rethink the way you’re interacting with the health care system.”

• How can we redefine locum tenens?

  December 15 · Sridhar Rajamani

  “You can have a real-life interview, a real-life test drive, if you may.”

• What does colon cancer screening have to do with self-driving cars?

  December 16 · Praveen Suthrum

  “All that COVID has done is accelerate trends that were already underway.”

• What it’s like to be pregnant in a pandemic

  December 17 · Saba Fatima

  “We just have to look out for ourselves a little bit, and if we do, that’s when we can be good physicians and take care of our patients as well.”

• How to be a transformational, supportive leader during COVID-19

  December 18 · Kara Arnold and Jennifer Dimoff

• Issues faced by LGBTQ individuals in the operative setting

  December 19 · Indraneel Prabhu

  “I would definitely say the take-home message is just listen to your patients.”

• Don’t underestimate the value of intergenerational relationships

  December 20 · Satya Moolani

  “However, with these changing times, we can’t forget these individuals who are in the last third of their lives.”

• Does your doctor’s age matter?

  December 21 · Sneha Shah

  “And so if you see a resident, regardless of their subspecialty, thank them for their hard work and for being really the frontline providers in all areas of medicine.”

• Understanding critical care in the ICU: then and now

  December 22 · Sara L. Merwin

  “And so I ask patients and families to be more patient, to have more forbearance, and to show their appreciation.”

• How to develop a mission-driven personal brand

  December 23 · Paige Velasquez Budde

  “At the end of the day, it all comes down to focusing on that mission-driven thought leadership to ultimately make that bigger impact.”

• Why corruption is ruining your health care

  December 24 · Robert Yoho

  “Step is, learn as much as you can.”

• Talking politics in the exam room

  December 25 · Hayward Zwerling

  “I think the medical community really needs to have a conversation about this topic of talking politics with patients in the exam room.”

• Surgical smoke evacuators and inertia in the time of COVID

  December 26 · Rene’ M. Gonzalez

  “I would say that in this war against this invisible enemy, which creates these invisible clouds every time a patient coughs or every time we perform an aerosol-generating procedure, first of all, we should be open-minded.”

• Food allergies are not funny

  December 27 · Lianne Mandelbaum

  “My take-home message is we can fly safely as food-allergic patients.”

• Behind the scenes of a hospital’s COVID response

  December 28 · Grace Lozinski

  “We are going to be receiving it shortly, and we need to continue to push, push through this, get our communities through it, and again, remain vigilant, not only this time around.”

• Think you have an iodine allergy? You may want to reconsider.

  December 29 · Cullen Ruff

  “Remember the most important thing: Know your allergies by name.”

• Why COVID is so emotional for physicians

  December 30 · Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley

  “My take-home message is probably that it is very important to know that, as a physician, you cannot do it all.”

• Bottles and pacifiers: advice from a Latinx pediatrician

  December 31 · Johanna Vidal Phelan

  “I think that our Latino community in the United States continues to grow.”

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