These articles are written by anonymous clinicians. They have been selected and edited by Kevin Pho, MD.
She was pale, underweight, fifty years old and scared. Mrs. G was a breast cancer patient on the oncology unit whom I met by chance, as she appeared on my patient census list that morning. As I walked into her room, I noticed the fragrant flowers, the cards scattered about her hospital tray, and the numerous pictures of her friends and family that attempted to bring her peace and comfort. …
Unless you’ve lived it,
you can’t fully understand.
We’ve all cared for patients with cancer. We’ve delivered hard news, sat beside bedsides, explained scan results, and offered hope when we could. We’ve been the calm in the storm. That’s what we were trained to do.
But being on the other side of the table changes everything.
When you become the patient, the world shifts beneath you. Suddenly, you’re the one in the gown, lying …
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
The American medical system is ill, and physicians are among its sickest patients. As a dual-boarded physician, an assistant professor of family medicine, and someone who has walked the halls of both academia and clinical practice, I have witnessed firsthand the symptoms of this systemic disease. It is a sickness that manifests in exhaustion, …
This story is dedicated to all my female friends in medicine.
Didi does not love her job. What started as a noble purpose of helping people made her feel as though she has become a glorified customer service representative. She focuses on her Hippocratic oath, all right. She’s an internist in her 30s, seeing about fifteen to twenty patients per day, and she’s fed up with the sense of disrespect.
It does …
Hello! Your friendly next-door ID physician here checking in! I haven’t submitted anything here in several years. I’ve been too caught up with my work and family to delve into my creative side. But the very recent news that we will have a new head of human and health services (an individual without formal health care training and who has expressed a rather strong anti-vaccine sentiment in the past) paired …
Nationwide, radiology groups are approaching hospitals and asking for massive subsidies to maintain their radiology coverage. Much of the time, hospital administrators and CEOs balk and would prefer to drag their feet or try to replace the group rather than pay market rates for radiological services. These hospitals end up paying double or even triple for worse coverage with some of the same radiologists—while those radiologists end up making much …
It is heartbreaking to recount the journey my husband and I have been through. My husband, an award-winning triathlete, and I had a rich and vibrant life together. We traveled extensively, taking nine trips in 2014 alone, including attending the World Triathlon Finals in London, visiting Paris, cruising the Hawaiian Islands, and enjoying a helicopter tour. Even in his late 80s, he had a strong spirit, shaped by years of …
KevinMD has been publishing multiple reports about the current widespread, deeply worrisome physician burnout and suicide phenomena. As a card-carrying epidemiologist, I have sought to categorize these reports into the three overarching factors we might see in any epidemic, namely: agent, host, and environment. If we were to use this conceptual framework for research, we could gain a better understanding of how much each of its various facets contributes to …
I am a person—a person with hopes, dreams, fears, and a favorite color. I am just like anyone else, trying to find my place in this world. Yet you only see me as a nuisance. I am always in your way, you say. I am an idiot. My existence is like a personal insult to you—and you never miss a chance to show it.
I was once a bright-eyed child full …
It is undeniable that the radiologist shortage is here. While reimbursement is declining, free agents are few and far between, and compensation is exploding. Compensation per wRVU in the western region of the U.S. jumped nearly 16 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to MGMA. Job postings show salaries almost double what they were even five years ago, with signing bonuses, accelerated partnership tracks, and 12, 26, 34, or even …
I was in eighth grade when I boarded a plane alone for a flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia. The airport was a confusing but magical place. This was before the tragedy of 9/11, and by today’s standards, we got out of our cars and almost waltzed to the gate. The only stress I remember feeling was that of flying alone. Luckily, the flight attendants seemed genuinely happy to have me …
A large part of patient care in the modern corporate setting is working within your restrictions. Most corporate health care settings will limit how wide your scope can be, and this often determines how you treat patients. As a family physician working within a huge corporate setting, this oftentimes leads to alternate outcomes, such as referring a patient to another office where a procedure can be done safely or having …
Suicide among resident physicians is a critical issue highlighted in various studies. Research indicates that depression is prevalent among resident physicians, with rates comparable to medical students, suggesting a pervasive problem across different levels of medical training. Burnout has also been linked to suicidal ideation among resident physicians, with a study reporting that 4.5 percent of American resident physicians specializing in surgery experienced suicidal ideation. Furthermore, while resident physicians may …
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Resident physicians are vital to the health care system, delivering essential medical services while training to become fully licensed doctors. However, a troubling trend has emerged nationwide, with residency programs and hospitals frequently violating the rights and protections resident physicians are entitled to under employment contracts, state labor laws, and accreditation standards. I personally was forced to deal with these issues, despite having virtually zero knowledge regarding the legal side …
Yesterday, I couldn’t get up in time in the morning and had to rush to the hospital without breakfast. I was just afraid of getting noticed by anyone from my department that I was a little late. When I reached the outpatient department (OPD), I just got a text from my consultant that he was not feeling well, and I had to see all the patients in his absence. In …
Residents, particularly international medical graduates (IMGs), often navigate a challenging position within health care institutions, where hierarchical structures overshadow their authority and autonomy. This dynamic can leave residents feeling disempowered and vulnerable, underscoring the importance of understanding their rights and protections within their programs. For IMGs, cultural and systemic differences may further amplify these challenges, making knowledge of their rights especially crucial as they enter residency programs.
As a final-year resident, …
In the midst of youthful basketball games and hustling for Taco Bell chalupas, lifelong lessons were learned, leading to diverging paths and, ultimately, tragic loss. We called him “The Backboard Bully.” He’d find his spot at or near the free-throw line and shoot the ball at the perfect trajectory for a bank shot. We hated him for it—that is, when we weren’t on his team. If he was your teammate, …
“I maybe have a tiny shred of compassion.”
A doctor I know wrote this in reference to a person they’d never met, a person who had been verbally abusive to many health care professionals. A person who was a prospective patient.
A tiny shred of compassion. Maybe.
I had met the patient in question, was the physician caring for them in the hospital. I was trying to find a PCP who would take …
Older physicians often bemoan what’s perceived as a decline in professionalism during residency training. Caps on the number of inpatients assigned to an intern or resident. Duty hour limits. Wellness retreats. While these may be imperfect, they’re at least aligned with or heading in the direction of what is the right way to balance the rigors of a lifetime of training in and practicing medicine with the safety, quality, and …
I recently concluded my application cycle with an acceptance, and I’ve been catching up on the news regarding medical school admissions. Admittedly, I’m disappointed. Also shocked by how much can happen while being occupied. It kind of felt like Neo getting out of his “bubble.”
Simply put, the MCAT is still important and should remain so, at least until other forms of assessment, such as the Situational Judgment Test, are refined …
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