Jordan Grumet is an internal medicine physician, host of the Earn & Invest Podcast, and author of Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor’s Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life.
He has worked in academic as well as private practices, served as medical director of several nursing homes, and created palliative care programs for skilled nursing facilities.
He is a writer and storyteller who has been published in Medical Economics, the Pharos, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of General Internal Medicine. His book, I Am Your Doctor And This Is My Humble Opinion, was published in 2015, and followed by Five Moments: Short Works of Fiction in 2017.
Jordan shares his stories at conferences nationwide, highlighted by an acclaimed performance at the dotMD conference in Dublin, Ireland.
Jordan speaks about the following topics:
He is a member of Physician Speaking by KevinMD and is available for speaking opportunities. Please contact us for inquiries.
Jordan Grumet is an internal medicine physician, host of the Earn & Invest Podcast, and author of Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life.
He has worked in academic as well as private practices, served as medical director of several nursing homes, and created palliative care programs for skilled nursing facilities.
He is a writer and storyteller who has been published in Medical Economics, the Pharos, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of General Internal Medicine. His book, I Am Your Doctor And This Is My Humble Opinion, was published in 2015, and followed by Five Moments: Short Works of Fiction in 2017.
Jordan shares his stories at conferences nationwide, highlighted by an acclaimed performance at the dotMD conference in Dublin, Ireland.
Jordan speaks about the following topics:
He is a member of Physician Speaking by KevinMD and is available for speaking opportunities. Please contact us for inquiries.
I understand that there is a difference between perception and reality. I also get that the kind of people one meets on a tropical vacation in the middle of March are of a certain economic and sociopolitical status.
Nonetheless, I am amazed at how history seems to repeat itself. Year after year, while sitting in the shade and relaxing by the pool, …
Loss is something all humans face in their everyday lives. As a physician, the effects are often magnified. People die, they move away, they graduate from your services, or occasionally they pursue care elsewhere. Parting can sometimes bring relief, and others a deep sense of failure. But with Clara, I’m not sure we actually parted. Mostly, I was left with confusion.
Clara came to me by way of the nursing home. …
Neither of the two most important people in Aaron’s life could stand to be in the same room with each other. There was a long colorful history between his ex-wife and his brother, and as his disease began to accelerate, the feuding became quite intense. They argued over Aaron’s advance directives. They both tried to coerce and manipulate themselves into commanding positions. The shouting became louder, the fury more fierce. …
Physicians are docile. We are programmed to put the greater good above our own. We train mercilessly, work tirelessly, and bend faithfully at the alter of those we have vowed to heal. This is our birthright. This is the covenant we signed in our own blood when we took our healing oath. Decry us as they will, no one becomes a …
It seems everywhere you look in health care today; some consultant is telling you that “less” is actually “more.” Less care leads to more quality. Less expense brings better outcomes. Nurse practitioners with less training are more cost effective. Fewer work hours for residents builds a safer hospital environment.
Never in our entire history have we gotten so much for so little.
Arshya …
Her heart was failing; her ejection fraction was unmeasurable. Her hip was broken, and she developed a pulmonary embolism post-operatively. She was painfully close to death. Yet at some point, the hospital finished and spit her out at the nursing home.
She was confused.
I tried to take the best history that I could. Her answers where usually no more than a single word. Her physical exam revealed a desperately weak woman, …
I assumed many things that morning. For instance, I thought it was likely that Ronald’s fatigue was from lung cancer that had metastasized to the liver. Or that he decided to stay in his room in the nursing facility because the decision to elect hospice had finally taken its toll. I was sure that he was both physically and emotionally spent. I reasoned that I wouldn’t want to get out …
It was a rather unlikely place to begin my clinical career.
Shortly after starting medical school, I signed up to volunteer in the hospice unit of my academic medical center. The first few visits I relegated myself to fairly banal activities. I shredded old medical records, or I might do a load of laundry for a family member who had been waiting tentatively by their loved one’s side and was …
The truth is, I know it’s easy to go to the Minute Clinic. I know the enticement of not needing an appointment, of being able to shop while you wait, of having the prescription ready to pick up by the end of your appointment. Who doesn’t like convenience and a friendly smile to add? Who doesn’t like the customer service offered …
Julie was lost in thought.
Her right pointer finger slowly traced the edges of the metallic trinket. It was tucked far enough into her pant pocket that only the longest digit could reach. Back and forth, her hand moved caressingly, pausing from time to time to inspect any irregularity, any imperfection. In such a manner Julie built a mental image of the old forgotten piece of jewelry. Her hands visually occupied …
There once was a kind, humble physician who worked for years in an office building across the street from the hospital, toiling day to day to take exceptional care of his patients. He was open and deliberate, calm and thoughtful. He himself hired every secretary and medical assistant, every nurse, and biller. His staff formed a protective family who fiercely advocated …
It’s a strange thing to be driving about in your car in the middle of the day. For one who has spent the majority of his professional life sheltered in dark offices and aseptic hospitals, the summer sun and fresh breeze is quite lovely. One almost begins to approach humanness. Normal. This must have been what it felt like before immersion into the tribe of medicine.
Sometimes I have trouble remembering …
The conversation was almost comical, until I thought more deeply about it later. Apparently I was on “the list.” Insurers make such lists for customers who are searching for a doctor who accepts their coverage. Every so often my name comes up on these lists, and I get a smattering of phone calls from perspective patients. Maybe a few times a …
A few months ago I assessed a patient with dementia. I dutifully ordered the appropriate blood testing and MRI. As I delved further into the history, I was concerned that there may be a component of depression. Pseudodementia (memory disturbance and dementia like symptoms caused by depression) can often mimic classic Alzheimer’s disease, but resolves with proper treatment. The best way to differentiate these two syndromes is neuropsychological testing. I decided to send my patient to a colleague …
Check.
The administrator’s voice wavered as I picked up the phone. He was calling about the nursing home patient that I admitted the day before. While normally forthright, I could feel the discomfort in his tone as he danced around the issue. The patient’s insurer had called. Apparently they made an “arrangement” with the mega-ACO owned by the latest consolidation of Goliath health systems. They wanted my patient transferred to another …
I didn’t think much of it at the time.
Most physicians can trace back and recall their first patient. For some, it is a clinical encounter the third or fourth year of medical school. The more creative may point to their cadaver during first year anatomy and nod knowingly. My first patient was a mouse. Or shall I say a group of them?
My freshman year of college, I volunteered in …
The calls came simultaneously. One from the hospital and the other from a nursing home. Two deaths separated by fractions of a second. My heart swelled. For a moment. The pile of papers on the desk softly whispered. My mobile howled jealously vying for my fragile attention. I could feel the emotion drain as I turned back to the task …
Cheryl loved to dance. There wasn’t a time in our house when the the kids weren’t jumping up and down on the furniture, the radio blasting, and her body swaying in rhythm. Ironically, we were dancing when it happened. It was her fortieth birthday. The kids laughed and clapped as I dipped her dramatically and she sprung back into my arms. And then she crumpled. Tony, my youngest, giggled hysterically …
Years later, I now wonder if I overstepped my boundaries.
Nancy was a pleasure to have as a patient. A physician assistant in her early twenties, we often chatted amiably during visits. Our conversations randomly ambled between personal and professional topics. She recently married and was looking forward to having children. Her gynecologic history was complicated and after a period of months of unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant, she visited a …
Ruth was problematic. Well into her seventies, her body may have dulled but her tongue was sharper than ever. And she used it to lash me with complaint after complaint. If it wasn’t her knees, it was her ankles. If it wasn’t her ankles, it was her hips. I battled the impossible month after month, year after year. Our interactions left a bitter taste in my mouth. Nothing makes a …
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