Anesthesiology

Spaced repetition in medicine: Why current apps fail clinicians

Physician
February 6, 2026

In the high-stakes world of medical education and lifelong clinical practice, there is a constant battle taking place: the struggle between the human brain and the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.

The science of memory is settled. Dozens of studies confirm that spaced repetition consistently outperforms traditional “massed” study (cramming) for long-term retention. By reviewing a clinical concept just as it is about to slip from our neurons, we “hack” the brain into …

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The risks of the single-provider dental sedation model

Conditions
December 28, 2025

Anesthesia and sedation in dental patients has come under scrutiny in recent years, fueled in part by high-profile tragedies, such as the deaths of six-year-old Caleb in 2015, cardiologist Dr. Henry Patel in 2020, and the five media-reported deaths in 2025. These incidents serve as a stark reminder that the current landscape of dental sedation practices is fraught with inconsistencies and a lack of oversight, which can have devastating consequences …

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How to manage intraoperative pain during C-section deliveries

Conditions
December 9, 2025

A cesarean section, or C-section, is one of the most common surgeries in the United States. In 2023, 32.3 percent of live births were cesarean deliveries, while 67.7 percent were vaginal deliveries, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Pain during cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia (regional anesthesia including spinal and epidural anesthesia) is a recognized clinical challenge and one that has received growing national attention. Recent media …

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Understanding the deadly gaps in pediatric dental safety [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 30, 2025
YouTube video

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Pediatric anesthesiologist Irim Salik discusses her article, “The hidden danger in pediatric dental offices.” Irim reveals a terrifying oversight in ambulatory pediatric dental care: children are suffering neurologic injuries or dying during …

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Language doulas bridge care gaps

Physician
November 28, 2025

During health care encounters with patients from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, there is always a concern about information getting lost in translation between health care providers and their patients. Language and cultural concordance significantly affect the quality and effectiveness of health care delivery. Although phone-in interpreters, with or without video capabilities, are accessible online, none can match in-person interpretation. Even if high-profile political conversations have adapted to artificially intelligent …

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Why can’t finding a doctor job be like Zillow?

Finance
September 30, 2025

After seventeen years of marriage, I found myself divorced, co-parenting, and facing two of life’s most daunting transitions at once: reentering the dating world and buying a new home. The reasons were many: parenting stressors, mid-life transitions, childhood wounds, and outside influences. There was no doubt that my career as a full-time, call-taking anesthesiologist also played a role. While the brutal 24-hour calls and 80-hour weeks were mostly behind me, …

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The hidden danger in pediatric dental offices

Physician
September 21, 2025

A dangerous truth is hidden behind the winning smiles and cartoon-adorned walls at pediatric dental offices: Children are dying or suffering from debilitating neurologic injury during routine care, and few are paying attention. This glaring oversight in ambulatory pediatric dental care is concerning not only for the potential harm to vulnerable, unknowing families but also to the medical community at large. Now more than ever, pediatric dental care is being …

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How physician burnout and system reform are shaping the future of U.S. health care

Policy
September 18, 2025

As a young pediatric anesthesia attending, I would often roll my eyes at resident trainees who prioritized their personal needs and required mental health days. I may have even looked down upon them as lazy, weak, and lacking grit. I prided myself on my work ethic, sacrificing time with my two children and aging parents for the sake of my patients. Medicine is a calling, not just a job, I …

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The high cost of gender inequity in medicine

Physician
September 13, 2025

Women now make up over one-third of the physician workforce and more than half of medical school graduates, yet medicine remains shaped by a deeply entrenched culture of inequity. This inequity not only harms the careers and well-being of women physicians, it also jeopardizes patient care and weakens our national health care system.

As a physician and author of the forthcoming book Doctoring While Female: The Personal and National Toll of …

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Should anesthesiologists object to unnecessary procedures?

Physician
September 7, 2025

Before making the case for evolving formal fellowships for physician anesthesiologists to conscientiously and systematically object to unnecessary health care, particularly unnecessary procedures, it is worth first exploring what constitutes “necessary.” Only then can we begin to regulate what may be considered “unnecessary.” Can physician anesthesiologists lead such academic and practical regulatory efforts, even amid potential conflicts of interest inherent in their role as anesthesia care providers?

This raises several important …

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How market forces fracture millennial physicians’ careers

Physician
September 1, 2025

This first decade of my career as a millennial physician is starting to look as fragmented on my CV as it has felt in reality, chasing even a modicum of the stability that the physicians of my father’s generation took for granted. Meanwhile, the chaos engendered by market forces like vertical and horizontal integration across insurance and hospital systems, private-equity-backed buyouts of physician practices and surgery centers, and now just …

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Could ECMO change where we die and how our organs are donated?

Conditions
August 29, 2025

The question is not where one is born, because birthplace—whether a country or continent—is never chosen by oneself, but always determined by others and the surrounding environment.

Nor is the question where one lives, because even though the place, country, or continent may seem self-chosen, it is often influenced or guided by others and external circumstances.

The real question is where one belongs, because the feeling of belonging—to a place, country, or …

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Why sedation access varies by clinic and hospital

Physician
August 9, 2025

My recent experience as a cancer patient has illuminated many things. It has shown me how our health care system is not standardized and how it sometimes makes patient care decisions based on financial incentives or convenience rather than patient preferences or best clinical practice. Take, for example, the topic of sedation.

The question of whether to sedate is common in pain management, which often involves invasive intraspinal procedures such as …

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Why the physician shortage may be our last line of defense

Physician
June 2, 2025

In an age where medicine is increasingly shaped by administrators, algorithms, and corporate cost-cutting, physicians find themselves stripped of many of the economic tools that once defined their professional autonomy.

The days when physicians—especially in fields like internal medicine, pediatrics, and even general surgery—could rely on billing, collections, and the straightforward logic of fee-for-service income are largely over. Reimbursement has stagnated or declined in real terms, overhead costs rise yearly, and …

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The anesthesia spectrum: Guiding patients through comfort options in oral surgery

Meds
April 30, 2025

“Will I be asleep or awake during my procedure?” This is the first question many patients ask before oral surgery. It reveals a common misconception: That anesthesia works like a light switch.

It doesn’t.

Anesthesia exists on a spectrum with multiple options that can be tailored to your specific needs, procedure type, and anxiety level.

Beyond all-or-nothing

As an oral …

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A tribute to Kobe Bryant: inspiration beyond the game

Physician
April 15, 2025

Kobe Bryant’s impact on my life and career stretches far beyond the basketball court. The essence of his spirit—his commitment to excellence, his relentless pursuit of mastery, and his unyielding work ethic—has inspired me not only in the game of basketball but in the field of medicine as well.

Kobe came into my life as Michael Jordan was leaving the game. While I was fortunate enough to witness the latter half …

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How millennials and Gen Z are reshaping the medical workforce

Physician
February 8, 2025

The interplay between generations has become increasingly pronounced in medicine, particularly with the emergence of millennials and Generation Z trainees alongside their older counterparts—the Baby Boomers and Gen X physicians. This generational shift brings to light a myriad of differences in values and perspectives, sparking a nuanced discourse within the medical community. Millennials came of age in an era marked by globalization, technological advancements, and economic prosperity. Their successors, Generation …

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Critical care in critical moments: Anesthesiologists play a vital role in maternal health

Conditions
January 23, 2025

Maternal mortality crisis in the U.S.

The U.S. faces a significant maternal health crisis, with alarmingly high maternal mortality rates compared to other developed nations. As of 2022, the overall maternal mortality rate was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, with a disproportionately high rate of 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births among Black women. These figures starkly contrast with much lower rates in countries like Germany, Australia, Japan, and Sweden.

Maternal …

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Murder of an insurance titan: the case for health care reform

Physician
January 21, 2025

Agatha Christie was onto something when she stated, “The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it.” Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of the United Health Care insurance company, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan on December 4th in broad daylight. His assailant, Luigi Mangione, has become a media-fueled darling, with multiple documentary projects already underway to explore the complexities of his crime. …

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