August 22nd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Alcohol Use, Doctor's Lifestyle, Doctors Who Drink, Doctors' Behavior, Drinking Behavior, General Medicine, Heavy-Drinking Peers, Medical School Reunion, Medical Students, Social Drinking
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I just had my ten-year medical school reunion. It’s hard for me to imagine it’s been ten years since my last medical school class. It’s been fourteen years since that first week of gross anatomy. That class was so hard, I almost dropped out of medical school after one week.
A bunch of us local docs from my medical school class of 2000 rode to academic mecca in a stretch limo. What did I learn from my experience at my ten-year medical school reunion? Other than forgetting a few names:
- When I was in medical school, lots of medical students, on occasion, would drink heavily. I learned ten years later some doctors, on occasion, still drink heavily and get drunk.
- When I was in medical school, lots of medical students smoked cigarettes. I learned ten years later some doctors, on occasion, still smoke (but only when they’re drinking). Apparently.
- When I was in medical school, some students were really funny. I learned ten years later some doctors, on occasion, are still really funny, even when they aren’t drunk.
- When I was in medical school, some students were really smart. I learned ten years later some doctors, on occasion, are still really smart. Most of us others have been dumbed down with years of practice.
It was fun to learn about what my colleagues have been doing. Ten years later the cellphones are a bit fancier, everyone’s talking about their Facebook page, and I’m completely content sitting on the couch with Mrs. Happy watching everyone else get drunk like it was yesterday.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
August 22nd, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Doctors and Social Media, Doctors on Facebook, Doctors on the Internet, Doctors On Twitter, Doctors Online, Doctors Who Blog, General Medicine, Generational Change, Healthcare Blogging, Medical Blogging, Medical Blogosphere, Medical Blogs, Medical-Social Technology, New Generation of Doctors, Primary Care, Technology Gap, Today's Doctor
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I recently got into a discussion with a couple friends about doctors and blogging. Why don’t we see more doctors out there? Of the hundreds of thousands of doctors, I’d expect more to be taking a voice. Even during the U.S. healthcare reform debate — crickets.
Of course there are doctors who blog, but the numbers are slim. What’s behind it?
Passion. Pushing great content requires a passionate interest in changing ideas and making a difference. There’s malaise in medicine right now. Margins are slim. Physicians are losing control of what’s happening around them. The fire in the belly that drove so many doctors to choose medicine has given way to a preoccupation with survival.
Late adopters. Most doctors think a blog is something that deviant teens do on a cellphone. There’s endemic ignorance in the medical community surrounding social technology. Can we teach ‘em? Maybe. But I think this is a generational issue that will work itself out with time. The use of social technology to facilitate dialog between doctor and patient will evolve over the next several years as: 1) technology evolves and 2) digital communication becomes a standard. Keep in mind that many of us still work with doctors who grew up using rotary phones. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
August 22nd, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Age Limit For Doctors, Cardiology, Disability Pensions, Disabled, Dr. Iving Kroop, General Medicine, New York City Employees Retirement System, New York Post, NYCERS, NYPD, Older Doctors, Retirement Income, Too Old To Practice Medicine
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With apologies to the Beatles:
“When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now,
Will you see need me, will you still feed me,
When I’m ninety four?”
From the New York Post:
Former NYPD chief cardiologist Dr. Irving Kroop retired in 1986 — when he was 70 — with a $64,364 disability pension awarded because of a bad heart, according to sources and city records.
All the while, he’s maintained a private practice in Brooklyn and moonlighted at NYCERS, the New York City Employees Retirement System, which paid him $14,479 last year to help determine whether other city workers should get disability pensions.
“Hats off to the man — he’s 94 years old but disabled? And still going strong?” said an incredulous Carol Kellerman, head of the Citizens Budget Commission.
Kroop, who gets $155 an hour as a private contractor for city’s civilian pension board, shuffles into examining rooms with a cane and oxygen tank, sources say.
This story presents an interesting dilemma in this era of shrinking retirement income for our seniors who want to continue to work. Should there be an age limit for practicing doctors? How do we assess if a doctor is “disabled” as they age? Should we care? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
August 21st, 2010 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: "Biologic" Heart, "Spiritual" Heart, A "Good" Heart, Agreeableness, Altruism, Antagonistic Personality Traits, Artery Wall, CardioBrief, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Health, Cardiovascular Risk, Carotid Artery Thickness, Compliance, Endothelium, General Medicine, Heart and Soul, Heart Attack, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Internal Medicine, Italy, Larry Husten, Modesty, National Institutes of Health, NIH, Primary Care, Psychology, smoking, Straightforwardness, Stroke, Tender-Mindedness
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I saw a prescient story that linked antagonistic personality traits and cardiovascular risk. It was simply impossible to ignore. Low hanging fruit, no doubt.
The article highlights an NIH-sponsored study [published in the August 16th journal Hypertension] that looked at the effects of antagonistic traits — agreeableness, per se — on heart health. Yes, you read it right — agreeableness. To quantify agreeableness, the researchers used a personality questionnaire which included six traits: Trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, and my favorite…tender-mindedness.
Your hypothesis is probably right: People who were distrustful, cynical, manipulative, self-centered, and quick to express anger fared worse. But please don’t dismiss this as just another mundane study proclaiming the risks of an angry personality. The specifics of the findings and their implications really hit hard. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
August 21st, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Allure of Technology, Brain Activity, Brain Function, Charity Work, Dr. Frank Ryan, Driver Safety, General Medicine, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Safety, Multi-tasking, Primary Care, Public Safety, Safe Cars, Safe Cellphone Use, Text Messaging, Texting While Driving
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I’ll be honest — I’d never heard of Dr. Frank Ryan, a Hollywood plastic surgeon, until his tragic motor vehicle accident recently. Clients included actress Heidi Montag and boxer Oscar De La Hoya.
Although the California Highway Patrol investigation isn’t complete, rumors have suggested that Dr. Ryan may have been text messaging when driving. If this is true and an intelligent, well-trained doctor can fall prey to the allure of technology, then what does it mean for the rest of us?
First, realize that we can’t multitask. You have one brain. You can focus at one task at a time. Though laws allow hands-free cellphone calls, the issue isn’t trying to dial the phone but rather that the mind is engaged in the conversation and not on the road. Yes, we are all increasingly busy, but we can’t multitask. In fact, researchers have found that it takes more time and effort to refocus when we are distracted from one task to the other. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
