February 21st, 2010 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: button, Emergency Medicine, Emotions, Game Face, Handling Sadness, Psychiatry, Psychology
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I’m going to make a button to wear at work. t’ll say “I’m really only a dick at work”.
I’ve written before about my ‘game face‘ and how it’s not me, not really. It’s a Business Me, and it’s how I get through life at work.
(Is that a cop-out? Do I do it because it makes me more efficient, a better doctor, smoother, faster, or do I do it because it builds a bit of a wall between me and my real self and lets me get through the day without getting emotionally attached to every patient and their family?) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
February 21st, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Anger, Career Balance, Emergency Medicine, healthcare, Medicine, Personal Life, What's Important, Work-Life Balance
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Paging Dr. Mortis, Dr. Rigor Mortis!
This is a sample section from a new book I’m writing on the transition from residency to practice.
When you die:
A) The house of medicine will collapse, and only recover by remembering your compassion and sacrifice.
B) Patients and staff will wail in sack-cloth and ashes
C) Someone may name a procedure or drug in your honor
D) People will walk over your dead body, take your vacant day-shifts and go through your pockets for change.
The answer is D. Although I’m using some hyperbole, the point is that when you die, some people will be sad; your loved ones will miss you. But life will go on. The hospital will not close, and the sick will not stop being sick. So conduct your life with this in mind. Medicine, for all it’s wonder and value, must not be a rock on which you wreck yourself. Let it enhance, not overwhelm, your life. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
February 20th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: bureaucracy, Business of Healthcare, Business of Medicine, Costs, Finance
1 Comment »
Most medical schools do a reasonably good job clinically preparing medical students to be future physicians.
But they can do better, especially in our fragmented health system where millions of Americans have to contend with costs as much as they have to with their medical conditions.
In her recent New York Times column, Pauline Chen cites a study showing that students exposed to more non-clinical topics, like medical economics, health policy, and the “business” of medicine, were more satisfied with their education. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
February 19th, 2010 by Nicholas Genes, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Clinician, Confidence, CT, Doubt, Emergency Medicine, Lab Tests, M.D., Need, Ph.D., Radiology, Researcher, Want
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There’s an adage I often think about: “A physician’s job requires the expression of confidence. The researcher’s role is to express doubt.”
This was never more apparent than when I transitioned from the research environment into the clerkships of medical school. The language of decision-making had abruptly changed — in the lab, a year’s worth of experiments is summarized with “seems” and “suggests,” and every assertion is carefully calibrated to acknowledge uncertainty and a high standard for proof.
As a student on clerkships, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the residents’ ambitious plans for patients: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Blogborygmi*
February 17th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Administrative Burden, Concierge Medicine, Healthcare reform, Internal Medicine, medicaid, Medicare, Primary Care, Retainer Medicine
6 Comments »
I am going to state something that is completely obvious to most primary care physicians: I do not accept Medicare and Medicaid patients because it is good business, I accept them despite the fact that it is bad business.
In truth, I could make that statement about insurance as a whole; my life would be easier and my income would be less precarious if I did not accept any insurance. If I did, I would charge a standard amount per visit based on time spent and require payment at the time of that visit. This is totally obvious to me, and I suspect to most primary care physicians. A huge part of our overhead comes from the fact that we are dealing with insurance. A huge part of our headache and hassle comes from the fact that we are dealing with insurance. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
