October 26th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: 33 Charts, Being A Doctor, Doctor Cries, Doctor's Life, Doctors Are Humans, Doctors' Perspective, Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, Expectations of Medical Students, Feeling Like A Doctor, General Medicine, Humanistic Side of Medicine, Humanizing Medicine, Medicine and Humanism, New Doctors, Next Generation of Physicians, Overwhelmed Doctors, PalMD, Physician Burnout, The White Coat Underground
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PalMD over at The White Coat Underground recently asked: “When did you really feel like a doctor?” Interesting question that I could answer in a number of ways.
While I didn’t know it at the time, I felt like a doctor around 4am during my first night on call. I was an intern on the hematology ward at Texas Children’s Hospital. I was fresh out of medical school, I had chosen a residency known for its mind-boggling volume, and the kids were really sick. I had hit a point where I simply couldn’t keep up with what was in front of me. I stole away into the 6th-floor stairwell in the Children’s Abercrombie building, put my face into my hands, and began to cry.
My first call night was a metaphor for my career. I had no idea at the time that the idea of simply keeping up would be a theme that would follow me through my training and into my day-to-day work.
While I can’t remember the last time I cried at the hospital, I continue to struggle with input. I work to keep up with inbound information and professional social dialog. How I handle information or how I appear to handle it defines me as a physician. Harnessing this attention crash through technology will represent a major defining moment for the next generation of physicians.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
October 24th, 2010 by admin in Better Health Network, True Stories
Tags: Diaster Relief Medical Care, Doctor Tweets, Doctors On Twitter, Dr. Peggy Polaneczky, Global Rescue, Haiti, International Medicine, Medical Volunteer Efforts, Obstetrics And Gynecology, TBTAM, Terrible Health Conditions, The Blog That Ate Manhattan, Unmet Medical Needs, Women's Health
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She’s tweeting her medical mission in Haiti. So tragic are the unmet medical needs of these people. From Doc Gurley:
Saw an alone 9-month-pregnant 19 yr old. No birth kit, no string for the cord, no plan for who would be with her. Gave supplies+discussed how to ask helper to wash hands. Nothing sharp&clean for cord so gave scalpel. Acted out birth, w/handwashing.
Also saw woman with overwhelming postpartum uterus infection. Someone used hands at delivery to pull out pieces of placenta.
Saw 14yrold girl w/months of excruciating pain, mass in her lower belly, wasting. Ruptured appy? Tumor? Left her w/ narcotics, antibiotics.
Also, women do not have menstrual protection supplies:
I’ve been asked, if there are no pads, what do women use? In the cases I saw, one used a page of a magazine & another a dinner napkin.
God bless you, Doc Gurley, and the members of your team for all you’re doing. What can we do to help?
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
October 23rd, 2010 by Lucy Hornstein, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Dr. Lucy Hornstein, Family Medicine, Footnotes, General Medicine, Inaccurate Diagnosis, Internal Medicine, Medical, Medical Humor, Medical Specialists, Medical Specialties, Misdiagnosis, Musings of a Dinosaur, Orthopedics, Podiatry, Primary Care
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Regular readers have heard me rant about the fragmentation of medical care in this country. Each body part not only has its own medical specialist, but in some cases its own allied health profession. Such is the case with the feet.
Doctors of podiatric medicine have to complete a four-year course of study after college, followed by a three-year podiatry residency. At the end of all that, I grant, they are expert in the care and management of complex disorders and conditions of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. I refer to them regularly, especially for stubborn ingrown toenails. (I did indeed learn how to remove offending portions of nail bed, but over the years I’ve gotten away from it.) They fail, though, when they try to extend their reach beyond their grasp, which is the case of the podiatrist above the knees. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur*
October 23rd, 2010 by AndrewSchorr in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: AndrewSchorr, Cancer of the Blood Cells, Cancer of the Bone Marrow, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, CML, Dr. Brian Druker, Empowered Patients, Gleevec, Greg Stephens, Hematology, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Living With Your Disease, National CML Society, Onocology, Patient Power, Patients' Grassroots Leukemia Mission, Spread of Infection, Tasigna, Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Drugs
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I am just back from Phoenix where I spent the weekend with people living with CML, chronic myelogenous leukemia. The operative words are “living with” because it wasn’t very long ago when people did not live long with this disease. However, medical science and dedicated researchers like Dr. Brian Druker at OHSU in Portland, Oregon have brought us what first appear to be “miracle” pills (Gleevec, Sprycel, and Tasigna) that can keep patients alive and doing well.
My weekend was spent with several people, all taking one of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor drugs, as they were planning next steps for a new advocacy organization, The National CML Society. The Society is the creation of Greg Stephens of Birmingham, Alabama, a business consultant who lost his mother to CML. Now he has devoted his life to giving voice to patients, researchers, and building a vibrant community.
CML is not common. There are just over 4,000 new cases in the U.S. each year. And, now that there are three powerful and approved medicines, some people feel the disease is “cured” and not in urgent need of public discussion. The patients I met with said this was “baloney” and they were driven to support the new society because they felt the obvious advocacy group, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, was not giving them enough attention nor listening carefully to their stories. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
October 22nd, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Research, True Stories
Tags: Blindness, Childhood Diabetes, Continuous Glucose Monitor, Dr. Edwin Leap, Dr. James Amrhein, Greenville Hospital System, Hope, Insulin Pump, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Living With Diabetes, Long-Term Complications, Needle Pain, New Therapy For Diabetes, Renal Failure, Walk for the Cure
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This weekend is the Western Carolina Walk for the Cure for Juvenile Diabetes. Our son Seth is 13, and has been diabetic since age five. The Walk is one of our favorite yearly events. More than that, the idea of a cure is one of our favorite dreams!
Seth has come a long way. He wears an insulin pump, and is now wearing a continuous glucose monitoring system. His chances of long-term complications, such as blindness or renal failure, are remarkably low compared to what kids faced in past decades.
His physician, Dr. James Amrhein of the Greenville Hospital System, is outstanding. He and his outstanding nurse practitioners brought us through the shock and trials of diabetes with great compassion and understanding. He offered us that precious commodity: Hope. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
