Lest the students out there get disillusioned, it is probably a good idea to be upfront about the reality of being a doctor:
Maybe it’s not always this bad, but in the ER there is a real ring of truth to this.
From the marvelous Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
I have had the privilege of working at an organization which is actively improving the lives of its members and also was mentioned by the President as a model for the nation. Over the past few years, I have also demonstrated to first year medical students what 21st century primary care should look and feel like – a fully comprehensive medical record, secure email to patients, support from specialists, and assistance from chronic conditions staff.
But as my students know, there are also some suggested reading assignments. I’m not talking about Harrison’s or other more traditional textbooks related to medical education. If the United States is to have a viable and functioning health care system, then it will need every single physician to be engaged and involved. I’m not just helping train the next group of doctors (and hopefully primary care doctors), but the next generation of physician leaders.
Here are the books listed in order of recommended reading, from easiest to most difficult. Combined these books offer an understanding the complexity of the problem, the importance of language in diagnosing a patient, the mindset that we can do better, and the solution to fixing the health care system.
Which additional books or articles do you think current and future doctors should know?
Overtreated – Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
Primary care physicians are getting paid more, two surveys agree, while hospital employment is rising.
Internists earned $205,379 in median compensation in 2010, an increase of 4.21% over the previous year, reported the Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA’s) Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data. Family practitioners (without obstetrics) reported median compensation of $189,402. Pediatric/adolescent medicine physicians earned $192,148 in median compensation, an increase of 0.39% since 2009.
Among specialists, anesthesiologists reported decreased compensation, as did gastroenterologists and radiologists. Psychiatrists, dermatologists, neurologists and general surgeons reported an increase in median compensation since 2009.
Regional data reveals primary and specialty physicians in the South reported the highest earnings at $216,170 and $404,000 respectively. Primary and specialty-care physicians in the Eastern section reported the lowest median compensation at $194,409 and $305,575. This year’s report provides data on nearly 60,000 providers.
Recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins reported that general internal medicine was one of its top two most requested searches for the sixth consecutive year. Family physicians were the firm’s most requested type of doctor, followed by internists, hospitalists, psychiatrists, and orthopedic surgeons.
Average compensation for internists Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist*
It affected me. Not just it, but the fact that it didn’t seem to affect my colleague.
I was a lowly fourth year medical student, delivering babies for all I was worth. Looking back, I realize I enjoyed it. The whole ‘joy of a baby coming into the world’ really gave me joy that a baby was coming into the world. Call me sentimental but I saw each birth as beautiful. Somehow I could look past the meconeum and the amniotic fluid and the episiotomies and see what was actually going on. It was a happy time for the mother (mostly). It was the beginning of hopes and dreams. It was a new start for the baby (obviously) and for the mother, and in a sense, each new birth may have signified a potential new start for me.
She was excited about her new baby, but there was a cloud over her entire admission. The reason she had come in to the hospital was because she hadn’t felt the baby kicking for the last 24 hours and she was worried. Quite soon we were worried, too. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at other things amanzi*
“A baby crying is the best birth control.” – Anonymous
Despite a world full of crying babies, access to effective and timely contraception remains a pressing women’s health issue.
All students in the health professions learn the basics of contraception. Most health care professionals will prescribe contraception at some point in their training or clinical practice. Some clinicians make contraception and family planning the primary focus of their practice.
Contraception i-pocketcards is a resource for each of these health care providers – from the medical student working his first gynecologic clinic to the experienced ED doctor wondering which emergency contraceptive method to use in her patient with a history of DVT.
Reviewed on the iPod Touch. Also available on the iPhone and iPad.
If you visit a medical book store, you may notice the rack of medical pocket cards: EKG interpretation, 2011 Antibiotic guide, medical Spanish, and many others. As a medical student, these cards may have been your lifeline – they were mine. Likely among these cards is one related to prescribing contraception. Contraception i-pocketcards, like many good medical apps, is one that effectively replaces another white-coat-cluttering object. For $3.99, this app contains all of the information about contraception found on six pocket cards. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
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