**update 12/31/21 – This essay was the most read Op-Ed on Doximity of 2021! (originally published in Doximity’s Op-Med on 2/22/21 under the title I Left Medicine For a Year. Here’s What I Learned, and Why I’m Coming Back) Before COVID-19, I left the practice of medicine for what would turn out to become an…
8 Comments*originally published online 12/24/20 in the International Journal of Academic Medicine as part of The women in medicine summit: An evolution of empowerment in Chicago, Illinois, October 9 and 10, 2020. (Perspective #4). “She didn’t even smile.” This was the startling reply to my open-ended question with which I had learned to start all second-opinion…
Comments closedIt’s April, which means it’s early in the pandemic, although we don’t know that yet. We’re all hunkering down because we hope it might be over soon. One night, I pull up an interview on the small screen of my smartphone. A woman reporter is interviewing a woman physician about COVID-19 — each in their own homes,…
Comments closedTL;DR: Vulnerability as a Superpower Last year, I had to renew my state medical license, a routine task. I completed the requisite online forms, paid the fees, clicked “submit,” and didn’t think about it again. Until the renewal didn’t come. As the deadline loomed nearer, and after several unreturned emails and phone calls, I finally…
Comments closedA curated list of top 5 articles on physician burnout for the week of October 1, 2019, with a theme: the EHR.
Comments closedA weekly roundup of selected articles on physician burnout, for the week of September 15, 2019.
Comments closedGuest Post by Dr. Rajeev Kurapati Burnout among medical professionals is an epidemic, and it’s impacting nearly every aspect of healthcare. For oncologists and practitioners working with cancer patients or other patients navigating difficult or terminal diseases, burnout can be especially insidious. One reason burnout can be so insidious is that even many medical professionals…
Comments closedGuest post by Leah Walsh In this guest post, author Leah Walsh explains what it means if you are one of the 20% of the human population to have a personality trait now established as “highly sensitive”, and how that might affect you if you work in a caregiving profession. Be sure to read through…
Comments closedHappy week of International Women’s Day 2019 (IWD2019)! In the spirit of this year’s IWD2019 theme, #BalanceforBetter, I pulled together this collection of posts from and about women in medicine. I hope you will draw inspiration from them for your own lives and practices. 1. Being a Woman, by Dr. Anne Malatt An uplifting reflection…
Comments closedIn celebration of Valentine’s Day this week, it seemed fitting to put together a post on the concept of love in medicine. Only…there’s not many of us out there writing on the topic. After a google search of “love in medicine” and “love and doctoring”, I found the following three posts, and have included one…
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