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Understaffing is Affecting Patient Care

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I am only middle aged, and yet, so many of my cohort, including myself, have recently left clinical medicine. There are layer upon layer upon layer of reasons: Even before the pandemic, burnout and discouragement about the current healthcare system were big problems amongst providers. Then, COVID facilitated more departures because of the need to stay home to care for children or even illness and death, sadly. Finally, the national workforce shortage and economic cuts have led to a real crisis in our medical system. 

See this piece by Dr. George Hyde, a pediatric resident at Harbor UCLA, as he describes how understaffing is directly harming patient care.

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Medical School Help: What are the Next Steps Once the AMCAS is In?

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Once you’ve submitted your AMCAS, what can you do next to best prepare for what’s to come in the medical school admissions process?

Here are a few tips:

1. Start drafting secondary essays. Even if you haven’t yet received the prompts, you can begin to craft responses to common themes like “how would you add diversity to our school?” and “describe an extracurricular activity that might be of interest to the committee.” Good writing takes time, but if you wait for the onslaught of secondary applications, you won’t be able to impart your essays with your highest quality effort.

2. Get a head start on preparing for the medical school interview. Practice, practice, practice. Start mocking up answers to interview questions so that you distinguish yourself.

3. Consider what you want. Do some soul searching to determine what you are really seeking geographically, philosophically, and educationally. You want to make considered decisions when the time comes.

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Is There a Doctor on Board?

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Those are words no physician wants to hear. Even as an emergency physician, I hated the few times I heard that phrase. Fortunately, the passengers I tended to were not terribly ill, but this story, written by a medical student who cared for a critically ill passenger, is well told and worth the read.

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Study Shows Women Earn $2 Million Less Than Men in Their Careers as Doctors

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A survey of 80,000+ physicians estimated that women make 25 percent less than their male counterparts over a 40-year career, according to a New York Times article. The troubling findings were published in a paper in Health Affairs. Of note, factors like specialty, type of practice, and patient volume were controlled for. Had they not been, one of the authors said, the discrepancy would have doubled. The salary gap starts at the beginning of women’s careers and then only worsens.

According to the Times article, the pay gap is wider among healthcare practitioners than among those in computer and engineering jobs. Considering that, women pre-meds who are on the fence about a career as a doctor have every right to seriously consider another profession…

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Studies Show that Physicians are More Likely to Use Negative Terms in Black Patients’ Medical Charts

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Here’s a disturbing and important New York Times article detailing two studies showing that physicians were more likely to use negative language in the medical record about Black patients than about those of other races. 

Medical notes from emergency departments and inpatient settings were more likely to use this pejorative language, possibly because of a lack of long-standing relationships with patients.

Along these lines, a term like “refused” should not be used in the medical record. If we, as medical professionals, believe the patient is truly in charge of his/her body, “declined” is an appropriate replacement. 

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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Listen to Dr. Finkel’s interview on the White Coat Investor podcast:

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