Here’s a quick New York Times piece on healthcare providers who come to work sick. I have to say that I cannot think of one physician-friend I know who has not come to work ill at some point. Unfortunately, the system needs to change drastically, especially for residents, to keep doctors away from their responsibilities when ill.
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Doctors Sick at Work
Tags: healthcare providers, New York Times, residents, Sick
Is Osteopathic Medical School Right for You?
Osteopathic medical schools are a good option for many applicants. Osteopathic medicine emphasizes helping each patient achieve wellness by focusing on health promotion and disease prevention. Osteopathy teaches that a strong foundation in primary care makes one a better physician, regardless of a doctor’s specialty.
Here is a great article from last summer’s New York Times on osteopathic schools and their influence on American medicine. There are also some useful statistics about admissions in the article.
My Own Life
Dr. Oliver Sacks is a Professor or Neurology at New York University School of Medicine who has written numerous best-selling books including, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” and “Awakenings.” He recently wrote a moving piece in the NYT called “My Own Life” about learning that he has terminal cancer. It’s worth a read.
Tags: New York Times, Nyu
Doctor, Shut Up and Listen
This recent NYT piece by Nirmal Joshi is interesting, and as someone with a human biology background, I’m a big fan of improving patient-doctor communication.
But the author fails to address a critical factor here – oppressive patient volumes. In the Emergency Department (ED), a physician must balance the time she’s spending with each patient with the wait time that many others are suffering without having had the privilege of seeing a doctor yet. And crushing patient volume is not just an ED problem. A primary care friend of mine told me she has to see one patient every 15 minutes to keep on schedule. She points out that just getting a thorough history from a new, elderly patient and counseling on preventive care can take all of that time.
DO + MD = Love
This article in the New York Times does an excellent job of showcasing the popularity of DO programs, the rigor of their admissions process (as well as that of allopathic schools), and the imminent slow merging of the two professions. (If nothing else, it’s worth looking at the article for the links to hard statistics it provides.) Along these lines, please take a look at my blog regarding the recent announcement from the American Osteopathic Association, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education about the consolidation of the graduate medical education system.
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
