The Podcast by KevinMD

"Motherhood has been the biggest gamble of my adult life thus far. How was I going to operate for 12-plus hours while 39-weeks pregnant? Where would I be when I went into labor? How would was I going to return after three weeks? How would I pump during and in between OR cases? I did it. It certainly wasn't easy. And I would do it all over. My son is beautiful and healthy. I've never been prouder of anything I've ever done. He is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. He's made me a better clinician and surgeon." Lauren A. Umstattd is a facial plastic surgery fellow. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Advice to a pregnant surgical resident." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/10/advice-to-a-pregnant-surgical-resident.html)

"COVID-19 disproportionately impacts those with pre-existing conditions, and our health care system leaves one in five Americans with a pre-existing condition uninsured. Further, with multiple COVID-19 vaccines already in early but slow distribution, attaining universal coverage is critical, particularly in light of uninsurance having an inverse relationship with vaccination rates. President Biden will need to act with a legislative urgency that matches these times to pass a public option. With two-thirds of the country approving President Biden's handling of the transition, now is his opportunity. He may just need to take a few pages out of the 'Johnson treatment' playbook in crafting the 'Biden treatment.'" Jonathan Staloff is a family medicine resident and can be reached on Twitter @jonstaloff. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "How President Biden's quest for a public option mirrors LBJ's passage of Medicare and Medicaid." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/01/how-president-bidens-quest-for-a-public-option-mirrors-lbjs-passage-of-medicare-and-medicaid.html)

"The patient knocking on your door is not your enemy. They're sick. They're scared. They're in pain. They don't know why, and they're hoping for an answer. If you can't find the source of a problem quickly, it doesn't mean it's not there." Denise Reich is a patient advocate. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Patients don't need quick diagnoses. They need accurate ones." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/01/patients-dont-need-quick-diagnoses-they-need-accurate-ones.html)

"I can tell you what I don't want to do. I don't want to mill through 50 patients a day, mindlessly clicking through EMR checkboxes so an insurance auditor five states away will deem that I've done my job and deserve reimbursement. That's a high volume, high overhead game, and I don't want to play it. I recently spoke with a doctor who was getting so many insurance denials that they needed to hire 14 additional billers at an estimated cost of somewhere around half a million dollars a year. Insurance companies want to make it difficult for doctors to get paid. They will only add more hoops to jump through, meaning that I need to hire more hoop jumpers as a doctor. Hiring hoop jumpers costs a lot of money, which means I need to see more patients. Seeing more patients in the same amount of time leads to shorter visits and worse care. Not to mention the pressure from hospital administrators to "expand your indications," or in layman's terms, operate on someone who may not really need it." Daniel Paull is an orthopedic surgeon. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "I am an orthopedic surgeon who decided to stop taking insurance." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/01/i-am-an-orthopedic-surgeon-who-decided-to-stop-taking-insurance.html)

"Humanities can be seen as part of the fabric, society, and culture of human experience. In many ways, they might be seen as the disciplines that make us human and make life meaningful. They broadly encompass ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, religion, visual and performing arts, such as music and theater. Even more expansively, they may also include, amongst others, history, archaeology, anthropology, law, and linguistics. These diverse fields explore and foster empathy, compassion, beauty, joy, awe, love, reasoning, tolerance, curiosity, possibility, community. Are we richer as human beings or physicians without this education, or are we abandoning ourselves to the loneliness, sadness, and despair of a more sterile, rigid, negative, and dysfunctional way of thinking?" Jacqueline Huntly is a family physician and physician coach. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Medicine for the soul: Harness the power of the humanities to counteract burnout." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/11/medicine-for-the-soul-harness-the-power-of-the-humanities-to-counteract-burnout.html)

"Most residents are young, often in their mid to late 20s, having spent years ensconced in libraries, research labs, and classrooms learning pathophysiology and pharmacology. Upon graduation from medical school, they are now drafted to the front lines of a generational pandemic, working long hours, often in cities where they are strangers (the process of "matching" into a residency program is one where residents are not in full control of their destiny or geography). They do so while putting their own health in jeopardy. The resident's experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unlike any other, because on average, residents spend almost twice as much time at work as other providers. Residents are allowed to work 80 hours a week on balance, which means it's fine to log 90 hours in the ICU if the following week is a mere 70." John P. Murray is an internal medicine physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "In gratitude to our nation's residents." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/01/in-gratitude-to-our-nations-residents.html)

"Keep it Simple is a bumper sticker slogan. Life during a pandemic has been anything but simple, and the holiday season presents (not the gift kind) its own special challenges. So does living alone and trying to stay humanized. In his book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, Surgeon General-elect Vivek Murphy describes loneliness as associated with increased risk of mental and health difficulties in the BC era (before COVID-19). All the more so within such a challenging year of physical separation and trying to maintain a connection with others, with ourselves. So much angst, uncertainty, loss … And yet … here we are poised at the brink of a new year with vaccines being distributed and a true sense of hope and healing. We're medical educators who teach health professions students and professionals about resilience and adapting to adversity, but here we are, needing to walk the talk. Big-time. We met via Zoom for a Virtual Tea to share about our lives and not just our work. There was some laughter, the best medicine. And we reflected on negotiating living alone and the stuff of life that sustains, even enriches. Daily "little sparks of joy" can help. We offer you our "21 for '21" and hope the simple can be profound." Hedy S. Wald is a clinical professor of family medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI. She can be reached on Twitter @hedy_wald. Monica van de Ridder is an assistant professor, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University/Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids MI. She can be reached on Twitter @MvdRidder. They share their stories and discuss their KevinMD article, "21 for '21: little sparks of joy." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/12/21-for-21-little-sparks-of-joy.html)

"Lights, camera, action! You get a call from your hospital's public relations office asking you to speak to the local news. Even though this isn't your first time, your heart is pounding, with a mix of nerves and excitement. You start doubting whether you have anything valuable to say about the topic, even though, yes – you went through many years of medical school and residency before this moment. You are also worried about how to avoid looking foolish or unprofessional on-air. Or worse, how to avoid having your words taken out of context. No? OK, then maybe that's just me. There are still some key tips and tricks you should know to optimize your performance." Tyeese L. Gaines is an emergency physician and branding and media coach. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "8 things physicians should know before they're interviewed by the media." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/12/8-things-physicians-should-know-before-theyre-interviewed-by-the-media.html)

"Ultimately, patient care is at the center of medicine and is the main reason many physicians chose to go into the field. A good understanding of the business side of medicine and personal finance can help future physicians focus on just that. There are plenty of options when it comes to how we can begin to integrate these topics into medical education. There are clear benefits that come with learning these skills, and many students are eager to do so. We need more medical schools to integrate these subjects into their curriculums, and students who are given the opportunity to gain this knowledge can become more well-rounded physicians as a result." Martinus Megalla is a medical student. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Why medical students should be taught the business side of medicine." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/why-medical-students-should-be-taught-the-business-side-of-medicine.html)

"There should be no grades in medical school. Forty-something percent of applicants get accepted to one or more medical schools. To even apply to medical school, one needs to have not only graduated or be on track to graduate college, but also needs to have passed the MCAT and have the support of a pre-medical application committee. I am no mathematician, but I do not think that it is a stretch to say that less than 10 percent of those who wanted to go to medical school on their first day of college do, in fact, end up matriculating into medical school." Adam Lieber is a medical student. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "End medical school grades." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/01/end-medical-school-grades.html)