The Podcast by KevinMD

"As a medical student, you find potential patients everywhere. Whether you're on an airplane or on a romantic dinner date, we've all heard those famous words, 'Is there a doctor in the house?!' Here are some of my favorite 'patient' encounters. The best friend curbside. I was playing ball with my boys – that's right FIFA on the PlayStation – when my buddy drops the question, 'So listen man, you're a doctor, right? I need some advice about my knee; it's been killing me! I landed weird after jumping during soccer the other week, and now it's been aching ever since.' Assessment and Plan: 27-year-old man, clearly delusional as he thinks I'm a doctor, presents to FIFA night complaining of right knee pain. Obviously, he should rest, ice it, use compression, and elevate the leg, right? He continued, 'So I went to my primary care doc, and he told me to rest, ice it, use compression, and elevate the leg! Isn't that the dumbest thing you ever heard?' Uh oh, I couldn't blow my cover, 'Yeah totally … maybe you should get that checked out!'" Daniel Azzam and Ajay N. Sharma are medical students and founders and editors-in-chief, Diary of a Medical Student. They share their stories and discuss their KevinMD article, "As a medical student, you find potential patients everywhere." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/as-a-medical-student-you-find-potential-patients-everywhere.html)

"One of the calls you dread making as a doctor is telling a family member their loved one is dying. That was the call I received when my grandfather decompensated. We grow accustomed to making the call as clinicians, but we never expect to get it ourselves. I felt for his pulse. Slow but faint. As a doctor, you become desensitized over time. You frantically think of the next steps that will save this body's life, until you realize that body is someone you know. Death here during this time has no dignity. I've experienced a lot in my career by trade. But this one feels particularly brutal. Patients are not allowed to have visitors and often die scared. Someone codes, someone dies, and on you go to save the next life. A few days later, I prepared to head back to work. I thought about all the patients I treated for COVID, never thinking my grandfather would be one. As I headed into work at around 7 p.m., I hear the sounds of people cheering outside. At that moment, I was no hero. I had just lost a war. And back I went to the battlegrounds that altered my family forever. Society needs to redirect energy to alleviating the struggles of workers rather than glorifying it. The government faltered, but it is community advocates and organizers of grass-root campaigns that create reproducible change. The fact of the matter is, nobody wants to be a hero right now. We just want to live to see another day." Zaki Y. Azam is an internal medicine resident. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "How coronavirus took my grandfather's life." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/how-coronavirus-took-my-grandfathers-life.html)

"Living the surreal experience of the COVID-19 pandemic challenges us on multiple levels. As a physician, I feel the responsibility to understand the magnitude of the situation and implement the best measures to protect my patients, trainees, my family, and myself. I experience the fear of getting sick or losing a loved one and the sadness and frustration of seeing millions of lives affected by illness, desperation, isolation, and death. COVID-19 has challenged me even more in my role as a mother. Living the quarantine with two energetic boys has transformed motherhood into an emotional rollercoaster. The combination of COVID-19, taking care of two boys, and continuing working has, at times, been overwhelming, even while having the support of my wonderful husband. I have found myself being absorbed by the challenges, almost forgetting the positive things that still surround me." Miriam Zylberglait Lisigurski is an internal medicine physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "COVID-19 through the eyes of my kids." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/covid-19-through-the-eyes-of-my-kids.html)

Explore why this general surgeon wrote a novel, and how writing helps with the stresses that accompany a surgery career. What is his #1 tip for those interested in surgery? What are the challenges facing the profession today? How can surgeons find that elusive work-play balance? And why should aspiring doctors start a journal? Arthur Williams is a surgeon. He shares his story and discusses his book, The Surgeon's Obol. (https://amzn.to/2FIdDmz)

"To the people who say that wearing a mask perpetuates the conspiracy: Tell that to the health care workers who have put their lives at risk to face firsthand an unknown disease. Tell that to the families of frontline workers who have contracted and succumbed to COVID-19 while their loved ones save everyone else. To the people who say that COVID-19 does not exist; that COVID-19 is just another cold or flu: Tell that to the families who did not have the opportunity to hold the hands of their loved ones as they passed; the families that had to say goodbye to their loved ones through a video chat or a phone call; the families who never dreamed that when they dropped their mothers, fathers, spouses, and siblings off at the ER, the next time they'd see them would be in a casket." Fady Youssef is a pulmonary and critical care physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "A frontline physician has a message for you." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/a-frontline-physician-has-a-message-for-you.html)

What is caregiver burnout? How can you recognize the symptoms? What are tips for new caregivers? What can caregivers teach clinicians? R. Lynn Barnett is the author of What Patients Want: Anecdotes and Advice and My Mother has Alzheimer's and My Dog Has Tapeworms: A Caregiver's Tale. She can be reached on Twitter @rlynnbarnett1. She shares her story and discusses her book, My Mother has Alzheimer's and My Dog Has Tapeworms: A Caregiver's Tale. (https://amzn.to/2ZXHq1u)

"Grandma Lilly is 87-years-old and in the ICU. She's on a ventilator with her wrists restrained to the side of the bed. Grandma can barely see because her eyes are puffy: scleral edema. And her heart races: 140 beats per minute. Her blood pressure is low and Levophed and vasopressin drips are ordered. Her family can't talk to her as she phases in and out of existence. For her, end-stage renal disease means dialysis. And respiratory failure equals ventilator. She's a brittle diabetic with uncontrolled fluctuating blood sugars. Grandma Lilly can't eat, and we feed her by a tube that goes into her nose and to her stomach. Tomorrow, she gets a PEG tube surgically inserted to feed her. She's been on the ventilator too long. Next comes the ICU package: ventilator, dialysis, pressers, restraints, trach, PEG tube. Any second of clarity or awareness is pure brutality. There's no pretty ending to this torture except through death. Poor Grandma Lilly." Debbie Moore-Black is a nurse who blogs at Do Not Resuscitate. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Go quiet into the night." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/01/go-quiet-into-the-night.html)

"Lifestyle medicine equips practitioners with the tools to affect change. One of the biggest job satisfiers for physicians is positively impacting the trajectory of their patients' lives. Having a parent tell you that their child is 'a different person' because of the time you spent with them is priceless. This is why I believe if more physicians studied and applied the principles of lifestyle medicine to their lives and their practices, we could put a dent into the burnout many of us face. We can build up resilience to the rigors of our work and experience higher levels of job satisfaction as we see our patients get better. In essence, lifestyle medicine is a prescription for physician burnout. In many ways, I feel that my journey into lifestyle medicine is the legacy my mom gave to me. Arising from the emptiness of my early motherhood, I landed on a path leading me to flourish personally and professionally. I will be forever grateful to her not just for the life that she gave me, but for the life she is giving me." Cherie Chu is a pediatrician who blogs at Wellness Pediatrician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Lifestyle medicine is a prescription to treat physician burnout." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/lifestyle-medicine-is-a-prescription-for-physician-burnout.html)

"As an oncologist, perhaps the hardest part I play is as witness. I am there to give a diagnosis that, more often than not, will alter someone's life forever. For some, I see resignation—a sense that they've known something was wrong and that it's what they thought they had. For others, I see an almost immediate acceptance and, with it, perseverance; they are prepared to fight, to win. But for those where cancer comes without much warning, I see terror. Cancer is a threat to who they are, how they live, and yes—how long they have. It's hard to see someone struggle this way, knowing that no matter how much time I spend with them, holding their hand, crafting a way forward, they leave my office with cancer." Don S. Dizon is an oncologist. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "As an oncologist, this is the hardest role I play." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/as-an-oncologist-this-is-the-hardest-role-i-play.html)

"Grocery shopping is not optional; it's necessary. But if you go every day and to multiple stores, you are increasing the chance you will be exposed. From my informal survey, this practice is extremely common. Yet, experts advise to consolidate shopping. In fact, in my experience, there is always at least one person (shoppers AND workers) in every store I have visited who is either not masked or masked incorrectly. Many people report that they are going stir-crazy without seeing friends and family members or being among others. So the trade-off is clear: maintaining sanity is prioritized. Everyone wants things to return to normal, so they are doing normal things, albeit with precautions. In reality, there is still so much that is unknown about coronavirus transmission, so it is too soon to attempt 'normalcy.'" Sara L. Merwin is an epidemiologist and co-author of The Informed Patient: A Complete Guide to a Hospital Stay. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Incremental risk amid COVID-19 re-openings: What do we value most?" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/incremental-risk-amid-covid-19-re-openings-what-do-we-value-most.html)