The Podcast by KevinMD

"Growing up, my family sheltered and protected me with everything related to vitiligo. People never really asked me what happened to my skin. And, if I did get questions, I honestly did not know how to answer them, so I would say 'oh, they're just sunburn scars' or some version of that story, and moved on. Thinking back, I probably was too supported and busy to really have an opportunity to be bothered by it. That, in itself, was a blessing. I pursued many years of schooling and training to ultimately become a practicing physician. Now that I've been in medicine for many years, I primarily value and cherish the connection with my patients, as I sincerely believe medicine is fundamentally about the human experience. But, when I hear statements like 'you don't look Indian' from patients, I am constantly reminded each time that I have vitiligo. Reflecting on how best to answer this question, I ask myself if I should react and explain the skin condition, or just let it go. The truth is that the majority of the time, I do 'let it go' when it comes to discussing my skin condition with patients. I simply don't want to explain to patients that I have vitiligo." Dhaval Desai is a hospitalist. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "The story of an Indian doctor with vitiligo." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/06/the-story-of-an-indian-doctor-with-vitiligo.html)

"The daily email update on COVID-19 affecting our hospital system is a glaring reflection of the health disparities amongst those in marginalized groups. The farther south you go, generally in San Diego, the higher the number of socioeconomically disadvantaged persons, and that tends to include a disproportionate number of persons of color. These populations may be unable to physically distance due to living conditions and job conditions. Perhaps there is a higher number of persons living together per household, in a smaller space, along with the inability to work from home. And the mortality rates of those from COVID-19 amongst these persons is higher than white counterparts. Sometimes there is an inherent distrust in the medical system. COVID-19 and racism intersect. However, this is not a unique situation in health care—many chronic illnesses portend worse outcomes for those in marginalized groups. Marginalization means just that: glaringly apparent in health outcomes and socioeconomic disparities." Ni-Cheng Liang is a pulmonary physician and founder, the Mindful Healthcare Collective. She shares her story and discuss her KevinMD article, "COVID-19 becomes a magnifying glass for health disparities." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/covid-19-becomes-a-magnifying-glass-for-health-disparities.html) Resources mentioned in the show: Implicit bias test: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html Health Disparities Widget: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/data-search/health-disparities-data/health-disparities-widget Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities: https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/strategies2016/index.html Conscious Anti-Racism: https://www.jillwener.com/consciousantiracism

"Signing up for an improv class was unchartered territory. It was far beyond my comfort zone, like skydiving, for a little thrill. I'm not an adrenaline junkie interested in the ultimate adventure nor an aspiring actress hoping for a guest appearance on SNL. I'm a physician and a physician leader. Learning improvisational theatre wasn't on my comprehensive, personal to-do list. But I'm also a physician coach. I sense what others feel in the moment without interpretation or judgment. However, when I tried to turn the same discerning sage on myself, I was faltering. The voice of compassion that I once used during patient visits and that I now use during client sessions, is sometimes muted by an inner critic that tells me to keep self-awareness out of awareness. It is this voice that I wanted to stifle when I hit the submit button." Terri Malcolm is an obstetrician-gynecologist and founder, Master Physician Leaders. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How improv helps physician leaders." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/how-improv-helps-physician-leaders.html)

"What on earth are we doing here, folks? To try to save a tanking economy, workers were sent back to their jobs much too early, causing again a spike in cases of the virus. I realize that the loss of a paycheck is a major traumatic situation for any breadwinner, but so is the loss of life. Our doctors and nurses are doing their best to treat COVID-19 patients under their care. Many are putting themselves in harm's way and risking their health to care for those hospitalized. Some have been separated from their own families so as not to potentially carry the virus to them. And how do we repay them for their valiant efforts? By ignoring the guidelines put forth by the CDC and all other medical institutions. That doesn't make sense." Michele Luckenbaugh is a patient advocate. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "The loss of a paycheck is a major traumatic situation. The loss of life is worse." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/the-loss-of-a-paycheck-is-a-major-traumatic-situation-the-loss-of-life-is-worse.html)

"I have been depressed. I have been burned out. I have been both. I have been neither. How do you know if you are depressed vs. burned out when your chief complaint is, "I feel like crap?" It's time to call a consult. I don't mean curbsiding your colleagues to fill your medications off the record without evaluation. I mean, ask for real help, from someone who can objectively help you define your diagnosis and the best path forward. If you "feel like crap" and think you may be depressed or burned out, please reach out to a trusted physician, therapist, or coach. You are not alone, and there is hope and help waiting for you." Kara Pepper is an internal medicine physician and can be reached at her self-titled site, Physician Life Coach: Kara Pepper, MD. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Call a consult: depression vs. burnout." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/call-a-consult-depression-vs-burnout.html)

"An increasing number of institutions are relying on telemedicine to continue delivering care to patients in lieu of typical outpatient visits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has been lauded as a potential equalizer in health care access. Indeed, it allows for safe and easy access to medical professionals. It especially benefits patients with transportation issues or those seeking specialty care from far away. Some pitfalls such as reimbursement issues and lack of physical exam notwithstanding, telemedicine overall is a helpful service at a time like this. However, telemedicine does not benefit all patients equally. In fact, it exposes and amplifies the existing health care disparity in a subgroup of patients." Wenjing Zong is a pediatric gastroenterology fellow. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Telemedicine in COVID-19: Disparities still exist." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/telemedicine-in-covid-19-disparities-still-exist.html)

"While our bodies have been a bastion of the heart and soul of medicine, a group of our peers thought it was acceptable to diminish the capabilities of our bodies to pictures on social media. They thought our ability to be exceptional physicians was inversely proportional to the number of pictures that showed us holding a drink or wearing a bikini. Our bodies do so much more than just practice medicine. What we choose to do with our bodies in our own free time should not become part of an investigation that is packaged as peer-reviewed research. Our bodies may have tattoos, ride motorcycles, or compete in pole fitness competitions for sport. None of that impacts our practice of medicine negatively. It's past time we start celebrating the strength of our bodies and hold accountable those who try to negate our accomplishments with an ill-perceived attitude of sexism and misogyny." Jessica Pearce is an obstetrician-gynecologist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Let us talk about the underlying situation of #medbikini." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/let-us-talk-about-the-underlying-situation-of-medbikini.html)

Meet the physician who has written multiple widely-shared articles on KevinMD. How does writing change minds and bring people together? Why is humor such an important part of her pieces? Explore how her articles come together, and why writing has made her a better physician. Rada Jones is an emergency physician and can be reached at her self-titled site, RadaJonesMD, and on Twitter @jonesrada. She is the author of Overdose. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How masks are like your underwear." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/how-masks-are-like-your-underwear.html)

"I wonder what keeps us physicians going? What makes us show up to work every day? Even though it might sound clichéd, for most of us, it's the love for medicine; it's the love to be there and still be able to make a difference. And maybe money too. Here I have some self-help tips/tools that could potentially help us through these tough times. We cannot change our surroundings. We can certainly adapt." Manju Mahajan is a family physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "To better take care of patients, we need to take care of ourselves." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/to-better-take-care-of-patients-we-need-to-take-care-of-ourselves.html)

"What is SEO? In short, it is the process of optimizing content found online in order to help it be seen by those searching for the information found in that content. It used to be that people would just stuff their poorly written, short, and low-quality blog posts with their keyword, and they would rank for that keyword. Long gone are those days, and it's a good thing because when it comes to health care and medical content, that kind of content has no place being seen. If we all start putting out quality medical content, soon there will be no room on page one for all of the noise that not only provides low-quality information but can actually put people's lives and health in danger." Andrea Paul is a physician-entrepreneur and can be found on Instagram and Facebook. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Search engine optimization for physicians." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/how-the-google-algorithm-update-helps-doctor-written-content-rank-higher.html)