The Podcast by KevinMD

"As COVID-19 devastates America and the world, I hope that fundamental change to our health care system results from its horrific exposé. Without COVID-19, the pressures placed on physicians are already immense. In the age of COVID-19, these pressures are proving to be insurmountable. Being a physician is difficult, but it does not have to be deadly. Physicians deserve proper stigma- and repercussion-free mental health care as much as they deserve proper personal protective equipment. By definition, a hero is the offspring of a god and a mortal; if we physicians are to be known as heroes, we deserve to have our human mental health care needs met.​" Sarah Bridge is an emergency medicine resident. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Physicians and the psychological trauma of COVID-19." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/physicians-and-the-psychological-trauma-of-covid-19.html)

"COVID-19 has rapidly spread across the nation, leading to the implementation of stringent social distancing guidelines by local and regional authorities. In a desperate effort to limit infection rates, in-person social interactions have been reduced, and many have turned towards indoor hobbies and online platforms to connect with their loved ones. Still, this solution to mitigate the spread of the virus deeply impacts vulnerable groups. Specifically, social isolation of the elderly population, already deemed a neglected issue, is an exacerbated side effect of the coronavirus pandemic." Vismaya Bachu is a medical student. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "The exacerbation of social isolation among the elderly." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/the-exacerbation-of-social-isolation-among-the-elderly.html)

"They needed the final story to let go of her body, yet retain her spirit. Looking back on it, that's when I saw the greatest honor of all — the everyday honor of storytelling for our patients. Maybe that's the only cure we have for death … translating what happens from the body into the world. Perhaps that is the last frontier of care: sharing the understanding of how we get to the end — just as much as how we got to the beginning. Maybe, we should reframe the last note we write for our patients — and make it the last story we share instead." Giannina L. Garces-Ambrossi Muncey is a critical care physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Your greatest role as a doctor? Storyteller." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/10/your-greatest-role-as-a-doctor-storyteller.html)

"If you are finding yourself with trouble studying or focusing due to the state of the world, or due to changing circumstances in your own household, remember that a delay in this test or in any part of your application is not the end of the world. You need to focus on your health and well-being first so that you have the ability to keep pushing through this marathon of a process (and I don't just mean the application to medical school—there's a whole bunch to do once you get there as well!) Dive into meditation, exercise, and staying in contact with your friends and family. The MCAT, the application, and your dreams of being a physician will still be there when this is all over, so priority #1 is making sure that you are able to jump back into all of this when that time comes." Elisabeth Fassas is a medical student and author of Making Pre-Med Count: Everything I Wish I'd Known Before (Successfully) Applying to Medical School. (https://amzn.to/2DXWu73) She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "COVID-19 and the MCAT: What should premedical students do?" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/04/covid-19-and-the-mcat-what-should-premedical-students-do.html)

"Much is written about the advantages for primary care physicians and patients of working within a retainer model, direct primary care, concierge-type care model. Little is written about the downside or disadvantages. It is time to shine a light on the benefits and challenges of concierge and standard models through an experienced lens, particularly as drivers of burnout and the primary care shortage loom so large. The phase of a career may be an important factor." Annie Moore is an internal medicine physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "A physician leaves concierge medicine after 13 years." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/a-physician-leaves-concierge-medicine-after-13-years.html)

What should patients know about diet and its effects on the microbiome? How should primary care clinicians address diet and its effects on the microbiome? What are your tips to address obesity? What are the gastroenterological manifestations of COVID-19? Supriya Rao is a gastroenterologist. She shares her story and her expertise in obesity and the diet-microbiome connection.

"Was I that different? I had severe anxiety necessitating medication, compounded by stress, my own narcissistic tendencies, and a series of life choices—but Jason had something much worse. It all gave me pause. I was now twenty-four, just barely older than Jason when the committee took residence. Would I soon begin hearing voices as well? I supposed that beginning the long and arduous road of medical education while having an infant at home with a lonely wife in a new place more than a thousand miles from our family counted as enough of a stressful event to trigger whatever may lay dormant in my brain." Kyle Bradford Jones is a family physician and can be reached on Twitter @kbjones11. He shares his story and discusses his book, Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician's Struggle with Mental Illness. (https://amzn.to/30oJezU)

"Could COVID-19 be an opportunity that brings the plight of health care professionals finally to the forefront? Protect us so we can protect you. Do your part and stay home. Flatten the curve to give health care professionals a chance. Donate PPE. Donate food. And yet through this war, we, health care professionals, along with the entirety of humanity, are united against a common, invisible enemy. We are all human; we all seek to be healthy and happy, all deserving of love and connection. Are we able to remind ourselves that health care professionals have never been so united before? That humanity has never been so united? Can all the health care professionals, no, all of humanity bear the weight of the world together? We can; we must. For our sake. For humanity's sake." Ni-Cheng Liang is a pulmonary physician and founder, the Mindful Healthcare Collective. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Undergoing an appendectomy in a pandemic." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/04/undergoing-an-appendectomy-in-a-pandemic.html)

"We are grateful to be avoiding the need to use draconian measures for resource allocation. We have been afforded the blessing of lead-time here in Los Angeles and have the chance to learn from other parts of the world, as well as other areas within the United States. We are preparing our personal protective equipment, re-organizing team structures and hospital workflow, taking new precautionary measures, and expanding the skillset of providers to maximize manpower. In case resource utilization reaches capacity, frameworks are in place to guide decisions in the most ethical and morally appropriate manner possible, and such frameworks remain available in future disaster scenarios. While we as health care providers address COVID-19 from the frontlines, there are still many ways the public at large can contribute to the battle against this pandemic that we all face, though the storm seems to slowly be calming." Alexander Connelly is an internal medicine physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "A Los Angeles response to the pandemic." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/04/a-los-angeles-response-to-the-pandemic.html)

"We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's already very clear that the infection prevention community in the U.S. has never faced such an enormous challenge. We have learned many things that will make us better prepared for the long term. We are far too reliant on single-use disposable products. Having a large supply of cloth surgical gowns and isolation gowns that can be laundered is essential. I'll comment on disposable face masks below. Less reliance on disposables will also be better for the environment." Michael Edmond is an infectious disease physician who blogs at Controversies in Hospital Infection Prevention. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Infection preventionists are true heroes, and other things we've learned so far." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/infection-preventionists-are-true-heroes-and-other-things-weve-learned-so-far.html)