First on the schedule in genetics clinic one afternoon were two sisters, ages 8 and 10, who had an appointment for evaluation of a “possible connective tissue disorder.” I remember thinking that they were much younger than the teenagers I had previously seen in clinic for similar reasons, referred by their pediatricians for newly...
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Restricting intern hours has reshaped medical education, but is it a change for the positive?
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Trainees face special challenges in negotiating research authorship. Here’s a way forward.
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Residency is challenging. Residents are strapped with constant demands, serve as first responders to all clinical emergencies and shepherd patients through each step of their journey from admission to discharge, all while still in training. As a house officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, I enjoyed my job, but my favorite parts of...
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“I never go to doctors,” Mr. S announced defiantly. But he then looked away, his eyes betraying anxiety. “Well,” I said, “what brings you here tonight?” Mr. S was my last new patient on a busy call shift at our community hospital in Jamaica Plain. At 57, he was the youngest person I admitted...
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My patient’s admission to the hospital was elective, certainly nothing emergent. Yet within days he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit.
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At my South Los Angeles community clinic, we have been recruiting for a newly created position to develop a more robust disease-management program. If, under health care reform, we will be paid for the quality of care we provide and not just for the volume of services, it makes sense to invest more resources...
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While three years of residency have taught me invaluable lessons about medical care, the most memorable have come not from fellow physicians but from my patients. Learning opportunities arise in the intimacy of the patient–doctor relationship and in the doctor’s role as both participant in and witness to the patient’s struggle with disease. Among...
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The transition to end-of-life care tests patient and doctor.
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Medicaid waivers give states the flexibility to innovate, and doctors feel the winds of change “Well, at least it’s good to see a doctor who is excited about health care reform,” my sister-in-law’s aunt said to me at Thanksgiving dinner. “For the insurance companies, it just looks like more regulations.” As it turns out,...
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