Articles related to PRACTICE PEARLS

At what point is it appropriate to stop responding to patient inquiries? This editorial piece argues that taking patient calls at all hours is leading to physician burnout, and that it is time to realize that taking patient calls at home is an antiquated practice that needs to go the way of the doctor’s house call.

MedPage Today has published a rebuttal to an article published in The Washington Post newspaper where a pair of economists criticize physicians and the expense of medical care in the US. The rebuttal takes issue with the assertion that doctors are “muggers” and co-conspirators in “taking money away from the rest of us,” as well as the ways in which healthcare costs are quantified in The Washington Post article. The author of the rebuttal stresses that there is a lack of respect towards physicians today that is driving many people from medicine.

Is there a link between climate change and poverty? Does hate affect the risk for chronic health conditions? Is telehealth the model for medicine’s future? Or will something much more ancient be reestablished? How will the Millennial worldview affect how medicine is practiced? This archive of top physician TED talks is worth your while.

An oncologist reflects on his last decade as a physician and what he’s learning through the art of oncology — the daily practice that is outside the latest data and is often not explicitly taught in fellowship — that has become ever more important and gratifying. Age, a changing work environment, a pandemic and telemedicine, reports of physician burnout, and colleagues leaving practice — all part of the daily routine. Here, the oncologist shares a few key rules that that have helped and sustained his practice.

Having a child with cancer is one of the most stressful events for any parent to endure. And, according to a report in JAMA Network Open, that stress contributes to often fractious relationships between parents and the medical teams treating their cancer-stricken children. JAMA reports that a quarter of parents have a difficult, or challenging, relationship with their pediatric oncologist and related medical team. The study also found that the tense feelings are mutual between parents and doctors. Among physicians surveyed, 37.6% reported that they felt the relationships they had with parents of the children they treated were challenging.

Let’s be honest, some medical specialties are easier than others, offering better hours at higher rates of pay and with less stress. However, for every doctor whose specialty affords them time on the golf course, there are other specialties that leave physicians trapped in a spiraling cycle of unpredictable hours, bad pay, and terrible work-life balance. How does your specialty measure up?