Wisdom from a patient: • Anthem is taking deserved heat for denying payment for emergency medical care. The standard of the prudent layperson: one “who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine who reasonably expects the absence of immediate medical attention to result in” jeopardy of health, body part or organ functions. • Think about these concerns when you are interacting with patients. They…
Busy: • “Busy is a decision” according to Debbie Milliman, famous graphic designer and podcaster. We choose how many tasks and commitments to place on our schedules. • Marcus Aurelius said: “Get used to winnowing your thoughts so that when someone asked you what you were thinking, you could answer straightforwardly.” I would add “honestly without embarrassment.” Are…
Love: Wedlock comes from 13th century middle English: wedd (pledge) and lac (activity). To commit to someone is to pledge activity, ideally as a daily practice. Sometimes it is difficult and involves sacrifice (Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which means to be near / draw close). When you feel scarcity in life (time, money, energy, patience), remember…
Off the Grid: • Youtube video on a “retired” doc who now goes by the name Slomo and spends most of his time rollerblading on the beach sidewalks of San Diego. Cool, high production quality video, worth watching. Certainly one way to deal with burnout. Mobility: • If you sit at a desk or table for any length…
Transcend: Transcendental Meditation is different from Mindfulness Meditation. TM involves mentally repeating the same word/phrase with each exhalation. Supermind provides a comprehensive summary of the benefits, but like other TM books, it gives very little instruction on methods.TM effects: decreased sympathetic nervous system activity and blood pressure; less atherosclerosis and heart attack; increased insulin sensitivity and longevity.TM increases activity in the default mode network (DMN)…
Medicine: Very cool article from the New Yorker on anesthesia. I haven’t bought Katie Cole-Adams’s book yet, and might start with this one. But I like how this article (and apparently Cole-Adams’s book) explore the philosophical aspects of being put to sleep, rather than the clinical side. Some scary reports of people being “awake” during a surgery. It does appear that…
Survey Article: Interesting article on 1580 low carb dieters who answered an online survey. The majority had improved blood markers of diabetes, 25% had medication cost savings (average $288 per month!). Also, use of pain relievers / anti-inflammatory medications dropped. Sure its just survey data, but if a new drug achieved these results it would be all over…
Wisdom from a patient: Below is a quote is featured in this article about patients who are referred from one ER to another due to lack of insurance. WE hear a variation of this every shift at UofL. “Like awful, man. Awful like a piece of trash, because if you don’t have the money or health insurance you ain’t worth nothing.”-Patient and…
Tax Overhaul: Most of us are not rich enough to benefit from the tax cuts. If you are, please take me out on your yacht! But if anyone is interested in the impact of the legislation on physicians specifically, check out this post on White Coat Investor. It is comprehensive, includes unbiased political background, and is easy…
Reverse Bucket List: Article in Fast Company about writing your own “reverse bucket list.” Rather than thinking about all of the things you want to accomplish someday, take some time to write down some big achievements you already have. Celebrate small wins like fitting into your old pants again, up to bigger stuff like getting accepted to medical…
