The Podcast by KevinMD

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Nisha Mehta, MD on why physicians should consider side gigs Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

"At first, it may seem strange that 'physician' and 'side gig' are even used in the same sentence. After all, the average physician in the United States is already working more than a 40 hour work week and struggling with issues related to work-life balance. As someone who talks about physician burnout and as the founder of the Physician Side Gigs Facebook group, I've been asked many times how adding yet another thing to the physician's plate could possibly be a good idea.

And yet, I'm a strong believer that physicians should have additional revenue streams and pursue other interests. Why?"

Nisha Mehta is a radiologist and founder, Physician Side Gigs and the Physician Side Gigs Facebook group. She can be reached at her self-titled site, Nisha Mehta, MD, and on Twitter @nishamehtamd.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Why physicians need side gigs." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/01/physicians-need-side-gigs.html)

This episode is sponsored by Augmedix: Ambient medical documentation and live clinical support powered by virtual scribes. (https://augmedix.com/kevinmd) Did you know that nearly 75 percent of clinicians surveyed in a recent study say they spend over 10 hours per week on paperwork and medical notes?

Augmedix is a leading provider of remote medical documentation, using remote AI-assisted live scribes to observe, listen, and capture relevant details from natural conversation for over 35 specialties. Augmedix provides real-time support that includes orders, referrals, and reminders to deliver accurate, complete, and timely medical notes.

Augmedix brings back the joy of practicing medicine.

To learn more and to bring the Augmedix joy to your practice, visit Augmedix.com/kevinmd (https://augmedix.com/kevinmd).

Death is personal for this physician Jan 31, 2021

Show notes

"In Wooster, Ohio, where I practiced, a small not-for-profit hospice agency relied on local physicians, clergy, and many other volunteers to supplement the skills and dedication of their employed staff. It was through this work with Hospice of Wayne County, in making home visits when needed, that I learned the immeasurable value of presence. By continuing to care for my cancer patients until they died, I acquired insight into the equally essential virtue of nonabandonment. When I first attended a hospice and palliative medicine conference in the early 1990s, I realized that I had found my home—a community of professionals of various disciplines who had found what I had discovered: that it is the people, not the diseases, that matter. It would be years before I would totally focus my medical practice on the care of the dying, but in the meantime, the lessons I learned from those at the end of their lives made me a better oncologist and maybe even a better person. As I mentioned above, the most important of those lessons is the realization that I also am mortal, and I too will die."

Jeff Spiess is an oncologist and palliative care physician. He is the author of Dying with Ease: A Compassionate Guide for Making Wiser End-of-Life Decisions. (https://amzn.to/2NpqrSf)

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Death is personal for this physician." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/death-is-personal-for-this-physician.html)

How doctors are losing money every time a patient pays a bill Jan 30, 2021

Show notes

"A practicing anesthesiologist for the past 14 years, when COVID hit, and the ORs came to an abrupt halt, I needed to occupy my mind. An opportunity to learn about the business behind running a practice came to me via a good friend who is a founding member of an award-winning Fintech on a mission to make a change in the credit card processing industry. I was stunned to learn about the questionable practices common in this industry. Medical education does not include business training, leaving us particularly vulnerable – no matter how great our office manager! I've seen first-hand how a little knowledge can yield significant savings in time and money. Here are the basics about what we, as doctors, should know."

Jennifer Mogan is an anesthesiologist and account executive, Park Place Payments.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How doctors are losing money every time a patient pays a bill." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/10/how-doctors-are-losing-money-every-time-a-patient-pays-a-bill.html)

Health care's tech renaissance during the pandemic Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

"Just as the pandemic has forced massive technology adoption in the delivery of care, we will see the rapid, widespread implementation of innovative solutions that medical education has desperately needed for years. Technologies like computer-based training, adaptive learning using artificial intelligence, video game-based learning, and extended reality such as virtual reality and augmented reality can close the educational gap. Virtual colonoscopies can be practiced 100 times before touching an actual patient. Many companies innovating in this space are seeing tremendous market interest in the wake of the pandemic. Most of these new technology-based educational tools can be used remotely, synchronously, or asynchronously, often without a teacher or proctor present. Although training will always require clinical experience, innovations at the bedside will also provide a major advantage over the traditional educational path. Hence learning can continue, and learning losses minimized. This is the way forward for most, if not all, institutions in the foreseeable future, and institutions that adopt these technological solutions will outpace those that resist."

Eric Gantwerker is a pediatric otolaryngologist.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Health care's tech renaissance during the pandemic." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/health-cares-tech-renaissance-during-the-pandemic-extends-to-medical-training.html)

Zoom is foie gras of the brain Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

"We lack the necessary signaling of the nonverbal cues when only looking at one's face. The presenter's large face only a few inches from our screen may evoke our primordial threat response with its resulting cascading transmitters. The angulation of computer and phone cameras causes facial distortions. Unless one aligns oneself to be at the same level as the camera, the camera angulation may cause one to feel either looked down upon or looked up to, but rarely on the same playing field.

Our neurons are living and breathing cells, and they need to eat and rest. The brain is responsible for filtering through vast quantities of homeostatic signaling from the rest of our bodies, which may affect the limitation of information that we can process. Our neural circuitry limits our information processing capacity. Just ask why can't we pay attention to two ongoing conversations at one time? Electrical circuits have breakers for overload. We just have coffee."

Lester Gottesman is a colorectal surgeon.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Zoom is foie gras of the brain." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/10/zoom-is-foie-gras-of-the-brain.html)

Peer-to-peer support and the second victim syndrome Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone, especially those of us in health care. Our way of practicing medicine has been changed; some would say forever. We find ourselves affected not only clinically but also emotionally. As a result, clinicians are experiencing more stress and anxiety than ever before. These feelings are not new but have been heightened in the face of the pandemic.

Physicians are perceived as self-reliant, emotionally stoic, and pillars of the medical community. Society expects perfection from our health care system and turns to us in times of medical crisis. As clinicians, we need to recognize our humanity; doctors are people too, with the same emotional needs as any other individual. In fact, one could argue that medicine demands require an even greater level of emotional support than other professions."

Susan Wilson is an emergency physician and physician coach.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Peer-to-peer support and the second victim syndrome." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/11/peer-to-peer-support-and-the-second-victim-syndrome.html)

Why medical students should not let medicine define them Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

"Doctors are indeed noble for what they do. Their work is undoubtedly physically intense and emotionally taxing. But the notion that they are 'superhuman' and 'different' from the rest of society is exactly the trap that we fall into the moment we don our white coats as medical students. It is because of this trap that we get tunnel vision and let mistakes during our medical school training define our self-worth. We forget that there is a world outside of our flashcards, PowerPoint slides, exams, and clerkships teeming with people, adventures, and stories that, if we so choose, we can enrich our lives with, intellectually, physically, and spiritually.

There's a reason depression, anxiety, and burnout is disproportionately higher among medical students and physicians. In fact, nearly 400 physicians commit suicide a year, the highest of any profession. Might it be because we are anchored to one thing and one thing only? Those of us who pursue medicine have built our entire personhood around the goal of becoming a doctor. If that is all that is meaningful to us, should we really be surprised at the statistics on mental health?"

King Pascual is a medical student.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Why medical students should not let medicine define them." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/10/why-medical-students-should-not-let-medicine-define-them.html)

A medical student's story of racism and bias Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

"I am left wondering what would have happened if I was the patient's daughter, niece (who she said I reminded her of), or friend. The nurse made a quick judgment based on my physical characteristics, and she was completely incorrect. I am blessed to be able to challenge people's implicit bias on a daily basis. When I walk down a hall in the hospital with my medical student badge, I feel both proud and out of place. Medicine has a long way to go in terms of making sure that people of color who are underrepresented in medicine feel comfortable, welcomed, and included wherever they go. It starts with making sure we do not make quick judgments when we see Black people and assume that they are there to take out the trash."

Akosua Y. Oppong is a medical student.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "A medical student's story of racism and bias." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/10/a-medical-students-story-of-racism-and-bias.html)

Lessons learned from a combat doctor in Iraq Jan 24, 2021

Show notes

"My own dream-induced pain started at the same time this child was mowed down. Then and there is when and where my faith in God died because God, the higher power, had allowed this unspeakable nightmare to happen. My hope for the future evaporated, all while helplessness chewed through my guts From Left to Right.

This was the same moment I realized that humanity is connected in a definitive, tangible, and spiritual way. A trigger-happy and scared Marine was likewise connected. He made an understandable mistake in the heat of the moment and accidentally destroyed this innocent little girl. His solitary action grew into horror, altering all of our lives. We are all intrinsically connected, and yet, we point weapons at each other, pulling triggers, and then we deal with a fragmented, amputated existence. War eviscerates us all."

Reagan Anderson is a dermatologist and author of Universal Death Care. (https://amzn.to/38u63Ht)

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "The trauma of a combat doctor in Iraq." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/11/the-trauma-of-a-combat-doctor-in-iraq.html)

How health care organizations can tackle racism in patient care Jan 23, 2021

Show notes

"The new American Medical Association policy recognizing racism as a public health threat and providing an anti-racist approach to equitable care will have no effectiveness unless health care organizations get their own houses in order and actively do anti-racism work in their own institutions.

Although I'm not a health care provider, as a health care communicator whose role is dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion, I sit in rooms where health disparities in hard-hit communities due to systemic racism are regular topics of conversations. But in the hallways, on Zoom meetings, in texts and email conversations, I also learn about all how disparities due to systemic racism are rampant inside an institution and make organizational health equity seem like a faraway dream.

How can you fight to advance health equity and racial justice out in the community when you're not doing the same within your own organization?"

Nikki Hopewell is a communications strategist.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Health care organizations: Clean up your house first, then you can tackle racism in patient care." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/12/health-care-organizations-clean-up-your-house-first-then-you-can-tackle-racism-in-patient-care.html)

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