The Podcast by KevinMD

"Suzy was a bright and hardworking student. However, even though she was conscientious and generally cheery, her grades began to fall during her senior year, and she started to feel depressed. She also constantly had an upset stomach, which she had just accepted as a way of life. She'd had an ADHD diagnosis since she was younger, but while Ritalin had helped her focus on her work in the past, the effect seemed to be dwindling as she built up a tolerance. I noted that her diet seemed to have shifted toward more comfort food. Her meals were cereal with milk, a sandwich, pizza, or pasta. She was eating a lot of dairy and gluten, and it's no coincidence that both of these dietary components can exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD." Uma Naidoo is a nutritional psychiatrist and author of This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Can what you eat worsen your ADHD?" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/can-what-you-eat-worsen-your-adhd.html)

"Let's not suffer more hardship then already incurred by COVID-19. Recognizing that both the psychosocial stressors arising from COVID-19 and the withdrawal of effective sexual offender treatment increase the risk of sexual violence, public safety demands that offenders have access to treatment. Without sexual offender treatment during COVID-19, we exchange one public health crisis for another." Renée Sorrentino is a psychiatrist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Sexual offender treatment during COVID-19." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/the-withdrawal-of-effective-sexual-offender-treatment-during-covid-19.html)

"The incident bothered me all day and the following many days. I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was and brushed it aside and stopped thinking about it. In the wake of recent events, it dawned upon me that it wasn't the patient's comments that bothered me. It was the fact that no one standing in the room witnessing the conversation stepped in. Not during the conversation, and not after. Considering I've worked with my colleagues every single day, and in the same place for the last 12 years, I felt strangely betrayed. Stories like this happen every day and are sadly more common than we realized. There will always be racist, insensitive, inappropriate comments by people across life. Its how we react to them is what will shape our lives. Most individuals have asked how they can help. Well, start by being an upstander and not a bystander. That will mean the world to us, people of color, and immigrants. And let's start teaching and training students in medical school, nursing, and technical schools how to identify and stand up to inappropriate comments. It may take us a few generations to make seismic changes, but we must start now." Aasma Shaukat is a gastroenterologist and can reached on Twitter @aasmashaukatmd. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Be an upstander and not a bystander." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/be-an-upstander-and-not-a-bystander.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"My mom was beyond vulnerable to the virus. May of 2020 marked two years since she'd become a nursing home resident—receiving care for several chronic illnesses. She died of failure to thrive due to Coronavirus 2019 on June 1, 2020, at the age of 75. As her oldest child, her health care proxy, and a health care writer for more than 15 years, I knew that a positive result in a long-term care facility was statistically almost sure to end one way. She'd already been showing signs of global decline for months, and had a DNR order in place. Professionally, I'd been immersed in COVID almost from the time it began. I was writing articles about physicians' liability exposure during the crisis and how clinicians could seek resources for help coping with trauma related to the pandemic. Personally, I was connecting with my mom the best I could (asynchronous videos, cards in the mail). I was defending her final wishes. And I was preparing mentally to say goodbye, even if it couldn't be in person." Debra A. Shute is a journalist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "What it's like to write about COVID-19 while it's killing your mom." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/what-its-like-to-write-about-covid-19-while-its-killing-your-mom.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"You are a physician. You have put in years of hard work and sacrifice getting here. Now what? Does your life look and feel exactly how you imagined it would? If not, what does your ideal life look like? Certainly, answers to this question are deeply personal, and will vary depending on the individual. As physicians, we need to engage in a process of self-discovery to create the lives we want and deserve. This requires each of us to examine our lives as they currently are, envision what they could be, and take inspired action to make the changes that are necessary to achieve our goals. To start, you might ask yourself the following questions: What aspects of my career and personal life do I find the most rewarding and fulfilling? What aspects am I simply tolerating? And what aspects actually make me feel unhappy, or unsettled?" Gina Geis is a neonatologist and physician coach. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "The path toward your ideal life." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/the-path-toward-your-ideal-life.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"An email arrived inviting med students to join the State of Georgia's Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The MRC is an organization of doctors, nurses, PAs, EMTs, and med students who are the first medical boots on the ground for disasters in Georgia. They establish mobile hospitals and provide medical care. With extra time in isolation, I signed up and shortly received a notice for locations at food banks available to students. I requested an assignment, received my orders, and deployed the next day to serve for two weeks. When I arrived, the food bank was in desperate need of volunteers. With the state shutdown, more people needed food, but fewer people were able to help. The Georgia State Defense Force (GSDF), a statewide Army branch of volunteers, assigned soldiers to work at the food banks since normal volunteers were under lockdown. I was assigned as medical support for the soldiers." Mason Bennett is a medical student. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "A medical student's unique education in a pandemic." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/a-medical-students-unique-education-in-a-pandemic.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"History cannot be changed and should not be erased. The First Amendment was placed first for a reason. It is the bedrock of our nation's ability to overcome despots like Hitler and to abolish slavery. However, it comes at a price. You may hear things you don't like or make you uncomfortable. You may see statues or places like the Old Slave Market that offend you because of what they represent. But you also see works of art like the Declaration of Independence. You cannot have one without the other. To limit speech or erase history because you do not personally like it, or because it doesn't fit your narrative is a step towards liberal and/or conservative fascism. Personal liberty is sacrificed." Andrew Pickens is an emergency physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD articles, "The cancel culture and the erasure of less just times and imperfect people" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/06/the-cancel-culture-and-the-erasure-of-less-just-times-and-imperfect-people.html) and "The DNA of the United States of America." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/the-dna-of-the-united-states-of-america.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"The disparity of women physicians in research is a systemic issue that should be mitigated appropriately. Women, especially minorities and immigrants, need institutional support to succeed as clinician-investigators. Medical institutions should actively participate in increasing funding mechanisms available solely for the development and promotion of female clinician investigators. Funding for research projects, in terms of time effort and supplies such as data management tools, is vitally important to address gender inequities in research. Protected time for planning, conducting, and writing grants and manuscripts for the project is also essential. Women and men in medicine need to become better at involving the appropriate clinical expertise in research projects. Research, in general, will benefit from the increased collegiality and partnerships among medical specialties." Tina S. Ipe is a pathologist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "A physician unmutes herself after receiving an email." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/a-physician-unmutes-herself-after-receiving-an-email.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"We dealt with the death, uncertainty, and fear of COVID-19 with a stiff upper lip. But our hearts broke when George Floyd was murdered by the police on May 25. George is a symbol of an immense problem. A study reported that one in every thousand Black men can expect to be killed by the police. One in every thousand! Racially directed violence by the police is a public health problem. Clinicians cannot be silent. Clinicians will not be silent." Karim Khan is an infectious disease fellow. He shares his story and discusses the KevinMD article that he co-wrote, "White Coats for Black Lives: How to transform anger into action." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/white-coats-for-black-lives-how-to-transform-anger-into-action.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)

"Government officials, regardless of political affiliation, should seek sound medical advice before communicating with their constituents. Appropriate public health information should be shared so that constituents are not harmed by following misinformed medical information. Government officials, news media, and social media platforms should account for the health information they spread. We must combat misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic so that we are better prepared to handle a potential second wave or any viral outbreaks in the future." Jacob Uskavitch is a medical student. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "COVID-19 misinformation is a public health crisis." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/covid-19-misinformation-is-a-public-health-crisis.html) This episode is sponsored by The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX). The Nuance DAX solution makes it possible to forget the tech-toggling and reduces documentation burdens no matter how or where care is being provided. (www.kevinmd.com/nuancedax)