The Podcast by KevinMD

How do racial issues affect patients' physical and mental health, and how do we address them during regular visits? For those without the lived experience of the black community, how can we learn and educate ourselves? How are the current protests different from those in the past? In order for us to make enduring changes that arise from the protests, what needs to happen? C. Nicole Swiner is a family physician and can be reached at Docswiner and on Twitter @docswiner. She shares her story and her perspective on the country's racial climate and how it affects both doctors and patients.

"Physicians have struggled and sacrificed to develop the clinical judgment and skill needed to provide competent clinical care. They have undergone over a decade of schooling and training, taken on excessive student loan debt, worked backbreaking hours for low pay during residency, and risked their lives during the process. Yet when they have completed their training, they often times have to pay excessive malpractice premiums, having to answer to bureaucrats, administrators, insurance companies, politicians, and lawyers. Many times they get the short end of the stick, and are completely expendable by the system. Their incomes are tied to a job, boss, corporate, and regulatory entities that do not have their best interests in mind. More frequently, these entities are failing physicians. Look at what happened with COVID-19, and ask yourself, "What if that source of income was eliminated by no fault of your own?" What is needed is a paradigm shift, and breaking out of traditional modes of linear thinking that our profession is so accustomed to. Now, more than ever, it's not just about having a single high-income wage. Too many physicians are living paycheck-to-paycheck, have large liabilities, little-to-no savings, and families to support. Today's physicians must be able to use asset and income diversification to mitigate economic risks." Christopher H. Loo is a physician and author of How I Quit My Lucrative Medical Career and Achieved Financial Freedom Using Real Estate. (https://amzn.to/37MiPPB) He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "How COVID-19 is forcing physicians to rethink the concept of job security." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/how-covid-19-is-forcing-physicians-to-rethink-the-concept-of-job-security.html) This episode is brought to you by Money Insights. Please visit Moneyinsights.net/KevinMD (https://moneyinsights.net/KevinMD/) for a unique financial strategy to help physicians across the country grow and protect their wealth.

"Sitting in front of my laptop with both of us on the screen, I can maintain decent eye contact even if I look something up or type something into the medical record. The patient sees me as paying more attention than when I couldn't effectively both maintain eye contact and look at the screen while talking to him or her (because I'm not that good at typing). Without the ability to do a physical exam, I have more time to listen and ask questions, and my patient is speaking to me from their home environment without the distractions of getting to my office, sitting in the waiting room and perhaps waiting in a sterile exam room longer than they should have. We are now perhaps a little more at ease as we begin our encounter. Without the trappings of the medical office, we are face to face, and our surroundings are less obvious and less able to distract us. We feel more on an equal playing field, each one of us in our own environment. At the same time, if the patient chooses to, they can show me a glimpse of theirs. Just the other day, a tough-looking ex-convict showed me his new cat, a surprising side of him that deepened my understanding of his new life and new level of responsibility and respectability." Hans Duvefelt, also known as "A Country Doctor," is a family physician who blogs at A Country Doctor Writes: and is the author of A Country Doctor Writes: CONDITIONS: Diseases and Other Life Circumstances. (https://amzn.to/30Kl0BT) He shares his story and why he writes, explores how the pandemic change primary care, and discusses his KevinMD article, "Will telemedicine make us better diagnosticians?" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/will-telemedicine-make-us-better-diagnosticians.html) This episode is brought to you by Money Insights. Please visit Moneyinsights.net/KevinMD (https://moneyinsights.net/KevinMD/) for a unique financial strategy to help physicians across the country grow and protect their wealth.

Physicians are finding out that their jobs aren't as secure as they thought. Many have taken salary acts, are furloughed, or worse, laid off completely. It comes as a financial shock to many doctors. In this episode, gastroenterologist and certified financial coach Brent Lacey shares his tips and advice on how physicians can navigate these uncertain financial times. Brent Lacey is a gastroenterologist and certified financial coach and can be reached at the Scope of Practice. He shares his story and discusses finance tips for physicians in the year 2020. This episode is brought to you by Money Insights. Please visit Moneyinsights.net/KevinMD (https://moneyinsights.net/KevinMD/) for a unique financial strategy to help physicians across the country grow and protect their wealth.

"We desperately want to be part of it. For most of us, this pandemic has tapped at a foundational, altruistic urge to do our part. Our friends and loved ones are on the frontlines, their faces creased by masks worn all day, their eyes bloodshot, their foreheads grooved by too-tight goggles. Our friends and loved ones risk their lives while we … don't. If you're anything like me, social isolation has felt like the opposite of heroism. It's felt like a jarring mix of survivor guilt, uselessness, and boredom." Mark G. Shrime is an otolaryngologist. He shares his story, global health perspective, and discusses his KevinMD article, "Let's not let our pride get in the way of heroism." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/04/lets-not-let-our-pride-get-in-the-way-of-heroism.html)

"When the director of my general surgery program asked for a report on how the pandemic was affecting the residents, I queried my colleagues, promising anonymity to encourage candor. I received a wide variety of responses and reactions. Some are thriving; others are not. In the end, I cannot decide if things are going well or not. That may be because everything still feels uncertain and, at times, overwhelming. Parts of our health system are shining, and others need improvement. As residents, we're frightened; we're fearless; we're overworked; we want to work more. But we are all proud of our work, our colleagues, and our institution. Generations of doctors have lived and died without facing a catastrophic health event quite like this one. Our institution and our forebears have faced many. This is our time." Maggie Connolly is a general surgery resident. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How are the residents doing during the pandemic?" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/how-are-the-residents-doing-during-the-pandemic.html)

"Few physicians feel properly prepared to face the fear caused by this pandemic. I certainly did not. However, we continue to show up every day for our colleagues and our patients. We continue to focus on our jobs and the things that we can do to help. Let's not forget to find moments throughout the day to recognize that we are fearful and for good reason. Face the fear and then keep going, just as we have always done." Kristin Yates is an obstetrics-gynecology physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Coping with fear as a physician during a pandemic." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/04/coping-with-fear-as-a-physician-during-a-pandemic.html)

"Today, we got called on a patient in the ICU who recently had a new brain mass removed surgically. The specimen came back positive for an aggressive brain tumor known as glioblastoma multiforme. We discussed his diagnosis and prognosis with him at bedside alone, with his wife and daughter on speakerphone given visitor restrictions due to the current coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, this type of situation is rather familiar to us. We are used to breaking bad news, comforting patients during their times of need, and then shifting to our usual survival tactic of orchestrating a treatment plan. While many aspects of this exchange were similar, there were unique variables that grabbed my attention, given our current circumstances." Azam J. Farooqui is a hematology-oncology physician. He shares his story, global health perspective, and discusses his KevinMD article, "Breaking bad news to patients when they are alone." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/breaking-bad-news-to-patients-when-they-are-alone.html) This episode is brought to you by Saykara (https://www.saykara.com/), the first voice-powered ambient virtual assistant.

"The events over the last couple of weeks have affected me deeply. Of course, I'm concerned about a novel virus that is infecting and killing people. But, I'm more distraught over the reaction of the people, the response of the state and federal governments, the blatant disregard of science/epidemiology, and the warnings of our physicians on the front lines. Most of us will get this virus and be OK. But slowing it down is 100 percent vital. Why? Because our health care system has limited resources. We only have so many hospital beds in this country and, at last count, only 62,000 ventilators. If the forecasted numbers of infected Americans reach the projected peak in the millions, we will have no choice but to ration those resources. This means a physician will be tasked with choosing who gets a chance to live and who does not. This is the reality in other countries." Michelle C. Hure is a dermatopathologist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "A pathologist's message to the public." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/a-pathologists-message-to-the-public.html) This episode is brought to you by Saykara (https://www.saykara.com/), the first voice-powered ambient virtual assistant.

"Most physicians have spent decades training for the day that they see their first patient or perform their first surgery. This extended time involved to become a physician does not leave a lot of spare time in college or medical school for most physicians to take any significant coursework in economics, finance, or investing. Yet, physicians have a tremendous amount of knowledge with regards to all aspects of health care, including patient evaluation and physiology, medical technology, and electronic health records. We recognize the relevant positives and negatives and the benefits and shortcomings of current medical technology and computer-based patient care platforms. Most physicians have keen insight into what is currently working for them and their patients, and what might be done to improve the status quo. This knowledge and insight is a major reason why startup companies with new technology, and venture capital investors, often look to partner with physicians and bring them on as investors and advisers. There is a growing desire and need for physicians to be more actively involved in venture capital funds and physician networks for this purpose." Chris Kager is a neurosurgeon. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "A physician in the venture capital world." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/03/a-physician-in-the-venture-capital-world.html) This episode is brought to you by Saykara (https://www.saykara.com/), the first voice-powered ambient virtual assistant.