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Articles by Pa Mspas
Suffering Is An Essential and Inescapable Part of Humanity
Suffering Is An Essential and Inescapable Part of Humanity If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete. — Dr. Victor Frankl As physician healers and medical students, we may feel a distaste toward suffering, wishing to eradicate all of it from the patients we care for.
What a PA Learned When Taking Time to Talk to Her Patients
I love having conversations with my patients. Don't you? Sometimes I find that it helps reduce my daily stress. You know, just the daily grind. Yes, it's true, the time factor always gets in the way, but talking to my patients has always helped me. When I was pregnant, I got so much advice: Talk to your baby. Have a good routine. Take some time for yourself. Read to your baby. Cherish these moments, they grow up so fast. Other conversations reminded me to slow down.
The Struggles of Trying to Unionize as a Resident
The Struggles of Trying to Unionize as a Resident I sighed inwardly, disappointed as I logged off yet another monthly virtual meeting for our hospital system’s residency council. The purpose of my role on this council was to be a representative for residents working at my hospital, to report concerns from a more global, hospital-wide perspective to our GME office and voice resident concerns on matters ranging from patient care to resident education and call room upkeep.
What Can Video Games Teach Us About Surgery?
Recently, I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about advancements in medicine, and the topic of robotic surgery came up. I mentioned the DaVinci robot that enabled a surgeon to perform an operation from across the room, and recalled a prostatectomy I observed during my clinical rotations. During this discussion, the question was posed as to whether a surgery could be performed by a robot remotely. To me, this seemed very possible.
The Relationship Between Food and Pain
“I've noticed that my back pain is worse the day after I eat takeout. Does that make sense? My kids think I'm crazy. " "Are there certain foods that I should not be eating so that my neck doesn't hurt so much?" Well, yes. The above questions were asked by two patients on different occasions. It's interesting to think about, isn't it? Can food really affect our pain? We know we need to eat for survival, but can what we eat make our lives a miserable experience? Or a less miserable experience?
New Mothers Need Better Support
It’s no secret that maternal care in the U.S. leaves much to be desired. Among all high-resource nations, the U.S. is the only one with a constantly rising maternal mortality rate.
For Every First There Is a Last
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. As I reflect on my 3.5 years of medical school, there are distinct moments that stand out in my memory. My first exam — how carefully I reviewed that first month’s worth of slides. My first patient encounter — the nerves causing my hands to shake as I scrawled down the patient’s history. My first anatomy lab — meeting the donors who generously sacrificed their bodies for our medical education.
Don’t Let a Stressful Patient Ruin Your Day
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Sometimes, you're so tired. Maybe you stayed up late watching your favorite show. Maybe the baby cried all night. Or maybe you just couldn't fall asleep. You're just so tired. But you get up in the morning and you go to work. All you want is an easy day. Happy patients. Happy you. No drama. Well, not today! Because today you have an unhappy customer. Oops! I mean an unhappy patient. You have an unhappy patient.
COVID Is Officially “Over.” How Will This Affect In-Person Medical Meetings?
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. The COVID-19 state of emergency was recently lifted and the globe breathed a collective sigh of relief, of sorts. A great majority of people had resumed “normal” daily activities long before this declaration and this may not feel like a major change to them. The rest are split between those who needed the declaration to ease their restrictions and those who still don’t believe we are out of the woods.
How We Can Learn From Uncomfortable Silence
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Two soft taps on the door — no answer. I assumed the patient was still sleeping, so I entered slowly and pushed aside the privacy curtain.Like every other morning, I introduced myself as the medical student making pre-rounds. On this particular day, however, there was no response; I was greeted by an almost eerie silence. Having read the admission H&P, I assumed that Mr. M would have an electrolarynx.
When Your Hair Collides With Your Career
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. My hair. I love my type 4 hair. I love styling it. My hair and I get along great. But what I did not know was that my hair was going straight for a head-on collision with my PA career, almost ending it before it even began. Growing up, I was taught to love my hair. I still remember the days when my mom would cornrow my hair, which was the style I wore for most of my childhood.
One PA's Crusade to Bring Buprenorphine to Every ED in America
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. An Increase in Opioid Use Disorder Since Arianna Campbell, PA, first began working in medicine, in 1999, more than 932,000 people have died in the U.S. from drug overdoses. In 2020, opioids were involved in the majority of overdose deaths. She believes there have been barriers to prescribing the right medication for opioid use disorder (OUD).
Megalomania in the American Psyche: Dangerous Conscious and Unconscious Influence
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Adapted from at the 2023 APA Annual Meeting in San Francisco In April 2007, at age 39, I was in Bodhgaya, India, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment. I was on Buddhist pilgrimage, but I encountered a lot of young Indian boys and men out on the streets. Tourists were their favorite form of entertainment. This was an era before smartphones. I had to have some street smarts to get around.
The Disconnect
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. This year's American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting was held in San Francisco. This location, with its horrific public health emergency in both the background and sometimes the foreground, was the most important message. San Francisco, particularly its downtown, has had very public problems with governance. I live in New York. I lived in New York throughout the pandemic.
Cultural Barriers to Treating Depression
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. "Depression is a white people problem. We just don't see it here." A family member told me this while I was visiting them in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We were discussing health care similarities and differences in the U.S. and DRC. Why did my family member say this to me? Because, generally speaking, culturally, depression is not a problem that is recognized.
Clinicians Can’t Get Satisfaction: Do Customer Satisfaction Surveys Make Sense for Medicine?
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Metrics are a necessary evil. If we are going to “pay for performance,” we need a way to measure that performance. Some outcomes make sense to track, like hospital readmissions or infection rates. But do customer satisfaction surveys make sense for medicine? This topic was brought to my attention by a colleague who mentioned an entire medical group asking not to be notified of their customer satisfaction scores.
Coming Back to Work Is Part of Parental Leave, Too
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Stopped at a light on my first day back to work after maternity leave, I instinctively placed my hand on my abdomen searching for a reassuring kick. She’s not with me, I realized, sweeping away tears. After just 5 and a half weeks of maternity leave, I returned to work “soft and broken,” a close friend later recounted.
Patients Treat Me Differently Because I’m a Woman
Patients Treat Me Differently Because I’m a Woman Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. "My pain is in my butt. Right there.” He points and then pokes me in the left butt cheek. I jump back and tell him to stop. He looks at me, shocked that I find his behavior inappropriate. Over the years, both men and women feel the need to touch me in order to "help" me understand their symptoms better. They touch my back or my neck to demonstrate where they are feeling pain.
8 Lessons I’m Teaching My Doctor-To-Be Daughter
Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Recently, I became a full professor of medicine. The grand moment happened 28 years after graduating from medical school. The week after the promotion letter, my daughter’s MCAT results were in, and she was hitting "Submit" on medical school applications. Fun fact, I had her at age 28, my chief resident year.
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