Finding the Balance in a Life in Medicine

“As a mom and a doctor, what advice would you give a third year medical student trying to choose a specialty?” the bright-eyed med student asked me.

Her smile was ear to ear and I didn’t want to burst her bubble. This is a complicated question to ask and the answers change as life changes. I chose OBGYN because it was the only specialty I truly fell in love with. For me, there was no other option. I knew that residency was going to be rough. I knew that life after residency would still be hard. As a determined, energetic and idealistic young woman I told myself – this is my destiny!

Destiny?

New Physician Tidbits on Contracting

So, you’ve finished all your job interviews and think you’ve found a perfect fit. Graduating from residency is exciting, but did you get any training on what it all means to sign on the dotted line?

Below is a quick and dirty run-down of the contracting process from an industry insider.

“11 out of 10” is Released!

Please check out the new medical anthology, “11 out of 10” released today! I contributed one of the stories (Thanksgiving of the Dress) that I wrote during my residency training. All proceeds will be donated to the Deworm the World Charity.

It’s been and honor and pleasure working with so many talented writers in the medical field!

Click here to buy a copy!

 

A Deeper Dive into Patient Experience

Recently, my blog on Patient Experience was re-posted on KevinMD. The comments that patients and providers made on the site were challenging, insightful and difficult to read at times.

So many providers, mainly physicians, are so incredibly angry about the idea of patient experience. They get red in the face and raise their voices as they talk about it. They get defensive and make all kinds of excuses about how the data collection methodology is wrong and how medicine is going down the tubes.

The Human Side of Corporate Medicine

“I want to explore employment opportunities with you.”

He is looking at me. Trying his hardest. Passion, yet anger, in his eyes.

Everything I know about him and his tenure in the community helps me understand how difficult this conversation is. Everything I see in his eyes helps me understand how painful this is.

Private practice is dying…on the vine…in America.

The ACOG Disconnect: Confessions of an OB/GYN Physician

In May of this year, I attended the Annual Clinical Meeting for ACOG. While there was a wealth of information and innovation shared at the meeting, the conference was missing critical content: collaborative care.

Not one lecture on best practices in collaborative care.

We are facing a physician shortage of great proportions in this country over the next decade and collaborative care is the most patient-centric approach to addressing this crisis. Why aren’t we sharing best practices to overcome that hurdle?

The Roasted Birth Plan

I can’t claim to have authored this most hysterical satire on birth plans, but I will say that the person who did write it is one of the most compassionate and capable physicians I know – in addition to being extremely midwife, doula, hypno-birth and birth plan friendly. She just recently had a baby and wanted to poke a little fun at the whole process and arrived on the labor unit with this birth plan in hand. The nurses had to do a double-take before they realized it was all in good fun.

Dr. Roast’s Birth Plan

Pain Control: We are opposed to torture. However, we believe that labor is not truly painful, and therefore plan on using a butterfly and fairy based hypnosis performed by my husband during times that are more “intense”.

Tips for your Perfect Job: Reflections of a Physician Leader

Recruitment season is upon us and I can’t wait. It’s my favorite time of year. The CVs pile into the database and we sift through the resume’s, searching for candidates that would make a great fit for our organization. Next, I get on the phone and assess their level of interest and try to sell them on everything we have to offer. We fly them out for a live interview and the negotiations begin.

Last year was a great year for us. I’m hoping this year will be better. Graduating from residency is a huge accomplishment, but walking into the unknown of a new job is unsettling. It is estimated that over 50% of newly minted doctors leave their first job within 2 years. Having personally witnessed the naiveté of new graduates on the interview trail, this comes as no surprise.

Reflections of ICD-10 Change

While trying to come up with the perfect reflection today, I wanted to consider the most difficult change USA providers will need to embrace in the coming months. I think most of us would admit that it’s ICD-10.

Our biggest challenge to the ICD-10 transition will probably be ourselves. We are creatures of habit. When something works for us and a process in place serves us well, it is hard to move that process into a whole new domain.

But, is it really going to be that hard? Is it really going to be that bad? When I think about change, I try to put the changes I am facing into perspective and relate change to the important people in my lives…

The Skeptic Doctor: Reflections of a Physician Leader

“Patient experience. I’d like you to take over the initiative,” he said. I looked to my left and right.

Shit. He’s talking to me.

 For a moment, I had an overwhelming sense of insecurity. Give me operations. Give me finance. Give me quality. Give me strategy. But don’t give me patient satisfaction. That’s not me. I’m not light and fluffy. I’m not mushy-gushy. Nor am I very good at the touchy-feely leadership stuff. I’m a cynic. A skeptic. A no-nonsense gangbuster.