If ...then.... Rituals to make you more reflective in the moment We all have important things we want to accomplish, but there are so many distractions and stumbling blocks that may get in our way. Here, writer Bina Venkataraman shares a startlingly easy strategy to use to defeat future challenges.
Thriving in Scrubs: Making Mistakes One of the most traumatic experiences doctors go through is making mistakes. Though they try to prevent errors at all costs, they will inevitable make mistakes at some point in their training and career. How can they cope with the repercussions – for the patient as well as for themselves, legally, mentally, and emotionally? How can the medical community support one another through the process, instead of silencing the mistake, thus perpetuating shame and guilt?
Thriving in Scrubs: Mothering While Doctoring Becoming pregnant and having children is a part of life for many doctors that challenges their efforts to balance their personal and professional selves. This deeply human experience adds insight into the experiences that patients have, but adds weight to the personal demands and experiences the doctors have.
Thriving in Scrubs: How Much Time Do I Have, Doctor? Fictional accounts of medical encounters often feature the conversation when a patient asks their doctor to predict the outcome of their disease. Doctors in real life have to answer these questions, too, but without the benefit of a pre-written script. Thinking about prognostication means trying to answer difficult questions, but more importantly trying to get to the heart of what the patient may really be wondering. It’s about trying to connect with the heart of what patients need in times of uncertainty about their health. It’s also about understanding how these conversations affect us doctors as people who struggle with some of the same questions ourselves.
Thriving in Scrubs: Normal People At some point in their education, doctors start talking about “normal people” with a mixture of envy and curiosity. Why do doctors feel this distance from others, and from the parts of their own selves outside of their profession? We talk to Nicole, Sarah and Emma, three OBGYN residents at different stages of training about how they recognize, love and forgive the normal parts of themselves. Spoiler alert: it’s all about the friends who keep us from feeling alone.
Thriving in Scrubs: Doctor's Orders Why is it so hard to take our own good advice about maintaining health? We talk to Barbara, an internal medicine physician about nutrition, and consider why doctors don’t take their own advice about sleep and exercise and other good habits.
10 ways to have a better conversation Right now America is more polarized than ever. Our lack of effective communication is one of the main contributors to this polarization. In this TED talk, Celeste Headlee outlines some effective strategies for having a healthy conversation.
When to take a stand - and when to let it go Ash Beckhan describes the challenges faced trying to fulfill multiple roles while sticking to one's personal integrity.
Day of Reckoning by Suzanne Minor Our patients' decisions are their own...but it may make them no more easy to understand. In this essay, Dr. Minor explores her own reactions to, and challenges with, accepting the decisions made by a patient.
What Would you Do if It Were Your Kid? By David Korones, MD While healthcare workers are frequently asked the question, “What would you do if this were your loved one?” answering it remains a great challenge.
How long have I got left? A young neurosurgeon describes his struggle with living and dying, in the framework of incurable cancer.
12 truths I know for sure... a look at one woman's look back at her life at age 61
Healthcare racial bias Training doctors to spot their own bias
Day of Reckoning by Suzanne Minor Our patients' decisions are their own...but it may make them no more easy to understand. In this essay, Dr. Minor explores her own reactions to, and challenges with, accepting the decisions made by a patient.
What Would you Do if It Were Your Kid? By David Korones, MD While healthcare workers are frequently asked the question, “What would you do if this were your loved one?” answering it remains a great challenge.