There are really only 2 things that worry me about the state of medicine-
1. shortage of physicians (especially in primary care)
2. Antibiotic crisis
The numbers are clear- We have known for at least 15 years that the ongoing shortage of physicians in primary care cannot be sustained longer, especially with even more Americans covered than ever before. [Read more…]
Prensa 420 via Flickr
Over the decades I am sadly humbled when teens and tweens come in for vague physical complaints and I find them to be either pregnant, under the influence of some illicit substance or both.
I practice in a busy suburban area so this is not the stereotypical area where one thinks of as high risk for these behaviors- but the fact is MOST drug use occurs in suburbia, NOT the inner cities. [Read more…]
Hot Gossip Italia via Flickr
Perhaps in all fairness, I shouldn’t dub this specific family for the next set of common minor female health maladies, but since this family of matriarchs is one of the most highly recognizable, visible, presumably wealthy and famous reality families on TV (so I’m told, since I don’t have TV) I figure they can take it. [Read more…]
© Nick Stubbs | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Recently, heading home after completing a long Friday night 12 hour shift, I had a brief nanosecond of anxiety as the realization that I had left my cell phone in my white coat pocket dawned on me.
Since it was a rare long weekend of no clinic or urgent care shifts, I would be without this “smart” communications line, calendar, browser, alarm clock, weather station, and electronic toy for over 48 hours-
Image credits by Orin Zebest via Flikr
Hair dyes are a multi-billion dollar industry here in the United States. The cosmetic industry say up to 75 percent of us dye our hair in one form or another.
Considering that women make up 51% of the population of over 300 million, that’s a lot of dyed hair walking the streets! [Read more…]
DonaldsonPlasticSurgery via Flickr
As I write this, scores of women are on the operating table right now getting breast implants. We all want to feel good about our bodies but it’s always a good idea to examine the pros and the cons.
As a D-cupper, I felt it my duty to let you know what obtains on the other side of the fence. Before you sign that check or swipe that credit card and certainly before you secure that surgery date, think through what I am about to tell you.
babka_babka via Flickr
Most medical students and residents have played this game of asking each other and themselves the question of – “If I have to have a cancer diagnosis, which one would I want?”
As morbid as it sounds, there are “good cancers” in other words, cancers that are easier to cure and survive, relatively speaking (especially when detected early on). [Read more…]
Modern Britain via Flickr
Believe it or not, my kids have never been “branded or marketed to” via TV commercials. Why?
I wish I could say this was all planned out by my husband and I in our wisdom, but in truth, this occurred by serendipity and out of sheer exhaustion.
While our twins were still infants, we happened to move to a more remote area in the foothills where there was no good TV signal.
The only channel that came on was the local commercial free PBS station.
Image credits by Ano Lobb via Flickr
I could tell that she was wrestling with divulging something by the long pause and hesitation when I asked her if there were any changes in her life.
The problem at hand was a new rise in her liver enzymes. They were normal 6 months ago and have now tripled. It was my duty to find out why, so I kept prodding. [Read more…]
We all get freaked out by vaginal discharge. Chief of the worry is having contracted some sexually transmitted infection.
You might have towed the line and stayed faithful but what if the other party “steps out of line” or even worse; goes around town spreading some lovin’? [Read more…]
