The word "lucky" is overused, so much so that it has come to represent a number of related concepts. "Beginner's luck" refers to the steep learning curve of a new activity. We are lucky when we escape an adverse event/fate. We've all had the thought, "I am so lucky" when we see someone less …
Gossip: The Donut of Stress Relief
We all cope with stress in our lives using good techniques and not-so-good techniques. I'm knee-deep in preparation for my upcoming oral board examination, and to act like I'm handling the stress perfectly would be a complete fake out. I have fallen into some of my own old, less effective habits …
The Case for M&M’s
No, this is not a blog post about those little round candies... In the medical world, M&M stands for Morbidity & Mortality Conference. In other fields or any corporate environment where long-term projects come and go, it can be referred to as a Post-Mortem. Much like an autopsy, medical …
The Stress of No Stress
Ever heard of that depression paradox, wherein the prevalence of depression in developing countries is often much lower than developed countries? This is often tied to Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. In the developing countries, people are generally struggling and focused on getting their basic needs …
I’m not a resident anymore; I’m the boss, and I’m cancelling your case.
The patient had arrived for a urology procedure with a blood glucose in the 400's. He suffered from a recent stomach bug and had gotten off schedule with administration of his meds. While his GI symptoms had subsided, he was feeling crappy overall. I decided to cancel his case and went about …
I’m not a resident anymore; I’m the boss, and I’m cancelling your case.Read More
Have you lost the ability to be professional?
What does it mean to be a professional? And how do we maintain our professionalism at a time when things such as stress, burnout, and caregiver fatigue can degrade our motivation? In medical school, you learn early that one of the best ways to remember important information is to attach an …