Advice (14)
- Give yourself a break--Don't have a baby during residency (45)
  March 6, 2012, 05:39
  Overheard in the OR—a surgery chief resident ruefully explaining to a senior surgeon why no intern or junior resident was available to scrub in on his…
- Don't Quit This Day Job (3)
  June 11, 2011, 17:51
  The New York Times picked up my opinion piece about women in medicine. I’M a doctor and a mother of four, and I’ve always practiced medicine full time.…
- Grief takes no holidays (1)
  December 19, 2012, 05:36
  I originally wrote this column just before Thanksgiving one year, but the recent tragic deaths of the Newtown first-graders make it timely once again. For…
- A letter to the next generation (4)
  February 17, 2012, 06:47
  It’s an unpopular view, but no, young ladies, you really can’t do it all. In the heady days of the 1970s and 80s, women came to believe that all a girl…
- Don't reach out to me. Please. (8)
  October 26, 2012, 05:36
  Every once in a while, a new catch phrase appears that you hear or read rarely at first. Then suddenly you meet it everywhere, and it progresses rapidly from…
- My son, the doctor-to-be (2)
  April 1, 2013, 03:59
  My son has been accepted into medical school, we learned last week, and I must say I'm about as happy a mother and a physician as you could find anywhere. …
- No anesthesia is "minor" (5)
  April 9, 2013, 15:45
  It's a nightmare that doesn't end for the family of 24-year-old Marek Lapinski, who suffered cardiac arrest recently during the removal of two wisdom teeth in…
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- Questions Baby Boomers (and their parents) should ask about anesthesia (1)
  August 25, 2013, 18:38
  Not so many years ago, surgeons wouldn't operate on patients they considered too old to tolerate the stress of anesthesia and surgery. Today, though,…
- To tweet or not to tweet: Social media for physicians (3)
  April 4, 2014, 20:25
  Nepal? I don't know anyone in Nepal. Yet not long ago I received a courteous email from a physician there, asking my permission to translate an article of mine…
- Doctor's advice: Beware of observers with clipboards (9)
  June 25, 2014, 04:52
  Here's a doctor's health tip for patients that I'll bet you haven't heard before. If you're a patient who walks into a hospital for an elective procedure of…
- Medical students: What no one tells you about anesthesiology (6)
  June 9, 2015, 03:43
  This column ran first in the online magazine for medical students, "in-Training" In case you were wondering — robots won’t replace anesthesiologists any…
- Communication, Leadership, and... Blogging? (2)
  July 10, 2016, 16:53
  Is there a direct connection between communication skills and the art of successful leadership? Most of us would agree that there is. But is there a direct…
- Watch out who you call "paternalistic" (11)
  March 26, 2017, 23:50
  How reporter Jan Hoffman and the New York Times manage to insult female physicians and get their facts about anesthesia so wrong all at the same time. My…
Anesthesiology (64)
- Let the buyer beware of cut-rate surgery centers
  March 12, 2012, 19:33
  If you live in southern California, you can’t miss the billboards advertising laparoscopic gastric banding at “1-800-GET-THIN” outpatient surgery…
- Shall We Toast the End of ObamaCare? (3)
  February 1, 2012, 18:58
  This article first appeared on CSA Online First on November 21, 2011 The Supreme Court announced last week that it will hear a challenge to the constitutionali…
- The beta-blockade rules: Still crazy after all these years (3)
  January 31, 2012, 00:56
  As of January 1, the SCIP guidelines for perioperative beta blocker (BB) administration have changed yet again. Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they…
- Unsupervised anesthesia care by a nurse anesthetist is a threat to patient safety
  February 3, 2012, 23:26
  No matter how quickly you tried to switch the television channel lately, you probably couldn’t escape the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray or avoid hearing about…
- Handoffs: The latest buzzword in patient safety
  February 4, 2012, 05:45
  They’re part of the game in football and relay races—but are handoffs safe for anesthetized patients? As resident work hours decreased over the last few…
- Checklists: How a good idea gets a bad name
  February 5, 2012, 02:06
  I’m a loyal supporter of the hospital where I work, and I think that we take excellent care of our patients. But when our administrators decided to put in…
- A disabling injury--a lucky break? (1)
  February 5, 2012, 03:24
  Just before Christmas, I was out walking my dog, who's a large (100 lb.) but very sweet, somewhat timid mutt. We passed by two German shepherds who…
- Bring in the Vikings!
  February 1, 2012, 17:41
  Photo by Panoramas on Flickr If you can possibly avoid it, don’t have elective surgery in any hospital when Joint Commission surveyors are on site,…
- When is it better for doctors to make mistakes? (2)
  February 15, 2012, 06:55
  Photo credit: Dan Saelinger My husband and I once spent a year working at one of the largest hospitals in West Virginia. The patients were the nicest…
- Bridging the disconnect between medicine and surgery (8)
  February 18, 2012, 10:25
  There's been a great divide between the medical and surgical specialties ever since I can remember. Surgeons believe internists perseverate too much when…
- Who's entitled to self-esteem? (3)
  February 21, 2012, 06:10
  Since Whitney Houston's sad, senseless death on February 11, I've heard her hit song "The Greatest Love of All" more times than I thought possible. She had…
- Don't cut Medicare funds for teaching hospitals!
  February 5, 2012, 20:19
  It’s hard to see how legislators could be more shortsighted. As Washington leaders bargain to reduce the deficit and avoid a government default, one…
- The elephant in the room (4)
  February 26, 2012, 09:38
  One of my partners recently sent out a call for an extra pair of hands to help out in the operating room—and with good cause. The patient on the OR table…
- The shortage of doctors is worse than you think (5)
  April 11, 2012, 05:10
  Only a generation ago, in the 1980s, medical students thought about what specialty to choose simply in terms of what interested them most. All doctors made a…
- The electronic medical record doesn't tell you the story (6)
  April 28, 2012, 18:00
  This column was featured on the Association of American Medical Colleges' blog "Wing of Zock" on May 7, 2012, and on KevinMD on May 10, 2012. One morning…
- The Doctor is Out (14)
  June 9, 2012, 07:21
  We’ve come to a sorry pass in American medicine when physicians are willing to spend a lot of money to attend conferences—not to learn how to become better…
- Anesthesia for Dummies (4)
  August 18, 2012, 22:28
  Really, sir. What were you thinking? I’m talking to you—the anesthesia provider (I hate to think that you might be an anesthesiologist) who allowed…
- The unsolved problem of MD + PR (9)
  November 10, 2012, 17:56
  In my hospital’s preoperative area, upright on her bed, sat an unhappy middle-aged lady who needed an operation to treat complications from her previous…
- A plague on both your houses (3)
  November 26, 2012, 22:43
  When you walked into the voting booth on Tuesday, November 6, did you do so with a feeling of calm certainty that the man who would get your vote for President…
- Scaring the public about anesthesia--again (1)
  January 15, 2013, 06:03
  Don’t be surprised if patients start asking more questions than usual about awareness under anesthesia. We can all thank a recent article in The Atlantic…
- Vinyl records and the future of medicine (14)
  March 18, 2013, 03:08
  New research just out in the journal Psychology and Aging says pessimists live longer and healthier lives. If this is true, then contemplating the future of…
- No anesthesia is "minor" (5)
  April 9, 2013, 15:45
  It's a nightmare that doesn't end for the family of 24-year-old Marek Lapinski, who suffered cardiac arrest recently during the removal of two wisdom teeth in…
- Is "HAL" coming to a GI suite near you? (7)
  June 3, 2013, 05:12
  Movie buffs and science fiction fans certainly remember HAL, the computer in 1968’s hit movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Considered one of the greatest…
- Wait. Who's burned out? (2)
  July 26, 2013, 05:34
  How the Affordable Care Act is worsening physician burnout, and why women physicians may be at even higher risk To the literal-minded, burning out is the fate…
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- Questions Baby Boomers (and their parents) should ask about anesthesia (1)
  August 25, 2013, 18:38
  Not so many years ago, surgeons wouldn't operate on patients they considered too old to tolerate the stress of anesthesia and surgery. Today, though,…
- Our veterans deserve physician-led care (10)
  September 22, 2013, 23:27
  The latest salvo in the federal government's war on physicians comes to us courtesy of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which is proposing drastic…
- In private practice, let the young doctor beware (5)
  November 29, 2013, 06:00
  We were startled to learn recently that Sheridan Healthcare Inc., a physician services company based in Florida, has bought one of the largest private…
- Anesthesiologist assistants and the right to work (12)
  December 23, 2013, 17:06
  This column was written on behalf of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and was first published by KevinMD on December 22, 2013. When you need…
- The problem of pain: When best medical advice doesn't equal patient satisfaction (12)
  April 3, 2014, 05:31
  "The creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die."--C. S. Lewis The problem of pain, from the viewpoint of…
- To tweet or not to tweet: Social media for physicians (3)
  April 4, 2014, 20:25
  Nepal? I don't know anyone in Nepal. Yet not long ago I received a courteous email from a physician there, asking my permission to translate an article of mine…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- Practicing at the top of my license? (6)
  May 20, 2014, 05:17
  The Institute of Medicine in 2010 famously recommended that nurses should be encouraged to practice "to the full extent of their education and training."…
- Abusing anesthesia: Why lethal injection is wrong
  May 13, 2014, 06:22
  I give what could be lethal injections for a living. That's right. Nearly every day I give someone an injection of midazolam, vecuronium, and an IV solution…
- No mystery: Arizona execution lengthy due to drug choice (4)
  July 25, 2014, 22:10
  There’s no mystery about why the July 23 execution of Joseph Wood in Arizona took so long. From the anesthesiologist’s point of view, it doesn’t seem…
- How did Joan Rivers' procedure go so terribly wrong? (1)
  September 8, 2014, 07:05
  There are minor operations and procedures, but there are no minor anesthetics. This could turn out to be the one lesson learned from the ongoing investigation…
- Joan Rivers: Some answers, more questions (8)
  September 15, 2014, 06:17
  Since the death of comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers, more information has surfaced about the events on the morning of August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy.…
- Joan Rivers: More facts come to light (10)
  September 22, 2014, 01:58
  The ear, nose and throat specialist who treated comedian Joan Rivers on August 28 has been identified as Dr. Gwen Korovin, a prominent New York physician who…
- Threat and opportunity: The new world of anesthesiology (3)
  October 13, 2014, 13:48
  “Fighting against those who want to change things is a futile strategy,” declared Jason Hwang, MD, MBA, keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of the…
- Do electronic health records improve patient safety? (6)
  October 17, 2014, 04:18
  “I’m here to say ‘Yes, they can,’ which is different from ‘Yes, they always do,’” says James Moore, MD, President-Elect of the California Society…
- Germs and the pseudoscience of quality improvement (9)
  December 8, 2014, 01:18
  No one wants a hospital-acquired infection---a wound infection, a central line infection, or any other kind. But today, the level of concern in American…
- Joan Rivers' anesthesiologist identified (17)
  January 4, 2015, 10:36
  New York Post reporter Susan Edelman revealed on January 4 the name of the unfortunate anesthesiologist allegedly present on August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy,…
- "Twilight" is a movie (3)
  January 30, 2015, 04:34
  How the advent of propofol -- the drug associated with the deaths of Joan Rivers and Michael Jackson -- changed the meaning of the term "sedation" “Twilight!…
- A Call for Civility (24)
  February 25, 2015, 05:31
  Why can’t physician anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants just get along? American anesthesiology reached a significant…
- Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims (1)
  May 28, 2015, 06:26
  The best way to avoid being sued for malpractice is to make certain that all your patients are happy and all their outcomes are good. Reality is seldom so…
- Did Dr. Virginia Apgar worry about work-life balance? (2)
  May 31, 2015, 17:47
  Dr. Margaret Wood, who chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, has published a wonderful article titled "Women in…
- Medical students: What no one tells you about anesthesiology (6)
  June 9, 2015, 03:43
  This column ran first in the online magazine for medical students, "in-Training" In case you were wondering — robots won’t replace anesthesiologists any…
- Osteoporosis: Silent villain can cause major pain (13)
  September 14, 2015, 17:28
  It's amazing how quickly my role switched from physician to patient, thanks to a silent assailant: osteoporosis. I went to the gym in the morning before…
- In anesthesia, knowing when to call for help is key (7)
  October 14, 2015, 04:07
  I admit, I was taken aback at the headline in the Houston Press: GOING UNDER: WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOUR ANESTHESIOLOGIST LEAVES THE ROOM DURING AN OPERATION …
- Running two ORs: Is it always wrong? (5)
  November 7, 2015, 05:03
  Is it always wrong for a surgeon to book cases that will be done in two operating rooms during the same timeframe? If you've paid much attention to the…
- Short-selling private practice (2)
  January 30, 2016, 08:07
  Today, January 29, is a remarkable day for me. I'm officially leaving private practice after almost 18 years, to return to academic medicine with a faculty…
- Being the family member in the corner (7)
  February 13, 2016, 17:58
  Nothing brings out the mama lioness in me more than seeing one of my cubs not being treated as well as I think it should be. Recently I had the unusual…
- A better pathway to acute care (2)
  February 19, 2016, 22:48
  When patients need acute interventional care, coordinating the transitions away from and back to primary care is a challenge. The common pathway for these…
- Improving access to anesthesia health care
  April 4, 2016, 06:07
  Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs) are superbly trained anesthesia caregivers, loyal supporters of physician anesthesiologists, and eager to come to…
- Fame and fentanyl (4)
  June 6, 2016, 23:54
  Poppies, the original source of opium... A fentanyl overdose led to the recent death of musician and singer Prince, according to the medical examiner's…
- Does Arnold Schwarzenegger deserve better care than our veterans do? (3)
  June 18, 2016, 18:40
  When Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, he decided that you and I don’t need to have physicians in charge of our anesthesia care, and he signed a letter…
- Communication, Leadership, and... Blogging? (2)
  July 10, 2016, 16:53
  Is there a direct connection between communication skills and the art of successful leadership? Most of us would agree that there is. But is there a direct…
- Who's watching the children at the dentist's office? (11)
  July 30, 2016, 05:57
  You may have read about the recent tragic deaths of two healthy children – Marvelena Rady, age 3, and Caleb Sears, age 6 – in California dental offices.…
- Michael Porter at the ASA: Is anesthesiology a specialist silo? (1)
  October 23, 2016, 20:16
  “I’m your friend,” Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, MBA, PhD, told a sometimes skeptical audience during his keynote address at the…
- Pediatric dental anesthesia: The Dental Board gets it wrong (4)
  January 4, 2017, 18:34
  Six-year-old Caleb Sears: His death was preventable I’m not a pediatric anesthesiologist. Most of us in anesthesiology – even those who take care of…
- The Boards Have Exceeded Their Bounds (10)
  January 16, 2017, 01:11
  In the interests of full disclosure, I acknowledge with delight that I have a non-time limited board certificate from the American Board of Anesthesiology…
- Watch out who you call "paternalistic" (11)
  March 26, 2017, 23:50
  How reporter Jan Hoffman and the New York Times manage to insult female physicians and get their facts about anesthesia so wrong all at the same time. My…
- MOC + MACRA + TJC + CMS = DRexit (3)
  June 16, 2017, 01:14
  I wish I knew who coined the term "DRexit" so I could send flowers or a bottle of whiskey as a thank-you gift. There couldn't be a more perfect term to…
- The art of deep extubation (4)
  July 19, 2017, 08:06
  Fair warning --- this post is likely to be of interest only to professionals who administer anesthesia or may have to deal with laryngospasm in emergency…
EHR/EMR (4)
- The electronic medical record doesn't tell you the story (6)
  April 28, 2012, 18:00
  This column was featured on the Association of American Medical Colleges' blog "Wing of Zock" on May 7, 2012, and on KevinMD on May 10, 2012. One morning…
- Do electronic health records improve patient safety? (6)
  October 17, 2014, 04:18
  “I’m here to say ‘Yes, they can,’ which is different from ‘Yes, they always do,’” says James Moore, MD, President-Elect of the California Society…
- Garbage in, garbage out: The EMR in action (2)
  February 29, 2012, 01:57
  When can we rely on the information in the electronic medical record? Ever? My first patient of the day was a gentleman in his 50s, who'd had previous…
- Being the family member in the corner (7)
  February 13, 2016, 17:58
  Nothing brings out the mama lioness in me more than seeing one of my cubs not being treated as well as I think it should be. Recently I had the unusual…
Entertainment (3)
- Downton Abbey's flirtation with medical facts (8)
  February 13, 2012, 22:33
  Surely no one thinks of Downton Abbey as anything but an elegantly lavish soap opera, one that we Colin Firth fans aren't ashamed to admit watching. I hope…
- We went to Princeton! (6)
  May 23, 2012, 06:09
  Naturally, I remember the night I met my husband. We were walking along the seawall on a lovely evening in San Diego, having met over dinner at a nearby…
- To tweet or not to tweet: Social media for physicians (3)
  April 4, 2014, 20:25
  Nepal? I don't know anyone in Nepal. Yet not long ago I received a courteous email from a physician there, asking my permission to translate an article of mine…
Evidence-based medicine (6)
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims (1)
  May 28, 2015, 06:26
  The best way to avoid being sued for malpractice is to make certain that all your patients are happy and all their outcomes are good. Reality is seldom so…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- A better pathway to acute care (2)
  February 19, 2016, 22:48
  When patients need acute interventional care, coordinating the transitions away from and back to primary care is a challenge. The common pathway for these…
- The Boards Have Exceeded Their Bounds (10)
  January 16, 2017, 01:11
  In the interests of full disclosure, I acknowledge with delight that I have a non-time limited board certificate from the American Board of Anesthesiology…
- The art of deep extubation (4)
  July 19, 2017, 08:06
  Fair warning --- this post is likely to be of interest only to professionals who administer anesthesia or may have to deal with laryngospasm in emergency…
Family (13)
- Give yourself a break--Don't have a baby during residency (45)
  March 6, 2012, 05:39
  Overheard in the OR—a surgery chief resident ruefully explaining to a senior surgeon why no intern or junior resident was available to scrub in on his…
- Don't Quit This Day Job (3)
  June 11, 2011, 17:51
  The New York Times picked up my opinion piece about women in medicine. I’M a doctor and a mother of four, and I’ve always practiced medicine full time.…
- Grief takes no holidays (1)
  December 19, 2012, 05:36
  I originally wrote this column just before Thanksgiving one year, but the recent tragic deaths of the Newtown first-graders make it timely once again. For…
- A letter to the next generation (4)
  February 17, 2012, 06:47
  It’s an unpopular view, but no, young ladies, you really can’t do it all. In the heady days of the 1970s and 80s, women came to believe that all a girl…
- Medical School Is Worth the Investment for Women--Maybe (6)
  August 5, 2012, 04:30
  I gained a certain notoriety last summer by suggesting in a New York Times op-ed that it isn't a good thing for growing numbers of physicians to work part…
- You can't phone in your job as a physician (2)
  June 30, 2012, 10:30
  This column was featured on KevinMD on August 13, 2012, and on the California Society of Anesthesiology website as an "Online First" selection on July 16,…
- My son, the doctor-to-be (2)
  April 1, 2013, 03:59
  My son has been accepted into medical school, we learned last week, and I must say I'm about as happy a mother and a physician as you could find anywhere. …
- Questions Baby Boomers (and their parents) should ask about anesthesia (1)
  August 25, 2013, 18:38
  Not so many years ago, surgeons wouldn't operate on patients they considered too old to tolerate the stress of anesthesia and surgery. Today, though,…
- Of cats and termites (6)
  March 3, 2015, 04:48
  How an eleven-pound cat precipitated domestic chaos and delayed surgery Termites are endemic in southern California, and we’ve had spot treatments several…
- Did Dr. Virginia Apgar worry about work-life balance? (2)
  May 31, 2015, 17:47
  Dr. Margaret Wood, who chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, has published a wonderful article titled "Women in…
- Privilege and entitlement in "work-life balance" (13)
  August 24, 2015, 06:38
  Did it ever occur to some of today's physicians that many people work awfully hard and complain a lot less than they do about "burnout" and "work-life…
- Being the family member in the corner (7)
  February 13, 2016, 17:58
  Nothing brings out the mama lioness in me more than seeing one of my cubs not being treated as well as I think it should be. Recently I had the unusual…
- Love, loss, and the lyrics of Bob Dylan (4)
  October 17, 2016, 05:37
  Classic rock music lovers who think they don't like poetry, and literary purists who think they don't like popular music, may have been equally baffled to hear…
Featured (9)
- Don't Quit This Day Job (3)
  June 11, 2011, 17:51
  The New York Times picked up my opinion piece about women in medicine. I’M a doctor and a mother of four, and I’ve always practiced medicine full time.…
- Germs and the pseudoscience of quality improvement (9)
  December 8, 2014, 01:18
  No one wants a hospital-acquired infection---a wound infection, a central line infection, or any other kind. But today, the level of concern in American…
- Did Dr. Virginia Apgar worry about work-life balance? (2)
  May 31, 2015, 17:47
  Dr. Margaret Wood, who chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, has published a wonderful article titled "Women in…
- Medical students: What no one tells you about anesthesiology (6)
  June 9, 2015, 03:43
  This column ran first in the online magazine for medical students, "in-Training" In case you were wondering — robots won’t replace anesthesiologists any…
- Pediatric dental anesthesia: The Dental Board gets it wrong (4)
  January 4, 2017, 18:34
  Six-year-old Caleb Sears: His death was preventable I’m not a pediatric anesthesiologist. Most of us in anesthesiology – even those who take care of…
- The Boards Have Exceeded Their Bounds (10)
  January 16, 2017, 01:11
  In the interests of full disclosure, I acknowledge with delight that I have a non-time limited board certificate from the American Board of Anesthesiology…
- Watch out who you call "paternalistic" (11)
  March 26, 2017, 23:50
  How reporter Jan Hoffman and the New York Times manage to insult female physicians and get their facts about anesthesia so wrong all at the same time. My…
- MOC + MACRA + TJC + CMS = DRexit (3)
  June 16, 2017, 01:14
  I wish I knew who coined the term "DRexit" so I could send flowers or a bottle of whiskey as a thank-you gift. There couldn't be a more perfect term to…
- The art of deep extubation (4)
  July 19, 2017, 08:06
  Fair warning --- this post is likely to be of interest only to professionals who administer anesthesia or may have to deal with laryngospasm in emergency…
Legislation (22)
- Bring in the Vikings!
  February 1, 2012, 17:41
  Photo by Panoramas on Flickr If you can possibly avoid it, don’t have elective surgery in any hospital when Joint Commission surveyors are on site,…
- Unsupervised anesthesia care by a nurse anesthetist is a threat to patient safety
  February 3, 2012, 23:26
  No matter how quickly you tried to switch the television channel lately, you probably couldn’t escape the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray or avoid hearing about…
- Don't cut Medicare funds for teaching hospitals!
  February 5, 2012, 20:19
  It’s hard to see how legislators could be more shortsighted. As Washington leaders bargain to reduce the deficit and avoid a government default, one…
- The elephant in the room (4)
  February 26, 2012, 09:38
  One of my partners recently sent out a call for an extra pair of hands to help out in the operating room—and with good cause. The patient on the OR table…
- Shall We Toast the End of ObamaCare? (3)
  February 1, 2012, 18:58
  This article first appeared on CSA Online First on November 21, 2011 The Supreme Court announced last week that it will hear a challenge to the constitutionali…
- A word to the Republican Party (2)
  March 30, 2012, 06:08
  I should be exactly the kind of voter you’re trying to attract, but you’re making it nearly impossible for me to vote for the Republican presidential…
- Tough love from Jerry Brown (1)
  April 24, 2012, 18:47
  “Everybody has needs,” Governor Jerry Brown told the physicians and medical students who filled a Sacramento banquet room on April 17. “But needs turn…
- The unsolved problem of MD + PR (9)
  November 10, 2012, 17:56
  In my hospital’s preoperative area, upright on her bed, sat an unhappy middle-aged lady who needed an operation to treat complications from her previous…
- A plague on both your houses (3)
  November 26, 2012, 22:43
  When you walked into the voting booth on Tuesday, November 6, did you do so with a feeling of calm certainty that the man who would get your vote for President…
- Our veterans deserve physician-led care (10)
  September 22, 2013, 23:27
  The latest salvo in the federal government's war on physicians comes to us courtesy of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which is proposing drastic…
- Anesthesiologist assistants and the right to work (12)
  December 23, 2013, 17:06
  This column was written on behalf of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and was first published by KevinMD on December 22, 2013. When you need…
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- Abusing anesthesia: Why lethal injection is wrong
  May 13, 2014, 06:22
  I give what could be lethal injections for a living. That's right. Nearly every day I give someone an injection of midazolam, vecuronium, and an IV solution…
- Doctor's advice: Beware of observers with clipboards (9)
  June 25, 2014, 04:52
  Here's a doctor's health tip for patients that I'll bet you haven't heard before. If you're a patient who walks into a hospital for an elective procedure of…
- No mystery: Arizona execution lengthy due to drug choice (4)
  July 25, 2014, 22:10
  There’s no mystery about why the July 23 execution of Joseph Wood in Arizona took so long. From the anesthesiologist’s point of view, it doesn’t seem…
- His diagnosis is right, but the treatment is all wrong (13)
  September 1, 2014, 20:49
  Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist, believes with good reason that many physicians have become "like everybody else: insecure, discontented and anxious about…
- Improving access to anesthesia health care
  April 4, 2016, 06:07
  Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs) are superbly trained anesthesia caregivers, loyal supporters of physician anesthesiologists, and eager to come to…
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  June 18, 2016, 18:40
  When Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, he decided that you and I don’t need to have physicians in charge of our anesthesia care, and he signed a letter…
- Who's watching the children at the dentist's office? (11)
  July 30, 2016, 05:57
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  January 16, 2017, 01:11
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Medical Education (9)
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  August 5, 2012, 04:30
  I gained a certain notoriety last summer by suggesting in a New York Times op-ed that it isn't a good thing for growing numbers of physicians to work part…
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- Anesthesiologist assistants and the right to work (12)
  December 23, 2013, 17:06
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- His diagnosis is right, but the treatment is all wrong (13)
  September 1, 2014, 20:49
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- Did Dr. Virginia Apgar worry about work-life balance? (2)
  May 31, 2015, 17:47
  Dr. Margaret Wood, who chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, has published a wonderful article titled "Women in…
- Medical students: What no one tells you about anesthesiology (6)
  June 9, 2015, 03:43
  This column ran first in the online magazine for medical students, "in-Training" In case you were wondering — robots won’t replace anesthesiologists any…
- The Boards Have Exceeded Their Bounds (10)
  January 16, 2017, 01:11
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- MOC + MACRA + TJC + CMS = DRexit (3)
  June 16, 2017, 01:14
  I wish I knew who coined the term "DRexit" so I could send flowers or a bottle of whiskey as a thank-you gift. There couldn't be a more perfect term to…
- The art of deep extubation (4)
  July 19, 2017, 08:06
  Fair warning --- this post is likely to be of interest only to professionals who administer anesthesia or may have to deal with laryngospasm in emergency…
Medicine (45)
- Give yourself a break--Don't have a baby during residency (45)
  March 6, 2012, 05:39
  Overheard in the OR—a surgery chief resident ruefully explaining to a senior surgeon why no intern or junior resident was available to scrub in on his…
- Bring in the Vikings!
  February 1, 2012, 17:41
  Photo by Panoramas on Flickr If you can possibly avoid it, don’t have elective surgery in any hospital when Joint Commission surveyors are on site,…
- Don't Quit This Day Job (3)
  June 11, 2011, 17:51
  The New York Times picked up my opinion piece about women in medicine. I’M a doctor and a mother of four, and I’ve always practiced medicine full time.…
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  February 1, 2012, 18:58
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  January 31, 2012, 00:56
  As of January 1, the SCIP guidelines for perioperative beta blocker (BB) administration have changed yet again. Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they…
- Unsupervised anesthesia care by a nurse anesthetist is a threat to patient safety
  February 3, 2012, 23:26
  No matter how quickly you tried to switch the television channel lately, you probably couldn’t escape the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray or avoid hearing about…
- Handoffs: The latest buzzword in patient safety
  February 4, 2012, 05:45
  They’re part of the game in football and relay races—but are handoffs safe for anesthetized patients? As resident work hours decreased over the last few…
- Checklists: How a good idea gets a bad name
  February 5, 2012, 02:06
  I’m a loyal supporter of the hospital where I work, and I think that we take excellent care of our patients. But when our administrators decided to put in…
- Downton Abbey's flirtation with medical facts (8)
  February 13, 2012, 22:33
  Surely no one thinks of Downton Abbey as anything but an elegantly lavish soap opera, one that we Colin Firth fans aren't ashamed to admit watching. I hope…
- Defining "A Penned Point" (1)
  February 5, 2012, 03:55
  This is a time of unprecedented change--in technology, medicine, and social media. My work in medical centers across the U.S., from Connecticut to California,…
- When is it better for doctors to make mistakes? (2)
  February 15, 2012, 06:55
  Photo credit: Dan Saelinger My husband and I once spent a year working at one of the largest hospitals in West Virginia. The patients were the nicest…
- A letter to the next generation (4)
  February 17, 2012, 06:47
  It’s an unpopular view, but no, young ladies, you really can’t do it all. In the heady days of the 1970s and 80s, women came to believe that all a girl…
- Bridging the disconnect between medicine and surgery (8)
  February 18, 2012, 10:25
  There's been a great divide between the medical and surgical specialties ever since I can remember. Surgeons believe internists perseverate too much when…
- Who's entitled to self-esteem? (3)
  February 21, 2012, 06:10
  Since Whitney Houston's sad, senseless death on February 11, I've heard her hit song "The Greatest Love of All" more times than I thought possible. She had…
- Don't cut Medicare funds for teaching hospitals!
  February 5, 2012, 20:19
  It’s hard to see how legislators could be more shortsighted. As Washington leaders bargain to reduce the deficit and avoid a government default, one…
- The elephant in the room (4)
  February 26, 2012, 09:38
  One of my partners recently sent out a call for an extra pair of hands to help out in the operating room—and with good cause. The patient on the OR table…
- Garbage in, garbage out: The EMR in action (2)
  February 29, 2012, 01:57
  When can we rely on the information in the electronic medical record? Ever? My first patient of the day was a gentleman in his 50s, who'd had previous…
- Less education for tomorrow's doctors?
  March 25, 2012, 20:43
  If Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel gets his wish, tomorrow’s physicians won’t deserve to be paid as well as physicians today because they won’t be as well trained. …
- A word to the Republican Party (2)
  March 30, 2012, 06:08
  I should be exactly the kind of voter you’re trying to attract, but you’re making it nearly impossible for me to vote for the Republican presidential…
- The shortage of doctors is worse than you think (5)
  April 11, 2012, 05:10
  Only a generation ago, in the 1980s, medical students thought about what specialty to choose simply in terms of what interested them most. All doctors made a…
- Tough love from Jerry Brown (1)
  April 24, 2012, 18:47
  “Everybody has needs,” Governor Jerry Brown told the physicians and medical students who filled a Sacramento banquet room on April 17. “But needs turn…
- The electronic medical record doesn't tell you the story (6)
  April 28, 2012, 18:00
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- The Doctor is Out (14)
  June 9, 2012, 07:21
  We’ve come to a sorry pass in American medicine when physicians are willing to spend a lot of money to attend conferences—not to learn how to become better…
- You can't phone in your job as a physician (2)
  June 30, 2012, 10:30
  This column was featured on KevinMD on August 13, 2012, and on the California Society of Anesthesiology website as an "Online First" selection on July 16,…
- Medical School Is Worth the Investment for Women--Maybe (6)
  August 5, 2012, 04:30
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- The unsolved problem of MD + PR (9)
  November 10, 2012, 17:56
  In my hospital’s preoperative area, upright on her bed, sat an unhappy middle-aged lady who needed an operation to treat complications from her previous…
- A plague on both your houses (3)
  November 26, 2012, 22:43
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- Vinyl records and the future of medicine (14)
  March 18, 2013, 03:08
  New research just out in the journal Psychology and Aging says pessimists live longer and healthier lives. If this is true, then contemplating the future of…
- No anesthesia is "minor" (5)
  April 9, 2013, 15:45
  It's a nightmare that doesn't end for the family of 24-year-old Marek Lapinski, who suffered cardiac arrest recently during the removal of two wisdom teeth in…
- Is "HAL" coming to a GI suite near you? (7)
  June 3, 2013, 05:12
  Movie buffs and science fiction fans certainly remember HAL, the computer in 1968’s hit movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Considered one of the greatest…
- Wait. Who's burned out? (2)
  July 26, 2013, 05:34
  How the Affordable Care Act is worsening physician burnout, and why women physicians may be at even higher risk To the literal-minded, burning out is the fate…
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- Our veterans deserve physician-led care (10)
  September 22, 2013, 23:27
  The latest salvo in the federal government's war on physicians comes to us courtesy of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which is proposing drastic…
- In private practice, let the young doctor beware (5)
  November 29, 2013, 06:00
  We were startled to learn recently that Sheridan Healthcare Inc., a physician services company based in Florida, has bought one of the largest private…
- No HIPAA for us in healthcare (27)
  December 30, 2013, 04:32
  We guard the privacy of patients in my hospital zealously—we take care of a lot of celebrities since we're right in the shadow of Beverly Hills. And of…
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- Practicing at the top of my license? (6)
  May 20, 2014, 05:17
  The Institute of Medicine in 2010 famously recommended that nurses should be encouraged to practice "to the full extent of their education and training."…
- Doctor's advice: Beware of observers with clipboards (9)
  June 25, 2014, 04:52
  Here's a doctor's health tip for patients that I'll bet you haven't heard before. If you're a patient who walks into a hospital for an elective procedure of…
- His diagnosis is right, but the treatment is all wrong (13)
  September 1, 2014, 20:49
  Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist, believes with good reason that many physicians have become "like everybody else: insecure, discontented and anxious about…
- Joan Rivers: Some answers, more questions (8)
  September 15, 2014, 06:17
  Since the death of comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers, more information has surfaced about the events on the morning of August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy.…
- Threat and opportunity: The new world of anesthesiology (3)
  October 13, 2014, 13:48
  “Fighting against those who want to change things is a futile strategy,” declared Jason Hwang, MD, MBA, keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of the…
- Do electronic health records improve patient safety? (6)
  October 17, 2014, 04:18
  “I’m here to say ‘Yes, they can,’ which is different from ‘Yes, they always do,’” says James Moore, MD, President-Elect of the California Society…
- Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims (1)
  May 28, 2015, 06:26
  The best way to avoid being sued for malpractice is to make certain that all your patients are happy and all their outcomes are good. Reality is seldom so…
- Michael Porter at the ASA: Is anesthesiology a specialist silo? (1)
  October 23, 2016, 20:16
  “I’m your friend,” Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, MBA, PhD, told a sometimes skeptical audience during his keynote address at the…
Pain management (1)
- The problem of pain: When best medical advice doesn't equal patient satisfaction (12)
  April 3, 2014, 05:31
  "The creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die."--C. S. Lewis The problem of pain, from the viewpoint of…
Politics (24)
- A reporter in North Carolina's textile mills (4)
  March 8, 2012, 21:13
  As a very new reporter for the Wall Street Journal, before I started medical school, I was sent to North Carolina to report on efforts to unionize the workers…
- Shall We Toast the End of ObamaCare? (3)
  February 1, 2012, 18:58
  This article first appeared on CSA Online First on November 21, 2011 The Supreme Court announced last week that it will hear a challenge to the constitutionali…
- Unsupervised anesthesia care by a nurse anesthetist is a threat to patient safety
  February 3, 2012, 23:26
  No matter how quickly you tried to switch the television channel lately, you probably couldn’t escape the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray or avoid hearing about…
- Defining "A Penned Point" (1)
  February 5, 2012, 03:55
  This is a time of unprecedented change--in technology, medicine, and social media. My work in medical centers across the U.S., from Connecticut to California,…
- Don't cut Medicare funds for teaching hospitals!
  February 5, 2012, 20:19
  It’s hard to see how legislators could be more shortsighted. As Washington leaders bargain to reduce the deficit and avoid a government default, one…
- The elephant in the room (4)
  February 26, 2012, 09:38
  One of my partners recently sent out a call for an extra pair of hands to help out in the operating room—and with good cause. The patient on the OR table…
- Less education for tomorrow's doctors?
  March 25, 2012, 20:43
  If Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel gets his wish, tomorrow’s physicians won’t deserve to be paid as well as physicians today because they won’t be as well trained. …
- A word to the Republican Party (2)
  March 30, 2012, 06:08
  I should be exactly the kind of voter you’re trying to attract, but you’re making it nearly impossible for me to vote for the Republican presidential…
- Tough love from Jerry Brown (1)
  April 24, 2012, 18:47
  “Everybody has needs,” Governor Jerry Brown told the physicians and medical students who filled a Sacramento banquet room on April 17. “But needs turn…
- The Doctor is Out (14)
  June 9, 2012, 07:21
  We’ve come to a sorry pass in American medicine when physicians are willing to spend a lot of money to attend conferences—not to learn how to become better…
- A plague on both your houses (3)
  November 26, 2012, 22:43
  When you walked into the voting booth on Tuesday, November 6, did you do so with a feeling of calm certainty that the man who would get your vote for President…
- Vinyl records and the future of medicine (14)
  March 18, 2013, 03:08
  New research just out in the journal Psychology and Aging says pessimists live longer and healthier lives. If this is true, then contemplating the future of…
- Wait. Who's burned out? (2)
  July 26, 2013, 05:34
  How the Affordable Care Act is worsening physician burnout, and why women physicians may be at even higher risk To the literal-minded, burning out is the fate…
- Our veterans deserve physician-led care (10)
  September 22, 2013, 23:27
  The latest salvo in the federal government's war on physicians comes to us courtesy of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which is proposing drastic…
- Anesthesiologist assistants and the right to work (12)
  December 23, 2013, 17:06
  This column was written on behalf of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and was first published by KevinMD on December 22, 2013. When you need…
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- The problem of pain: When best medical advice doesn't equal patient satisfaction (12)
  April 3, 2014, 05:31
  "The creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die."--C. S. Lewis The problem of pain, from the viewpoint of…
- To tweet or not to tweet: Social media for physicians (3)
  April 4, 2014, 20:25
  Nepal? I don't know anyone in Nepal. Yet not long ago I received a courteous email from a physician there, asking my permission to translate an article of mine…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- Abusing anesthesia: Why lethal injection is wrong
  May 13, 2014, 06:22
  I give what could be lethal injections for a living. That's right. Nearly every day I give someone an injection of midazolam, vecuronium, and an IV solution…
- No mystery: Arizona execution lengthy due to drug choice (4)
  July 25, 2014, 22:10
  There’s no mystery about why the July 23 execution of Joseph Wood in Arizona took so long. From the anesthesiologist’s point of view, it doesn’t seem…
- His diagnosis is right, but the treatment is all wrong (13)
  September 1, 2014, 20:49
  Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist, believes with good reason that many physicians have become "like everybody else: insecure, discontented and anxious about…
- In anesthesia, knowing when to call for help is key (7)
  October 14, 2015, 04:07
  I admit, I was taken aback at the headline in the Houston Press: GOING UNDER: WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOUR ANESTHESIOLOGIST LEAVES THE ROOM DURING AN OPERATION …
- Who's watching the children at the dentist's office? (11)
  July 30, 2016, 05:57
  You may have read about the recent tragic deaths of two healthy children – Marvelena Rady, age 3, and Caleb Sears, age 6 – in California dental offices.…
Practice Guidelines (2)
- Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims (1)
  May 28, 2015, 06:26
  The best way to avoid being sued for malpractice is to make certain that all your patients are happy and all their outcomes are good. Reality is seldom so…
- Who's watching the children at the dentist's office? (11)
  July 30, 2016, 05:57
  You may have read about the recent tragic deaths of two healthy children – Marvelena Rady, age 3, and Caleb Sears, age 6 – in California dental offices.…
Pregnancy (1)
- Give yourself a break--Don't have a baby during residency (45)
  March 6, 2012, 05:39
  Overheard in the OR—a surgery chief resident ruefully explaining to a senior surgeon why no intern or junior resident was available to scrub in on his…
Professionalism (44)
- Let the buyer beware of cut-rate surgery centers
  March 12, 2012, 19:33
  If you live in southern California, you can’t miss the billboards advertising laparoscopic gastric banding at “1-800-GET-THIN” outpatient surgery…
- Don't Quit This Day Job (3)
  June 11, 2011, 17:51
  The New York Times picked up my opinion piece about women in medicine. I’M a doctor and a mother of four, and I’ve always practiced medicine full time.…
- The beta-blockade rules: Still crazy after all these years (3)
  January 31, 2012, 00:56
  As of January 1, the SCIP guidelines for perioperative beta blocker (BB) administration have changed yet again. Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they…
- Handoffs: The latest buzzword in patient safety
  February 4, 2012, 05:45
  They’re part of the game in football and relay races—but are handoffs safe for anesthetized patients? As resident work hours decreased over the last few…
- Checklists: How a good idea gets a bad name
  February 5, 2012, 02:06
  I’m a loyal supporter of the hospital where I work, and I think that we take excellent care of our patients. But when our administrators decided to put in…
- A disabling injury--a lucky break? (1)
  February 5, 2012, 03:24
  Just before Christmas, I was out walking my dog, who's a large (100 lb.) but very sweet, somewhat timid mutt. We passed by two German shepherds who…
- Bring in the Vikings!
  February 1, 2012, 17:41
  Photo by Panoramas on Flickr If you can possibly avoid it, don’t have elective surgery in any hospital when Joint Commission surveyors are on site,…
- Unsupervised anesthesia care by a nurse anesthetist is a threat to patient safety
  February 3, 2012, 23:26
  No matter how quickly you tried to switch the television channel lately, you probably couldn’t escape the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray or avoid hearing about…
- When is it better for doctors to make mistakes? (2)
  February 15, 2012, 06:55
  Photo credit: Dan Saelinger My husband and I once spent a year working at one of the largest hospitals in West Virginia. The patients were the nicest…
- Bridging the disconnect between medicine and surgery (8)
  February 18, 2012, 10:25
  There's been a great divide between the medical and surgical specialties ever since I can remember. Surgeons believe internists perseverate too much when…
- Who's entitled to self-esteem? (3)
  February 21, 2012, 06:10
  Since Whitney Houston's sad, senseless death on February 11, I've heard her hit song "The Greatest Love of All" more times than I thought possible. She had…
- Garbage in, garbage out: The EMR in action (2)
  February 29, 2012, 01:57
  When can we rely on the information in the electronic medical record? Ever? My first patient of the day was a gentleman in his 50s, who'd had previous…
- Less education for tomorrow's doctors?
  March 25, 2012, 20:43
  If Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel gets his wish, tomorrow’s physicians won’t deserve to be paid as well as physicians today because they won’t be as well trained. …
- The shortage of doctors is worse than you think (5)
  April 11, 2012, 05:10
  Only a generation ago, in the 1980s, medical students thought about what specialty to choose simply in terms of what interested them most. All doctors made a…
- The electronic medical record doesn't tell you the story (6)
  April 28, 2012, 18:00
  This column was featured on the Association of American Medical Colleges' blog "Wing of Zock" on May 7, 2012, and on KevinMD on May 10, 2012. One morning…
- The Doctor is Out (14)
  June 9, 2012, 07:21
  We’ve come to a sorry pass in American medicine when physicians are willing to spend a lot of money to attend conferences—not to learn how to become better…
- You can't phone in your job as a physician (2)
  June 30, 2012, 10:30
  This column was featured on KevinMD on August 13, 2012, and on the California Society of Anesthesiology website as an "Online First" selection on July 16,…
- Medical School Is Worth the Investment for Women--Maybe (6)
  August 5, 2012, 04:30
  I gained a certain notoriety last summer by suggesting in a New York Times op-ed that it isn't a good thing for growing numbers of physicians to work part…
- Anesthesia for Dummies (4)
  August 18, 2012, 22:28
  Really, sir. What were you thinking? I’m talking to you—the anesthesia provider (I hate to think that you might be an anesthesiologist) who allowed…
- The unsolved problem of MD + PR (9)
  November 10, 2012, 17:56
  In my hospital’s preoperative area, upright on her bed, sat an unhappy middle-aged lady who needed an operation to treat complications from her previous…
- A plague on both your houses (3)
  November 26, 2012, 22:43
  When you walked into the voting booth on Tuesday, November 6, did you do so with a feeling of calm certainty that the man who would get your vote for President…
- Vinyl records and the future of medicine (14)
  March 18, 2013, 03:08
  New research just out in the journal Psychology and Aging says pessimists live longer and healthier lives. If this is true, then contemplating the future of…
- My son, the doctor-to-be (2)
  April 1, 2013, 03:59
  My son has been accepted into medical school, we learned last week, and I must say I'm about as happy a mother and a physician as you could find anywhere. …
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- No HIPAA for us in healthcare (27)
  December 30, 2013, 04:32
  We guard the privacy of patients in my hospital zealously—we take care of a lot of celebrities since we're right in the shadow of Beverly Hills. And of…
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- The problem of pain: When best medical advice doesn't equal patient satisfaction (12)
  April 3, 2014, 05:31
  "The creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die."--C. S. Lewis The problem of pain, from the viewpoint of…
- To tweet or not to tweet: Social media for physicians (3)
  April 4, 2014, 20:25
  Nepal? I don't know anyone in Nepal. Yet not long ago I received a courteous email from a physician there, asking my permission to translate an article of mine…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- Practicing at the top of my license? (6)
  May 20, 2014, 05:17
  The Institute of Medicine in 2010 famously recommended that nurses should be encouraged to practice "to the full extent of their education and training."…
- Abusing anesthesia: Why lethal injection is wrong
  May 13, 2014, 06:22
  I give what could be lethal injections for a living. That's right. Nearly every day I give someone an injection of midazolam, vecuronium, and an IV solution…
- His diagnosis is right, but the treatment is all wrong (13)
  September 1, 2014, 20:49
  Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist, believes with good reason that many physicians have become "like everybody else: insecure, discontented and anxious about…
- A Call for Civility (24)
  February 25, 2015, 05:31
  Why can’t physician anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants just get along? American anesthesiology reached a significant…
- Did Dr. Virginia Apgar worry about work-life balance? (2)
  May 31, 2015, 17:47
  Dr. Margaret Wood, who chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, has published a wonderful article titled "Women in…
- Privilege and entitlement in "work-life balance" (13)
  August 24, 2015, 06:38
  Did it ever occur to some of today's physicians that many people work awfully hard and complain a lot less than they do about "burnout" and "work-life…
- In anesthesia, knowing when to call for help is key (7)
  October 14, 2015, 04:07
  I admit, I was taken aback at the headline in the Houston Press: GOING UNDER: WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOUR ANESTHESIOLOGIST LEAVES THE ROOM DURING AN OPERATION …
- Running two ORs: Is it always wrong? (5)
  November 7, 2015, 05:03
  Is it always wrong for a surgeon to book cases that will be done in two operating rooms during the same timeframe? If you've paid much attention to the…
- Being the family member in the corner (7)
  February 13, 2016, 17:58
  Nothing brings out the mama lioness in me more than seeing one of my cubs not being treated as well as I think it should be. Recently I had the unusual…
- Communication, Leadership, and... Blogging? (2)
  July 10, 2016, 16:53
  Is there a direct connection between communication skills and the art of successful leadership? Most of us would agree that there is. But is there a direct…
- Michael Porter at the ASA: Is anesthesiology a specialist silo? (1)
  October 23, 2016, 20:16
  “I’m your friend,” Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, MBA, PhD, told a sometimes skeptical audience during his keynote address at the…
- The Boards Have Exceeded Their Bounds (10)
  January 16, 2017, 01:11
  In the interests of full disclosure, I acknowledge with delight that I have a non-time limited board certificate from the American Board of Anesthesiology…
- Watch out who you call "paternalistic" (11)
  March 26, 2017, 23:50
  How reporter Jan Hoffman and the New York Times manage to insult female physicians and get their facts about anesthesia so wrong all at the same time. My…
- MOC + MACRA + TJC + CMS = DRexit (3)
  June 16, 2017, 01:14
  I wish I knew who coined the term "DRexit" so I could send flowers or a bottle of whiskey as a thank-you gift. There couldn't be a more perfect term to…
- The art of deep extubation (4)
  July 19, 2017, 08:06
  Fair warning --- this post is likely to be of interest only to professionals who administer anesthesia or may have to deal with laryngospasm in emergency…
Random Musing (12)
- A reporter in North Carolina's textile mills (4)
  March 8, 2012, 21:13
  As a very new reporter for the Wall Street Journal, before I started medical school, I was sent to North Carolina to report on efforts to unionize the workers…
- Women Have Changed, But Women’s Hotels Remain Quite Proper (5)
  February 1, 2012, 16:55
  I wrote this article for The Wall Street Journal, where it was printed on July 13, 1973. Women Have Changed, But Women’s Hotels Remain Quite Proper By…
- A disabling injury--a lucky break? (1)
  February 5, 2012, 03:24
  Just before Christmas, I was out walking my dog, who's a large (100 lb.) but very sweet, somewhat timid mutt. We passed by two German shepherds who…
- Downton Abbey's flirtation with medical facts (8)
  February 13, 2012, 22:33
  Surely no one thinks of Downton Abbey as anything but an elegantly lavish soap opera, one that we Colin Firth fans aren't ashamed to admit watching. I hope…
- Bridging the disconnect between medicine and surgery (8)
  February 18, 2012, 10:25
  There's been a great divide between the medical and surgical specialties ever since I can remember. Surgeons believe internists perseverate too much when…
- Garbage in, garbage out: The EMR in action (2)
  February 29, 2012, 01:57
  When can we rely on the information in the electronic medical record? Ever? My first patient of the day was a gentleman in his 50s, who'd had previous…
- A word to the Republican Party (2)
  March 30, 2012, 06:08
  I should be exactly the kind of voter you’re trying to attract, but you’re making it nearly impossible for me to vote for the Republican presidential…
- We went to Princeton! (6)
  May 23, 2012, 06:09
  Naturally, I remember the night I met my husband. We were walking along the seawall on a lovely evening in San Diego, having met over dinner at a nearby…
- Don't reach out to me. Please. (8)
  October 26, 2012, 05:36
  Every once in a while, a new catch phrase appears that you hear or read rarely at first. Then suddenly you meet it everywhere, and it progresses rapidly from…
- My son, the doctor-to-be (2)
  April 1, 2013, 03:59
  My son has been accepted into medical school, we learned last week, and I must say I'm about as happy a mother and a physician as you could find anywhere. …
- Of cats and termites (6)
  March 3, 2015, 04:48
  How an eleven-pound cat precipitated domestic chaos and delayed surgery Termites are endemic in southern California, and we’ve had spot treatments several…
- Love, loss, and the lyrics of Bob Dylan (4)
  October 17, 2016, 05:37
  Classic rock music lovers who think they don't like poetry, and literary purists who think they don't like popular music, may have been equally baffled to hear…
Residency (10)
- Give yourself a break--Don't have a baby during residency (45)
  March 6, 2012, 05:39
  Overheard in the OR—a surgery chief resident ruefully explaining to a senior surgeon why no intern or junior resident was available to scrub in on his…
- Who's entitled to self-esteem? (3)
  February 21, 2012, 06:10
  Since Whitney Houston's sad, senseless death on February 11, I've heard her hit song "The Greatest Love of All" more times than I thought possible. She had…
- Don't cut Medicare funds for teaching hospitals!
  February 5, 2012, 20:19
  It’s hard to see how legislators could be more shortsighted. As Washington leaders bargain to reduce the deficit and avoid a government default, one…
- Less education for tomorrow's doctors?
  March 25, 2012, 20:43
  If Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel gets his wish, tomorrow’s physicians won’t deserve to be paid as well as physicians today because they won’t be as well trained. …
- The shortage of doctors is worse than you think (5)
  April 11, 2012, 05:10
  Only a generation ago, in the 1980s, medical students thought about what specialty to choose simply in terms of what interested them most. All doctors made a…
- You can't phone in your job as a physician (2)
  June 30, 2012, 10:30
  This column was featured on KevinMD on August 13, 2012, and on the California Society of Anesthesiology website as an "Online First" selection on July 16,…
- Wait. Who's burned out? (2)
  July 26, 2013, 05:34
  How the Affordable Care Act is worsening physician burnout, and why women physicians may be at even higher risk To the literal-minded, burning out is the fate…
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- Medical students: What no one tells you about anesthesiology (6)
  June 9, 2015, 03:43
  This column ran first in the online magazine for medical students, "in-Training" In case you were wondering — robots won’t replace anesthesiologists any…
- The Boards Have Exceeded Their Bounds (10)
  January 16, 2017, 01:11
  In the interests of full disclosure, I acknowledge with delight that I have a non-time limited board certificate from the American Board of Anesthesiology…
Safety (32)
- Let the buyer beware of cut-rate surgery centers
  March 12, 2012, 19:33
  If you live in southern California, you can’t miss the billboards advertising laparoscopic gastric banding at “1-800-GET-THIN” outpatient surgery…
- Checklists: How a good idea gets a bad name
  February 5, 2012, 02:06
  I’m a loyal supporter of the hospital where I work, and I think that we take excellent care of our patients. But when our administrators decided to put in…
- Handoffs: The latest buzzword in patient safety
  February 4, 2012, 05:45
  They’re part of the game in football and relay races—but are handoffs safe for anesthetized patients? As resident work hours decreased over the last few…
- Unsupervised anesthesia care by a nurse anesthetist is a threat to patient safety
  February 3, 2012, 23:26
  No matter how quickly you tried to switch the television channel lately, you probably couldn’t escape the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray or avoid hearing about…
- Bring in the Vikings!
  February 1, 2012, 17:41
  Photo by Panoramas on Flickr If you can possibly avoid it, don’t have elective surgery in any hospital when Joint Commission surveyors are on site,…
- The beta-blockade rules: Still crazy after all these years (3)
  January 31, 2012, 00:56
  As of January 1, the SCIP guidelines for perioperative beta blocker (BB) administration have changed yet again. Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they…
- When is it better for doctors to make mistakes? (2)
  February 15, 2012, 06:55
  Photo credit: Dan Saelinger My husband and I once spent a year working at one of the largest hospitals in West Virginia. The patients were the nicest…
- Who's entitled to self-esteem? (3)
  February 21, 2012, 06:10
  Since Whitney Houston's sad, senseless death on February 11, I've heard her hit song "The Greatest Love of All" more times than I thought possible. She had…
- The electronic medical record doesn't tell you the story (6)
  April 28, 2012, 18:00
  This column was featured on the Association of American Medical Colleges' blog "Wing of Zock" on May 7, 2012, and on KevinMD on May 10, 2012. One morning…
- Anesthesia for Dummies (4)
  August 18, 2012, 22:28
  Really, sir. What were you thinking? I’m talking to you—the anesthesia provider (I hate to think that you might be an anesthesiologist) who allowed…
- Scaring the public about anesthesia--again (1)
  January 15, 2013, 06:03
  Don’t be surprised if patients start asking more questions than usual about awareness under anesthesia. We can all thank a recent article in The Atlantic…
- No anesthesia is "minor" (5)
  April 9, 2013, 15:45
  It's a nightmare that doesn't end for the family of 24-year-old Marek Lapinski, who suffered cardiac arrest recently during the removal of two wisdom teeth in…
- Is "HAL" coming to a GI suite near you? (7)
  June 3, 2013, 05:12
  Movie buffs and science fiction fans certainly remember HAL, the computer in 1968’s hit movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Considered one of the greatest…
- Touch your patient. Don't wear gloves. (23)
  August 19, 2013, 01:01
  We've run amok with wearing gloves in the hospital. And by "we" I mean every healthcare worker in sight. I see people putting on gloves before they'll give…
- Questions Baby Boomers (and their parents) should ask about anesthesia (1)
  August 25, 2013, 18:38
  Not so many years ago, surgeons wouldn't operate on patients they considered too old to tolerate the stress of anesthesia and surgery. Today, though,…
- Our veterans deserve physician-led care (10)
  September 22, 2013, 23:27
  The latest salvo in the federal government's war on physicians comes to us courtesy of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which is proposing drastic…
- No HIPAA for us in healthcare (27)
  December 30, 2013, 04:32
  We guard the privacy of patients in my hospital zealously—we take care of a lot of celebrities since we're right in the shadow of Beverly Hills. And of…
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- The problem of pain: When best medical advice doesn't equal patient satisfaction (12)
  April 3, 2014, 05:31
  "The creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die."--C. S. Lewis The problem of pain, from the viewpoint of…
- The Dark Side of Quality (7)
  May 4, 2014, 21:47
  Nobody stands up to argue against quality and value in healthcare. You might as well argue against motherhood, or puppies. Yet many physicians are inherently…
- Doctor's advice: Beware of observers with clipboards (9)
  June 25, 2014, 04:52
  Here's a doctor's health tip for patients that I'll bet you haven't heard before. If you're a patient who walks into a hospital for an elective procedure of…
- How did Joan Rivers' procedure go so terribly wrong? (1)
  September 8, 2014, 07:05
  There are minor operations and procedures, but there are no minor anesthetics. This could turn out to be the one lesson learned from the ongoing investigation…
- Joan Rivers: Some answers, more questions (8)
  September 15, 2014, 06:17
  Since the death of comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers, more information has surfaced about the events on the morning of August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy.…
- Joan Rivers: More facts come to light (10)
  September 22, 2014, 01:58
  The ear, nose and throat specialist who treated comedian Joan Rivers on August 28 has been identified as Dr. Gwen Korovin, a prominent New York physician who…
- Do electronic health records improve patient safety? (6)
  October 17, 2014, 04:18
  “I’m here to say ‘Yes, they can,’ which is different from ‘Yes, they always do,’” says James Moore, MD, President-Elect of the California Society…
- Germs and the pseudoscience of quality improvement (9)
  December 8, 2014, 01:18
  No one wants a hospital-acquired infection---a wound infection, a central line infection, or any other kind. But today, the level of concern in American…
- Joan Rivers' anesthesiologist identified (17)
  January 4, 2015, 10:36
  New York Post reporter Susan Edelman revealed on January 4 the name of the unfortunate anesthesiologist allegedly present on August 28 at Yorkville Endoscopy,…
- "Twilight" is a movie (3)
  January 30, 2015, 04:34
  How the advent of propofol -- the drug associated with the deaths of Joan Rivers and Michael Jackson -- changed the meaning of the term "sedation" “Twilight!…
- In anesthesia, knowing when to call for help is key (7)
  October 14, 2015, 04:07
  I admit, I was taken aback at the headline in the Houston Press: GOING UNDER: WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOUR ANESTHESIOLOGIST LEAVES THE ROOM DURING AN OPERATION …
- Running two ORs: Is it always wrong? (5)
  November 7, 2015, 05:03
  Is it always wrong for a surgeon to book cases that will be done in two operating rooms during the same timeframe? If you've paid much attention to the…
- Pediatric dental anesthesia: The Dental Board gets it wrong (4)
  January 4, 2017, 18:34
  Six-year-old Caleb Sears: His death was preventable I’m not a pediatric anesthesiologist. Most of us in anesthesiology – even those who take care of…
- Watch out who you call "paternalistic" (11)
  March 26, 2017, 23:50
  How reporter Jan Hoffman and the New York Times manage to insult female physicians and get their facts about anesthesia so wrong all at the same time. My…
Social media (3)
- To tweet or not to tweet: Social media for physicians (3)
  April 4, 2014, 20:25
  Nepal? I don't know anyone in Nepal. Yet not long ago I received a courteous email from a physician there, asking my permission to translate an article of mine…
- A Call for Civility (24)
  February 25, 2015, 05:31
  Why can’t physician anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants just get along? American anesthesiology reached a significant…
- Communication, Leadership, and... Blogging? (2)
  July 10, 2016, 16:53
  Is there a direct connection between communication skills and the art of successful leadership? Most of us would agree that there is. But is there a direct…
Surgery (11)
- Let the buyer beware of cut-rate surgery centers
  March 12, 2012, 19:33
  If you live in southern California, you can’t miss the billboards advertising laparoscopic gastric banding at “1-800-GET-THIN” outpatient surgery…
- The shortage of doctors is worse than you think (5)
  April 11, 2012, 05:10
  Only a generation ago, in the 1980s, medical students thought about what specialty to choose simply in terms of what interested them most. All doctors made a…
- You can't phone in your job as a physician (2)
  June 30, 2012, 10:30
  This column was featured on KevinMD on August 13, 2012, and on the California Society of Anesthesiology website as an "Online First" selection on July 16,…
- Scaring the public about anesthesia--again (1)
  January 15, 2013, 06:03
  Don’t be surprised if patients start asking more questions than usual about awareness under anesthesia. We can all thank a recent article in The Atlantic…
- No anesthesia is "minor" (5)
  April 9, 2013, 15:45
  It's a nightmare that doesn't end for the family of 24-year-old Marek Lapinski, who suffered cardiac arrest recently during the removal of two wisdom teeth in…
- Questions Baby Boomers (and their parents) should ask about anesthesia (1)
  August 25, 2013, 18:38
  Not so many years ago, surgeons wouldn't operate on patients they considered too old to tolerate the stress of anesthesia and surgery. Today, though,…
- Today's "evidence-based medicine" may be tomorrow's malpractice (32)
  February 13, 2014, 07:17
  Author's note --- Readers may find these related articles of interest: The Dark Side of Quality Evidence-based guidelines won't prevent malpractice claims Ge…
- Threat and opportunity: The new world of anesthesiology (3)
  October 13, 2014, 13:48
  “Fighting against those who want to change things is a futile strategy,” declared Jason Hwang, MD, MBA, keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of the…
- Germs and the pseudoscience of quality improvement (9)
  December 8, 2014, 01:18
  No one wants a hospital-acquired infection---a wound infection, a central line infection, or any other kind. But today, the level of concern in American…
- "Twilight" is a movie (3)
  January 30, 2015, 04:34
  How the advent of propofol -- the drug associated with the deaths of Joan Rivers and Michael Jackson -- changed the meaning of the term "sedation" “Twilight!…
- Running two ORs: Is it always wrong? (5)
  November 7, 2015, 05:03
  Is it always wrong for a surgeon to book cases that will be done in two operating rooms during the same timeframe? If you've paid much attention to the…
Women’s Issues (16)
- Give yourself a break--Don't have a baby during residency (45)
  March 6, 2012, 05:39
  Overheard in the OR—a surgery chief resident ruefully explaining to a senior surgeon why no intern or junior resident was available to scrub in on his…
- Women Have Changed, But Women’s Hotels Remain Quite Proper (5)
  February 1, 2012, 16:55
  I wrote this article for The Wall Street Journal, where it was printed on July 13, 1973. Women Have Changed, But Women’s Hotels Remain Quite Proper By…
- Don't Quit This Day Job (3)
  June 11, 2011, 17:51
  The New York Times picked up my opinion piece about women in medicine. I’M a doctor and a mother of four, and I’ve always practiced medicine full time.…
- Defining "A Penned Point" (1)
  February 5, 2012, 03:55
  This is a time of unprecedented change--in technology, medicine, and social media. My work in medical centers across the U.S., from Connecticut to California,…
- A letter to the next generation (4)
  February 17, 2012, 06:47
  It’s an unpopular view, but no, young ladies, you really can’t do it all. In the heady days of the 1970s and 80s, women came to believe that all a girl…
- We went to Princeton! (6)
  May 23, 2012, 06:09
  Naturally, I remember the night I met my husband. We were walking along the seawall on a lovely evening in San Diego, having met over dinner at a nearby…
- You can't phone in your job as a physician (2)
  June 30, 2012, 10:30
  This column was featured on KevinMD on August 13, 2012, and on the California Society of Anesthesiology website as an "Online First" selection on July 16,…
- Medical School Is Worth the Investment for Women--Maybe (6)
  August 5, 2012, 04:30
  I gained a certain notoriety last summer by suggesting in a New York Times op-ed that it isn't a good thing for growing numbers of physicians to work part…
- A plague on both your houses (3)
  November 26, 2012, 22:43
  When you walked into the voting booth on Tuesday, November 6, did you do so with a feeling of calm certainty that the man who would get your vote for President…
- My son, the doctor-to-be (2)
  April 1, 2013, 03:59
  My son has been accepted into medical school, we learned last week, and I must say I'm about as happy a mother and a physician as you could find anywhere. …
- Wait. Who's burned out? (2)
  July 26, 2013, 05:34
  How the Affordable Care Act is worsening physician burnout, and why women physicians may be at even higher risk To the literal-minded, burning out is the fate…
- Of cats and termites (6)
  March 3, 2015, 04:48
  How an eleven-pound cat precipitated domestic chaos and delayed surgery Termites are endemic in southern California, and we’ve had spot treatments several…
- Did Dr. Virginia Apgar worry about work-life balance? (2)
  May 31, 2015, 17:47
  Dr. Margaret Wood, who chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center, has published a wonderful article titled "Women in…
- Privilege and entitlement in "work-life balance" (13)
  August 24, 2015, 06:38
  Did it ever occur to some of today's physicians that many people work awfully hard and complain a lot less than they do about "burnout" and "work-life…
- Osteoporosis: Silent villain can cause major pain (13)
  September 14, 2015, 17:28
  It's amazing how quickly my role switched from physician to patient, thanks to a silent assailant: osteoporosis. I went to the gym in the morning before…
- Watch out who you call "paternalistic" (11)
  March 26, 2017, 23:50
  How reporter Jan Hoffman and the New York Times manage to insult female physicians and get their facts about anesthesia so wrong all at the same time. My…

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