January 19th 2024
Vacation behavior among US physicians was found wanting, with more than half taking less than 15 days/year, 20% taking ≤5 days, and 70% working on their time off.
Lesson No. 1 for Physicians: The Customer Is Always Right
April 30th 2013My first patient had so many things wrong; he left before I could examine his heart and lungs, ask about chest pain, or reconcile his medication list. After his visit, veteran clinic staff noted they hadn’t seen Jim for years and were surprised he had come in at all. I felt the totality of my medical education had been squandered. They kindly reminded me it had just begun.
Primary Care and Suicide Prevention
January 12th 2011Primary care is demanding for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the daunting breadth of issues practitioners grapple with. One issue is evaluating the risk of suicide. Two recent studies provide some intriguing data that may change the way we practice.
Book Review: The Fifteen Minute Hour: Therapeutic Talk in Primary Care
April 9th 2010Stress affects daily activities, influences the way symptoms are perceived, and detracts from quality of life; it plays a role in everyone’s life and is a component of every illness. The responsibility of the primary care physician is to help manage the stress and recognize when specific therapeutic measures are needed. The fourth edition of The Fifteen Minute Hour presents biopsychosocial approach concepts from the earlier editions of the book and provides new material to make the principles and techniques more useful to primary care health professionals.