Medical School Burnout is a negative influence on the Attitudes and Professionalism of the Majority of US Medical Students

Burnout was found to be present in the majority of over 2000 US medical students surveyed in 2010 and leads to measurable negative consequences as reported in a Mayo Clinic supported study..

This study reported in JAMA surveyed 4400 medical students with a 61% response rate for 2682 respondents.

Here are the highlights:

Antibiotics for a Virus – Effective Communication of “NO”

This sketch from Monty Python’s Meaning of Life movie first released in 1983 – nearly 30 years ago now … is just as funny as the first time I saw it.

the Doctor will SKYPE you now

Telemedicine, video technology and the need for speed collided in my brain today when I was researching a local Urgent Care Startup and found their “the doctor will skype you now” visit page.

Energy Vampires and Physician Burnout – stop the downward spiral

I recently heard that term for the first time on a popular online Physician Website. Energy Vampires are those patients (you know the ones) who seems to suck your life energy away every time you are near them.

Disney World in FL, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield teamed up recently to create an exhibit called “Habit Heroes”, for the Disney World resort. Its purpose was to encourage kids to improve their health by choosing healthier foods – and reducing costs (and increasing profits to insurers) by doing so.

Death with Dignity

Peter Goodwin, a Family Practice Doctor who championed Death With Dignity laws in Oregon for many years, took his own life on Sunday using drugs obtained under a law he promoted.

Goodwin was diagnosed in 2006 with a rare brain disorder, corticobasal ganglionic degeneration, that progressively robbed him of his movement. He has talked publicly about what he would do if he received a terminal diagnosis. In his words …

“I don’t want to go out with a whimper. I want to say goodbye to my kids and my wife with dignity. And I would end it,”

5 Leadership Lessons from Captain James T. Kirk … is the title of a Forbes Blog Post written by Alex Knapp. Now I have always loved the old school Star Trek episodes with Kirk at the helm – except for the “Trouble with Tribbles” show. And James T. Kirk certainly had a distinctive leadership style. Here are the 5 lessons Mr. Knapp pulls out of his Kirk recollections.

1) Never Stop Learning

Healthcare costs in the US are the highest – Why?

Why are US healthcare costs higher than the price paid for the same procedures, tests and drugs ANYWHERE else on the planet?