ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 11/20/2012
Some solutions for the MD who ‘hates being a doctor’
In my last blog I spoke of a doctor who hated medicine. Working long hours and constantly running late were making him stressed and unhappy. For starters, I asked him to phone me at a time when he and I had an hour to talk. - 11/14/2012
The breaking point: 'I hate being a doctor'
I recently had a doctor from northern Canada email me saying he had lost the joy of being a doctor. He was 10 years post-graduation and used to love his job as a family physician in a mid-sized city, working with 30 colleagues. Now he is just going through the motions. He can barely pull himself out of bed every morning and dreads the hospital and worse, his office. - 11/7/2012
How to avoid being sued for malpractice
I have been an expert witness in more than 200 malpractice cases. Here are some tips to avoid ending up in court. - 10/25/2012
The 11 best ways to help your patients avoid a nursing home
Here is a good handout for your seniors who are starting to wobble before their wheels fall off. My handout is also available to download. - 10/17/2012
How to get and keep great office staff
Your secretary/office assistant/administrator is your number one ally in treating patients and running your office efficiently. Here are some tips to help with hiring and retaining this all-important staff member. - 10/4/2012
‘Don’t change my prescription’ and other insurance-related pleas from snowbirds
As snowbirds get ready to fly south to escape another cold, dark Canadian winter, they are buying health insurance to avoid being bankrupted by the American system. So if they come in for a blood pressure check and it’s up, they will often say, "Don't change my meds or I can't get insurance." - 9/27/2012
Wanted: a seniors solution
Here are a few things I have learned about seniors and their care over the past 40 years of dealing with them. They make up half of my general practice of 1,400 patients. I care for patients in two nursing homes and I have a 93-year-old mom in a retirement home, a 91-year-old mother-in-law in her own home and a 94-year-old uncle-in-law in a nursing home, so I have a lot of experience. The situation needs some help. - 9/16/2012
10 tips for treating insomnia
Here are some ideas for family physicians on how to treat patients with insomnia, from psychiatrist Dr. Rachel Morehouse, head of the departments of psychiatry at Dalhousie University in Halifax and Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L. She is also medical director of the Atlantic Health Sciences Sleep Centre in Saint John, N.B. - 8/29/2012
The biggest financial mistake doctors make, and how to fix it
When they see doctors coming, bankers rub their hands with glee. How can they not get a better client? Doctors are well-paid, responsible, hard-working and never unemployed. And there is enormous stimuli for us to spend. - 8/22/2012
Bring on the retinal scans already!
I have 14 PIN numbers and they are driving me crazy. Why don’t I have them all in my iPhone? I do, but it’s a pain to look them up when standing in the rain. Recently, I accidently erased my iPhone.