Mea sententia

He walked in without an appointment and asked the receptionist for a ‘subscription for penicillin.’ Judy buzzed me, saying in the special quiet tone she used for urgent matters, that I needed to come to the desk - now. He was an impressive sight, big enough to have to stoop to talk to Judy through the window and wide enough to completely block the view of the waiting room behind him.

Those who say it cannot be done…

This sentiment, recently posted by Anonymous on Kevin.com got me thinking:

“Every time I hear the word idiopathic my heart sinks, my eyes fill with tears, and I’m instantly exhausted.  Idiopathic means your doctor gives up.  They give up on a cause.  They give up on a treatment.  They give up on you.”

It was our first Fall in Maine...

It was the week before final exams at the end of my first year in medical school when the pain in my back lower left molar finally reached a point where it could no longer be ignored. And I had ignored my teeth for some time.

Four years ago this month, my family practice elected to join a local hospital owned and managed outpatient medical group. It has not gone as planned.

The language of medicine is highly evolved and complex and allows clear, detailed, specific and unambiguous descriptions. Except when it’s not.

They say, life imitates art.

Christopher Kedzie coined the term Dictator’s Dilemma in the early 1990s in reference to the fact that a dictator’s attempts to prevent opposition by controlling access to information and limiting the ability to use the internet for communication or community building has the inevitable effect of harming business and damaging the economy, resulting in conditions more conducive to rebellion.

Our group of four family physicians had just recruited a fifth physician to join us. We knew him pretty well, having served as preceptors both for his inpatient medicine experience as well as a six-week rotation seeing our patients in our office. He was born and raised in the local community and already had longer-term relationships with some of our patients than we would ever have. The negotiations were complete, the papers were signed, and the five of us were celebrating over dinner.