Skip to main content

Thoughts on Labor Day 2018


All work is honorable.   



Sometimes, when I ask a patient what his occupation is, the response begins with, ‘I’m just a…”.  I’ll have none of it.  There is no ‘just’.   Most of the people who keep this country afloat are anonymous folks who put in an honest and decent day’s work.  Some use a keyboard and others use a hammer.  Some use a shovel and others use a colonoscope.  Some arise when we are still asleep and others start work after we have retired.  Some use their hands with skill and precision and others offer professional advice.   Some design a building and others build it.   Some create and others consume.

But, why should these words matter here?  After all, I am just a blogger.



Comments

  1. Thanks, it is great post , I'm a 57-year-old man from New Jersey and I have come across your website completely by accident. I have suffered from acid reflux and Hiatal Hernia for more than a decade and was a Zentic and Tums junkie, yet the pain, especially at night or after a heavy meal, was sometimes so overwhelming I had to take painkillers in addition For more information click here https://bit.ly/2LIicdu

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, it is great post , I'm only 3 weeks into the Heartburn No More™ program and by following the principals in your book I am already experiencing significant relief in my acid reflux condition. I have been battling with acid reflux, food intolerance and leaky gut syndrome for 7 years and I am so thankful for the invaluable knowledge I have received from your book. For more information click here https://bit.ly/2LIicdu

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Most Doctors Choose Employment

Increasingly, physicians today are employed and most of them willingly so.  The advantages of this employment model, which I will highlight below, appeal to the current and emerging generations of physicians and medical professionals.  In addition, the alternatives to direct employment are scarce, although they do exist.  Private practice gastroenterology practices in Cleveland, for example, are increasingly rare sightings.  Another practice model is gaining ground rapidly on the medical landscape.   Private equity (PE) firms have   been purchasing medical practices who are in need of capital and management oversight.   PE can provide services efficiently as they may be serving multiple practices and have economies of scale.   While these physicians technically have authority over all medical decisions, the PE partners can exert behavioral influences on physicians which can be ethically problematic. For example, if the PE folks reduce non-medical overhead, this may very directly affe

Should Doctors Wear White Coats?

Many professions can be easily identified by their uniforms or state of dress. Consider how easy it is for us to identify a policeman, a judge, a baseball player, a housekeeper, a chef, or a soldier.  There must be a reason why so many professions require a uniform.  Presumably, it is to create team spirit among colleagues and to communicate a message to the clientele.  It certainly doesn’t enhance professional performance.  For instance, do we think if a judge ditches the robe and is wearing jeans and a T-shirt, that he or she cannot issue sage rulings?  If members of a baseball team showed up dressed in comfortable street clothes, would they commit more errors or achieve fewer hits?  The medical profession for most of its existence has had its own uniform.   Male doctors donned a shirt and tie and all doctors wore the iconic white coat.   The stated reason was that this created an aura of professionalism that inspired confidence in patients and their families.   Indeed, even today

Electronic Medical Records vs Physicians: Not a Fair Fight!

Each work day, I enter the chamber of horrors also known as the electronic medical record (EMR).  I’ve endured several versions of this torture over the years, monstrosities that were designed more to appeal to the needs of billers and coders than physicians. Make sense? I will admit that my current EMR, called Epic, is more physician-friendly than prior competitors, but it remains a formidable adversary.  And it’s not a fair fight.  You might be a great chess player, but odds are that you will not vanquish a computer adversary armed with artificial intelligence. I have a competitive advantage over many other physician contestants in the battle of Man vs Machine.   I can type well and can do so while maintaining eye contact with the patient.   You must think I am a magician or a savant.   While this may be true, the birth of my advanced digital skills started decades ago.   (As an aside, digital competence is essential for gastroenterologists.) During college, I worked as a secretary