Whistleblower Abroad!

This is a Whistleblower Holiday. A few weeks before this posting, we are setting off to the Philippines. After about 10 days there, we're off to Japan, where we expect to savor the full potential of sushi and other delicacies. This will be the biggest trip of my life.

I leave with enhanced immunity having received the influenza vaccine, a belated tetanus booster and the oral typhoid vaccine - veritable germ armor!

No Traveler's Diarrhea!

Why the Philippines? My daughter, Elana, is spending a year there teaching at an international school. We are going because she is there.We all know the advantage of maintaining low expectations. Here are some of mine.

Pull an all-nighter the night before departure to reduce the expected jet lag. Manila is 13 hours ahead of Cleveland time.
Don't miss the initial 7 a.m. flight out of Cleveland.
No one on any of the 3 flights sitting in front of me reclines.
The airport WiFi actually works.
Our circulatory systems do not form blood clots during our 24 hours of flying time.
The family with the crying baby is not on our flight.
My iPad and cash will not be separated from their owner.
My box of imodium won't be opened.
The malaria prophylaxis pills work.
The jet lag upon our return will resolve in a month.

Timing is everything. Today, the temperature in Cleveland approaches minus 30 with the windchill factor. It's 78 degrees in Manila now. Looking forward to feeling the warmth of the sun and the daughter.

Comments

When Should Doctors Retire?

I am asked with some regularity whether I am aiming to retire in the near term. Years ago, I never received such inquiries. Why now? Might it be because my coiffure and goatee – although finely-manicured – has long entered the gray area? Could it be because many other even younger physicians have given up their stethoscopes for lives of leisure? (Hopefully, my inquiring patients are not suspecting me of professional performance lapses!) Interestingly, a nurse in my office recently approached me and asked me sotto voce that she heard I was retiring. “Interesting,” I remarked. Since I was unaware of this retirement news, I asked her when would be my last day at work. I have no idea where this erroneous rumor originated from. I requested that my nurse-friend contact her flawed intel source and set him or her straight. Retirement might seem tempting to me as I have so many other interests. Indeed, reading and ...

Stop Medical Malpractice: The White Coat Wall of Silence

Photo Credit Leisure Guy, one of my most faithful commenters, opines that I am omitting an important aspect of the tort reform argument. He has implored me repeatedly to read a particular book that I suspect buttresses his views, but this worthy pursuit is simply not near the top of my priority pyramid. Since he’s retired, he enjoys the luxury of burrowing deeply into the base of his priority pyramid. With 4 tuitions to go, retirement is a distant mirage for me. I’m can be a ‘leisure guy’, but only in my dreams. I have written throughout this blog and elsewhere that there are too many frivolous lawsuits against physicians. I have admitted that caps on non-economic damages are not ideal, because they deny some worthy plaintiffs of complete compensation, but I support them because I believe they serve the greater good. I have ranted that there is no effective filter to screen out physicians who should never be invited to the litigation party in the first place. I believe that the...

Will Artificial Intelligence Become My Doctor?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is riding over the countryside and the globe on a tidal wave. It will gather strength and will become a tsunami sooner than we think. Like any tool, its use depends upon the intent of the user. A hammer can be used to build but can also be used to break. It can serve as a weapon. The tool bears no culpability. We have no reliable way to prevent tools from being used for nefarious activities. I don’t think the solution is to eliminate hammers from society to reduce hammer violence. The overall idealized strategy is to stifle dark intent lurking within people so that they might not consider taking evil actions. Sadly, we have all seen that this worthy task is far out of reach. We simply don’t have a tool to accomplish this. A tool with many uses. AI will be a tool like no other. It will deliver preternatural benefits in every sphere of society. I predict that it will make the internet seem quaint by ...

MD Whistleblower

Search This Blog