Today Susan Niebur died from inflammatory breast cancer.  An astrophysicist and mother of a 4 and 6 year old, Niebur posted the link to  Mothers with Cancer Help Page in a final post on her blog "Toddler Planet." Blogs offer such an oddly intimate, novel way for those in medical fields to peek into what the  experience  of illness really is.   We see such a limited piece in clinics and on hospital floors. CONTINUE READING

"Heck, no!" I hear many of you yelling. "I'm sick of being a physician." "I still like medicine, however my job sucks ..." In an article today from HealthLeaders Media, "For Stressed Docs, Where to Turn?", the author writes: A recent survey and report by Physician Wellness Services, a Minneapolis, MN-based company that counsels physicians and hospitals on wellness and related issues, and Cejka Search, a St. CONTINUE READING

Parents have answers. Especially doctor moms. We have been studying for so many years.  We just need to impose our hard won answers on our kids.  We tell. Kids listen and do.  I use the term "Answer Parenting" to refer to such parenting via administering answers and agendas. Such "Answer Parenting" can be tempting but has short-comings. First, the approach generally peeves the child. CONTINUE READING

What do you really know about healthcare reform? And do you even care? The past few years have thrust healthcare into the limelight, with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (PPACA) in March 2010. And confusion has reigned ever since. Once in a while, I come across good explanations that attempt to demystify the PPACA. CONTINUE READING

For most of us physician business owners, the beginning of a year is a time filled with hope and intention. "It's going to be a(n even) better year. I’m going to be better at X, Y and Z"! we tell ourselves. I mentioned previously that I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I have discovered them to be grandiose and difficult to achieve, leading to a sense of failure and self-flagellation when we fall short and find ourselves back to square one a month or so later. CONTINUE READING