Question for you:  How do you find your medical provider? The most obvious of answers to this question is our dear friend, Google. What was life like before this search engine giant? I don't remember. I mean, seriously, who doesn't google twenty things throughout the course of the day? The truth is, however, there ...

I'm not a doctor basher. In fact I'm actually quite the contrary. Over the course of my career I have worked with some great docs. They have been encouraging, helpful and generally treated me as a peer. During my education I had physician preceptors and early in my career I had physician mentors. In my practice I have consulted with ...

Working in medicine, specifically dermatology, we know there is no such thing as a ''healthy tan.'' When it comes to educating younger generations, I wish the effects of sun were immediate. I wish when a young girl stepped out of the tanning bed she saw dark spots, wrinkles and skin cancers forming on the body. Only then might ...

In our acute care setting, we deal with death and dying on a daily basis. It truly amazes me, the differences in between patients' reactions when facing a ''death sentence.'' I'm sure this can be noted in all walks of the healthcare system, as well, but it's by far been most noticeable to me in the hospital. Take Mr. G, for example. He's ...

As the universities and secondary schools are preparing for spring break, it is important that we are educated and educate our young patients on the dangers of ultraviolet exposure. I am going to focus this blog more specifically towards the use of tanning beds. As a dermatology specialist and a parent, I find it unconscionable that ...

You don't have to break the law to fail a pre-employment drug test. In fact, you could lose your job just by using countless products hanging on the wall of your local gas station. That's because at my hospital, when an employee's urine drops into that little plastic device during a pre-employment drug screen, it is checked for ...

Consider this post ''part II'' in response to faithful reader of our student blog, Mark Behar of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His comment challenged me to follow up on the use of odors and smells to diagnose, or at least give us clues to how best to treat our patients' underlying pathologies. I can't refuse a good challenge. Thanks, Mark, ...

The other day, I came across a poem that was written by an older man who was living in a nursing home.  It is a touching poem, so I've decided to share it with you.  Although the poem addresses nurses specifically, I believe that its message is to everyone, regardless of one's profession. It is a reminder that, despite our age or ...

Well, as you guys know, I've passed boards and have already accepted a position in an acute care setting. I actually started yesterday and am so excited! So far I've been in orientation and the anticipation of actually rounding and caring for patients is killing me! I start rounding next week and am really looking forward to sharing this ...

If I could give any future medical student advice about the ER, my three most important words would be: Vicks Vapor Rub. When I first entered the ER, I was prepared to be jaded, but I was not prepared for the smells: abscesses, STDs, rotten teeth, body odor, mildewed t-shirts, alcoholics, chain smokers, drug-addicts, and diarrhea diapers, to ...