Blogs
The War Rheum
The effects on rheumatologists and their patients living in Ukraine largely have been unseen by the world. At ACR Convergence 2024, I met Dr. Marta Dzhus who practices at St. Michael's Clinical Hospital in Kyiv; she shared her story with me about the humanitarian crisis in rheumatologic care in Ukraine because of the ongoing war. Here is an excerpt of our conversation.
Rheum to Travel
One of the benefits of attending conferences aside from scientific exchange is meeting new people. At one symposium, I met a unique rheumatologist. This chance meeting turned into an interview, that turned into a blog. Holly Bastian, MD is a rheumatologist practicing without the restraints of being tied to a place. She is a nomadic rheumatologist, a rheum on the road who embodies Johnny Appleseed as she spreads her knowledge and skills to multiple places in need of rheumatologic services. This is her story.
Gangsin: 갱신 Korean: refresh, renew, updated
Remaining status quo requires less effort than making a change. Over the last 20+ years, I have listened to thousands of patients confide their personal stories. Some remained paralyzed in their current state of distress, fearing new situations may be worse. I was one of them, until recently. In this final blog of my trilogy on self-discovery, I reveal my new life.
Chào: (Vietnamese: Goodbye/Hello)
One of the first words I was taught by my parents was “chào”. In Vietnamese, you say chào and bow when you greet someone or when you leave as a sign of respect. In my first blog about self-discovery, I detailed the burnout and why I left clinical practice. In this second blog of the trilogy, I wanted to share encounters with patients as I told them goodbye. While I received great advice when I started practice, no one ever talks about how hard it is to leave.
Karoshi - {Japanese 過労死: Death by Being Overworked}
Over the last few decades, Japanese workers were collapsing dead at their desks or committing suicide due to the high stress stemming from their jobs; Japan coined this phenomenon, “Karoshi.” In 2021, the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization issued a warning: working 55+ hours a week is a serious health hazard and increases the risk for death from heart disease and stroke. But since the pandemic, I see many colleagues working hard at the expense of their health, family life, mental and emotional well-being. I never thought I would be burned out because I had passion for my job.
Teaching and Academic Burnout
RheumNow recently highlighted a publication that reported about a third of physicians in academia intend to leave. To our colleagues in non-academic situations, this may seem incredibly high. I think an important contributor to the intention to leave academics is that something that used to be a benefit has now become a challenge: namely, teaching.
Choice Overload (and the Way Out)
I recently overheard a very good practicing rheumatologist complain, “why do I need yet another drug for psoriatic arthritis? I have more treatment choices than I have actual PsA patients who need a new or better drug”.
Advancing PMR
Even though polymyalgia rheumatica is not perceived by many physicians as a severe diagnosis, its diagnosis and management actually propose significant challenges. I'd like to talk about those challenges, and what directions our path forward can include to advance our understanding and improve the treatment of patients who have PMR.
Unpopular opinion: spinach can be bad for you
PMR might be one of the most rewarding diagnoses to make in real practice: the patient comes to you in severe debilitating pain, and you prescribe steroids, giving them their lives back! As much as this impressive response makes your intervention appear almost magical, there is the often-forgotten story about the implications of such a diagnosis and treatment on patients' daily lives.