Opinion

The loss of letters
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Upon my skinny, adaptable desk the other day sat a white envelope that was hand addressed to me. It was postmarked more than 2 weeks before.
Opinion

Time for a rest
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
I asked some docs when they thought this feeling of exhaustion first began. We agreed that the pandemic, doubledemic, tripledemic, backlog have...
Opinion

Sick call
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
A recent Medscape survey of physicians found that 85% said they had come to work sick in 2022.
Opinion

The ‘root cause’ visit
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
“How did we miss out on that?” “What?” my physician friend replied as we stood in line at the coffee cart. “Root cause. I mean, we invented this...
Opinion

Dignity
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
We've driven medicine to the efficient and left little of the dignity it seems.
Opinion

Dig like an archaeologist
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
He was a fit man in his 40s. Thick legs. Maybe he was long-distance walker? The bones of his right arm were more developed than his left – a right...
Opinion

‘I shall harm’
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Nocebo, from the Latin “I shall harm,” is the dark counterpart to the placebo.
Opinion

“How long, how long to sing this song?”
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
I thought about my patient’s suffering and the brutal injustice of fate. It feels like it’s everywhere lately.
Opinion

One weird trick to fight burnout
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Why do some older workers recharge daily and carry on while many younger ones say the daily grind is burning them out?
Opinion

The work after work
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Are you a super doer, reluctant doer, admin denier, or admin avoider?
Opinion

‘We don’t want to be an inspiration’
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Although acknowledgment is appreciated, the women I work alongside don’t need me to be inspired by them.
Opinion

To a perfect day
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Attempting a perfect day or perfect surgery or a perfect pour over coffee is a fun game, but perfectionism has an insidious side.
Opinion

Is it OK to just be satisfied?
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
It is possible to talk to a patient for a brief moment and just know if he or she is a satisficer or a maximizer.
Opinion

Words from the wise
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
When there’s time, consider asking for advice from those elders who happen to have an appointment with you.
Opinion

Timeless stories
- Author:
- Jeffrey Benabio, MD, MBA
Listening to a patient's tales is one of the benefits of being a physician.