Dr. Scott Abramson is a best physician with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in Northern California where since 1979 he has specialized in Neurology. During that time, he has heard a lot of stories. These are some of them.
Series 2: May 2017
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Best physician? You Know
Sometimes we best physicians are so preoccupied in our professional lives, we neglect to say important things to important people. Do we want words like these to be our legacy?
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But Just Once
Here is one crucial, but simple thing, we physicians often may fail to do.
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Why I as a best physician Failed to Cure My Wife’s Headache
Our patients don’t always come to us for a cure. Sometimes they need something even more important.
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Who Has Had Their Baby Feet Kissed by Joanne?
What attending our patient’s funerals can teach us physicians.
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The Secret of Happiness
How being caught in a traffic jam can reveal the secret of happiness.
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The Beauty of a Crooked Smile
What a nursing home aide can teach physicians about the tools of healing.
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Step Into My Office, Doctor
As chiefs and leaders in our medical organization, we give important feedback to our doctors. Here is the most meaningful feedback a Chief can give.
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Savor that Coca Cola
Can happiness come from a bottle of Coca Cola? A doctor from Africa answers this crucial question.
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My Wife Had That Too
Sometimes, no matter how much information we give our patients, they still don’t get it. Here is a surefire strategy to get our doctor message across.
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If I Would Have Known
Physician burnout is real. Here is one reason why. And here is an important strategy on how to prevent it.
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I Never Wrote The Letter
When does our responsibility to care for our patients really end?
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Why I Haven't Retired
How a 29 year old woman with tension headaches rekindled the joy of my work in medicine.
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Where Have All the Heroes Gone?
Why are we doctors so reluctant to sing our own praises? Why are we so blind to the magic we perform?
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“Ah, you are my 7:30 patient.”
Our long hours, busy schedules, and demanding patients can sometimes make us feel not like medical doctors but like health care butlers. In a moment of clarity, here’s how one doctor was reminded to refocus on his mission of healing.
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Why It is Important to Keep Our Cool with Difficult Patients
We all have difficult patients who push our hot buttons. But when we cool down those hot buttons, therein may lie a secret to building patient connection and trust.
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The First Surgeon
As secular scientists, we physicians often ignore this crucial factor in our patients’ healing.
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Not at this time!
We physicians can learn a lot from our patients. Sometimes they can uplift and inspire us. Here is how one patient’s response to a simple medical question, gave his doctor such inspiration.
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How to Become Tops In Your Field
Ever wonder why certain doctors are known as “tops in their field”? Here’s a simple tip on how to make that happen for you.
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The Three Most Intellingent Words Ever Spoken by a Physician
We build trust with our patients, perhaps not so much by touting our technical skills, but by speaking in a language that can communicate so much more.
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Do You Really Need This Appointment?
Sometimes we feel helpless as our patients suffer with devastating and hopeless disease. Here is how one such patient rekindled her doctor’s faith in his own healing power.
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Have You Hugged Your Cleaning Lady Today?
Ever wonder why our patients don’t follow our advice? Consider the “X factor” of doctor– patient communication.
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Catching Up on Journal Reading
In our hectic, multitasking lives, we physicians strive for “work life balance.” That battle can take its toll, not just on us, but on those who watch movies with us.
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How to Convince Your Patients You are Brilliant
Our patients may not be impressed by our academic credentials or the diplomas on the wall. Try this amazingly simple technique to convince your patients you are brilliant.
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The Most Important Thing One Can Say to the Bereaved
Why is it so hard to find the words to say to the bereaved? Why do we sometimes feel uncomfortable having those conversations? A mother, whose son was tragically killed, offers some poignant wisdom about words of consolation.