Pamela Wible MD
America's leading voice
…
“Have you ever been depressed as a physician?” I asked 220 doctors. Ninety percent stated yes. Yet few seek professional help. Here’s what depressed doctors do (when nobody’s looking). Some drink alcohol, exercise obsessively, even steal psychiatric meds. Still more shocking—I discovered that 75% of med students (and new doctors) are now on psychiatric medications.
…
Can a meditation garden in a hospital courtyard help doctors recover from 28-hour shifts? Will resilience workshops help resident physicians on 100+hour work weeks? Could yoga reverse workplace bullying? Probably not.
Seems wellness programs are popping up all over our hospitals and medical schools to help our doctors feel well.
…
This week a distraught mother calls me about her son. His professor (at a US med school) repeatedly tells medical students they are “too stupid to be doctors and should kill themselves.”
A physician friend shares that the same guy tells his internal medicine residents weekly (for 3 years!) that they are stupid and “should kill themselves.” Even bullies other instructors.
…
Pimping is a “teaching” technique in which a student is grilled with rapid-fire questions (often about obscure medical minutiae). These much-feared public interrogation sessions can be so malicious that the student may be left crying—in front of peers, staff, and patients. Alison, a physician in the UK,
…
Angela Jiang: Good morning! As the class Vice President, it is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Pamela Wible to our graduation. Dr. Wible is a family physician and a pioneer in the ideal medical care movement. After completing a family medicine residency and working in different family practices for over 10 years,
…
URGENT: ** Please attend demonstration of support May 11th in St. Louis. ** Just received this letter from a medical student:
Dr. Wible,
I hope you are doing well. I am reaching out to you in less than pleasant circumstances. Dr. Slavin, our most valued leader and educator,
…
Is the doctor-making “factory line” the same everywhere? Yep. Pretty much. Here’s why you may not want to attend a big-wig school. Listen to today’s podcast inspired by a letter from this amazing premedical student. Enjoy!
Pamela,
I have shared your work with so many of my premed and physician friends!
…
Dear Dr. Wible,
We’ve talked before. To catch you up, I’m in my clinical years now and I keep waiting to feel the same starry-eyed excitement I felt during the first months of med school, when I thought that becoming a doctor would finally give me a tangible purpose and make me a better person by helping me do right by others in a way that is meaningful.
…
Today the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) made the reckless decision to increase work hours to 28-hour shifts for new doctors. Here are the catastrophic consequences of their decision. Here are actual quotes from physicians (de-identified with some patient details changed to protect confidentiality):
“I did my internship in internal medicine and residency in neurology before laws existed to regulate resident hours.
…
For all of you hard-core docs who put everyone’s needs ahead of your own.
For all the docs forgetting to eat or drink all day then fainting in operating rooms.
For all my sisters working through miscarriages without taking time off to grieve.
…
Dear Dr. Wible,
I want to fill you in on what really goes on behind the scenes at my medical school and maybe you can help inform other students about what happens here before they make a huge mistake. If students slip between the cracks of a US med school,
…
I recently reported on a doctor-turned-dog-walker who says with her career switch she’ll enjoy more happiness—and income! In her own words:
Dear Pamela, Today I realized that if I become a dog walker and charge $25/hour and walk 5 dogs per day I would make my equivalent salary with a lot less hassles.
…
A few months ago, I got this invitation from the director of graduate medical education:
We have 115 residents and no meaningful wellness program to speak of. My goal is to create not only a resident but also a faculty wellness program. To help jumpstart the endeavor,
…
Most physicians appear self-assured. Yet even doctors have self-doubts. But who wants an insecure physician? A confident doctor inspires confidence in patients. So how do physicians cope with their hidden insecurities?
I actually had no idea that doctors lacked self-confidence until twelve years ago when I began teaching physician business strategies to succeed in independent practice.
…
Doctor revived after suicide. Here's what he says.
