Expiration Date
Everything eventually expires.I looked down at the bottle of natural spring water in astonishment. It had an expiration date. Scanning the empty hospital cafeteria on an early Sunday morning, I wondered what on earth about spring water could go bad? It had no living parts, Nothing that serves as nourishment for wayward bacteria or fungus. The container was sealed. Pristine.I figured it was another fiscal hoax, perpetrated on unsuspecting consumers. You better drink that water fast or you'll have to throw it away and buy a brand new bottle. I could hear the ka-ching of the cas...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - April 11, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
My Review of Becoming Nursey by Kati Kleber (@NurseEyeRoll)
I could never be a nurse. It's just too hard. Not only do they have to physically take care of patients (and their body fluids and waste products) but emotionally support said patients, their families, their doctors, and supervise an army of certified nursing aids. Did I mention that they also must diagnose, manage, and monitor disease in real time?It was under these auspices that I came across Becoming Nursey by Katie Kleber while I was working to promote my own book. I checked her out on twitter (@NurseEyeRoll) and was intrigued enough to jump on Amazon and buy the book. I was very gla...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - April 6, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
The ABIM Is Trying to Be relevant; Choose Wisely
The American Board of Internal Medicine is irrelevant. It has always been. I realized this when I first certified in Internal Medicine in 2002. The test was largely fact based and filled with information that I would never need to know in practice. It did not measure my diagnostic acumen, or my physical exam skills, or my ability to listen and empathize with my patients. After passing the original test, I forgot mostly about it. I filed my large diploma sized certificate in a drawer in the back of my office. You see, I didn't display it prominently because I really didn't care if anyone ...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 30, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
My First Dead Body
I assumed she asked because besides being a hospice volunteer, I was a medical student and wouldn't get spooked by a dead body. She probably didn't realize that it was my first week of classes and I hadn't experienced much yet.She walked into the room with her head slightly bowed forward. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. Because of a scheduling snafu, there was only one nurse for the entire hospice floor. This was her second patient to die that day. She bayed me to come forward and help prepare the body. I stared down at the lifeless figure. I don't remember all the de...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 26, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
Updates
I'd like to take a moment to update my readers on the progress of the last month since the publication of my book.I have been selling copies over the web (click here) , and in person, and have been lucky enough to receive some press:-Medpage today article: 10 Questions: Jordan Grumet-Digital Opinion Leaders: 10 exemplary 'social media' healthcare professional mentors-ZocDoc: The Stories Doctors Keep-Inquisitr: Reddit Photo Showed Us The Human Side Of Doctors People Don't Want To Recognize Anymore.I will be appearing on a few Google Hangouts (Dates to be announced):www.iHealth.TVThe Death ChicksAnd I will be doing a book re...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 24, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
My First Lesson In Humility
I remember being more confident that most of my peers. The look of dread on my fellow interns face pre-call, and the fatigue post-call always seemed unnatural to me. Maybe it was on account of my life-long pursuit of medicine. I felt nothing but elation at the newly branded "M" and "D" that came after my name on the hospital badge. I was no longer a volunteer, no longer a student. I was a doctor. And part of that persona was walking into the unknown with a certain amount of confidence. This was exactly where I was meant to be.A few months into internship, I admitted an obese lady w...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 23, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
Time To Check Out
It was time to check out.The trip had been a blast. There was sun, and water, and too much food. Of course there were moments of displeasure. The rain came and went. The skin turned red and hot, and I slathered sunscreen on almost every hour. But all in all, I had few complaints. Of course I wanted to stay longer. Who wouldn't? There was so much to stay for. If I was having fun now, who is to say that it wouldn't continue? I had my family, beautiful scenery, all my electronics, and the ocean. There was that prickly situation, however, of the contract. I had only signed ...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 19, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
The Intimacy Gap
I used to think that there was a communication gulf between doctors and patients. Somewhere in the hub-bub of of the harried office visit some secret sauce was missing. A divide that was so fundamental that both parties often left the room feeling disjointed and uneasy. Patients wondered if doctors truly heard them. Physicians wondered if any one was listening to what they were saying. The tension ebbed and flowed but never disappeared. This has been the state of health care over the last decade. This has been the environment in which I have built my clinical career.I now believe t...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 16, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
Behind Every Doctor Is A Patient
Behind every doctor is a little boy or girl who once watched helplessly. Maybe it was her father or grandfather who suffered under the weight of a disease that was deemed all but incurable. Perhaps her own skin was battered and bruised by the repeated trauma of an unrelenting tourniquet. She swore that when (if) she got older she would protect the innocent from such things. Her vow was the light that guided her through arduous years of study and apprenticeship. Her promise was etched into the depths of her psyche like those two dangling letters she worked so hard to get placed uncomfortably after her name...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 10, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
What's Happening To Health Care, A Damn Shame?
I understand that there is a difference between perception and reality. I also get that the kind of people one meets on a tropical vacation in the middle of March are of a certain economic and sociopolitical status.Nonetheless, I am amazed at how history seems to repeat itself. Year after year, while sitting in the shade and relaxing by the pool, I strike up a conversation with the vacationers sitting on either side of me. The conversation starts innocently enough. We talk of the details of our trips and about the kids. More times than not, they are from Canada. We bristle at the cold we...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 8, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
Does Medicare Allow For Agility and Innovation?
The call came around 10 pm on Saturday night. Helen was concerned by her mother’s cough and lethargy. I checked my schedule, and we agreed to meet at the house first thing in the morning. I awoke before the sun rose. My car rustled through the half-melted snow as I sped down the freeway. Thirty minutes later, I pulled up to the small bungalow at the end of the street. Helen and her husband greeted me at the door. The look of concern was apparent on both their faces.We chatted for a few minutes before I went to the bedroom to do my exam. Helen felt her mother was generally doing well at home by herself, but the last ...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 3, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
The Wise Man, His Son, and the Camel
There is an ancient parable about a wise man who travels with is son and a camel through the desert on a long journey. Being wise and kind, he estimates the sweltering heat will take a toll on his steadfast animal and so decides to unburden the beast for a short period.My daughter is screaming. She has planted herself on the ground in the middle of a shopping center, and dug her heals in. She will not move. After a day of disappointments she has reached her breaking point. Overwhelmed by the helplessness of being a seven year old, she has decided to take control over the only thing she has lef...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - March 1, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
The Wolves Are Licking Their Lips
There is much sacred in the hallowed halls of medicine. As any other secret society, this fraternal order of health care professionals has its own language, costumes, and humor. The pathway from pre-medical student, medical student, resident, and finally to attending is heavily marked with ritual and ever-expanding responsibilities. The world opens and unfolds before the eyes of the novice.There is no more enduring symbol of membership in this group than the modern-day hospital. For those who don’t belong, only fear and wonder lie behind the sliding glass doors of the entry to the emergency room. For the initiated, howev...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - February 23, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
Burned Out
We examined his body and ordered blood tests. We were in charge of his well being.Walter was the patient I spent the most time with during my medical school career. He was a constant presence throughout my three months of pediatrics. The last day of my rotation, the nursing staff got the unexpected call. Walter was prepped and taken to the operating room. A child had died tragically, and Walter was given a second chance at life. Around midnight my team snuck into the ICU and peeled back the curtain.Walter was alive and well. A breathing tube snaked from his mouth and chest tubes hu...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - February 22, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
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What is it like to be your primary care physician? How do day-to-day pressures, concerns and unfolding developments impact the one who looks after your health and wellbeing? What does your doctor feel about the responsibilities and nagging questions that are an integral part of every waking hour? What is it like to know that each routine decision is potentially life-altering to your care? Who cares about your future medical care? Jordan Grumet's writing builds an insider's level of understanding. His unique delivery is simple and eloquently succinct. His potential audience is at a critical juncture in medical-p...
Source: In My Humble Opinion - February 18, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Jordan Grumet Source Type: blogs
