Emerging: Post-Shift Conversations By New Emergency Doctors Stephen Cooper & RJ Sontag

Physician loans are something all residents are at least somewhat exposed to after graduation. As medical students we voluntarily place ourselves in large amounts of debt in order to obtain medical degrees, is it worth it to push further into debt to own a home? In this episode we dive into the positives and drawbacks of physician loans.

In 2018, one of the most frustrating discussions that residents have with their attendings, their patients and even each other is regarding narcotic pain medication. It often feels like some attendings think one acetaminophen and a hand shake is plenty of pain medication, while others would give the same patient hydromorphone. RJ and I discuss strategies for treating patients' pain when America has a national problem with opioid abuse.

During this short conversational episode we take a step back from our usual strategy in covering topics and give a few updates on how the two of us are adjusting to life as a resident. We discuss difficult conversations with parents in pediatric patients. We compare and contrast how various residencies incorporate wellness strategies into the lives of their residents. And we give our perspectives on intern year so far.

Sorry for the late post, RJ and I were on our first ICU rotations last month. Much to RJ's dismay, this episode takes just a slightly clinical turn and discusses how much or how little we should be using clinical decision tools everyday on shift. We are pimped on these rules and asked them on board exams, but do these tools actually correlate to improved outcomes for patients?

This month's episode allows RJ to take a deep dive into his true passion, health care policy. Coop breaks down the history of health insurance. The ACA changed the health care landscape for the entire county and we examine how insurance trends affect doctors and our patients.

In our second episode (and first as real doctors) we discuss the growing national trend of freestanding emergency departments. We analyze the effect of freestanding ED's on the surrounding medical environment and how policy surrounding these departments is changing in today's political landscape.