18: Why Humor Can be the Best Medicine for Clinicians

Welcome to the Patient Care® Online Primary Viewpoints podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in primary care sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with Heather Yun, MD, who served as IDWeek 2023 chair for the Infectious Disease Society of America, at the scientific sessions in Boston earlier this month about infectious disease surveillance in the US, the role of primary care clinicians in the effort to rein in antimicrobial resistance, what she thinks may have been the COVID-19 pandemic’s most important lesson for frontline clinicians, and more.  Thanks for listening to the Patient Care® Online Primary Viewpoints podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more primary care news and expert-driven content, visit patientcareonline.com. 

Welcome to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in primary care sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with Anila Chadha, MD, about the correlation between chronic pain and obesity, including the long-term effects of pain conditions for patients with obesity, common types of pain conditions associated with obesity, and how primary care clinicians should go about addressing pain with patients with obesity. Dr Chadha is a family physician and obesity medicine physician at Dignity Health Medical Group in Bakersfield, California. Thanks for listening to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more primary care news and expert-driven content, visit patientcareonline.com. 

Welcome to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in primary care sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with William Schaffner, MD, a well-known infectious disease expert from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. He provides an update on the current 2022-2023 respiratory virus season and shared key messages to primary care clinicians as the season winds down. Looking for more infectious disease discussion? Check out the Patient Care Online® infectious disease clinical focus page. Thanks for listening to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more primary care news and expert-driven content, visit patientcareonline.com

It is common for physicians to mask their emotional distress in front of colleagues and patients, making it crucial for clinicians to be on the lookout for signs of distress among their peers, according to Rebekah Bernard, MD, family physician and national speaker on physician wellness and practice management. On today’s episode of Primary Viewpoints, Dr Bernard shares common signs of emotional distress to be aware of, discusses how to start a dialogue about mental health with a colleague, and offers 3 suggestions for physicians on connecting with peers and caring for their own wellbeing. 

Wide variation in response to current treatments for obesity suggest that the disease is really several diseases, with distinct phenotypes unlikely to respond the same way to the same intervention. Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, whose widely recognized research focuses on precision medicine in management of obesity, sat down with Patient Care Online and details how weight management interventions targeted by phenotype more closely reflect the pathophysiology of the disease.

"Well, we're a little bit concerned about what might happen over the next 3 to 4 months," said Sterling Ransone, Jr, MD, referring to the 2022-23 respiratory virus season now in its very early weeks. Ransone, who is board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), discusses what the AAFP and its members are most concerned about as the country prepares for a third season of cocirculating influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus—a season that will be largely void of the mitigation measures Ransone believes are the reason he has not seen "a single case of influenza come through his office" in 2 years. He also offers an AAFP refresher on the annual push-back from patients that is so familiar to family medicine practitioners. 

Lynn R. Webster, MD, joins us in this episode to discuss findings from a large observational trial he co-authored that reviewed a mobile health technology platform developed to enhance communication between clinicians and patients with chronic pain. 

Clinician burnout has undoubtedly been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode of Primary Viewpoints, Ernest R. Gelb, DO, the 126th president of the American Osteopathic Association discusses how clinicians are faring currently during the COVID-19 pandemic and why humor can be beneficial for clinician wellness.