Doctors

Dr. Michael Mansour, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, is testing an AI-enhanced database he uses to help make diagnoses.

Health & Safety

AI could help doctors make better diagnoses

5:12am October 25, 2023

by Craig LeMoult

An artificial intelligence upgrade could be coming soon to a computer program called UpToDate that is used by more than 2 million health care professionals to make decisions about patients' care.

A researcher typed sentences like "Black African doctors providing care for white suffering children" into an artificial intelligence program designed to generate photo-like images. The goal was to flip the stereotype of the "white savior" aiding African children. Despite the specifications, the AI program always depicted the children as Black. And in 22 of over 350 images, the doctors were white.

Health & Safety

AI was asked to create images of Black African docs treating white kids. How'd it go?

10:48am October 06, 2023

by Carmen Drahl

Researchers were curious if artificial intelligence could fulfill the order. Or would built-in biases short-circuit the request? Let's see what an image generator came up with.

Many medical students do not attend lectures in the first two years, instead opting to watch recorded classes on their own time.

Medical students aren't showing up to class. What does that mean for future docs?

5:01am June 01, 2023

Most first- and second-year medical students don't attend lectures. A student and a professor suggest it's a good time to think a lot about medical education, starting with "flipping the classroom."

A picture from May 1 shows an abandoned hospital in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, a state in Sudan. Weeks of fierce fighting in the country have had a devastating impact on health care.

Health & Safety

Sudanese doctors should not have to risk their own lives to save lives

7:59pm May 24, 2023

The conflict has devastated health care: attacks on hospitals, threats against medical staff. Three Sudanese-American doctors share stories from their colleagues — and map out a plan for the future.

Winter can be hard, especially in the halls of healing. A doctor shares how this year's World Cup has become the holiday event she and others didn't know they needed.

Health & Safety

World Cup fever sparks joy in hospitals

9:00am December 13, 2022

by Grace Farris

Winter can be hard, especially in the halls of healing. A doctor shares how this year's World Cup has become the holiday event she and others didn't know they needed.

Despite its central role in the COVID pandemic, the infectious diseases specialty saw 44% of its training programs for doctors go unfilled.

Health & Safety

Newest doctors shun infectious diseases specialty

3:37pm December 12, 2022

by Pien Huang

The pandemic put infectious diseases doctors in the spotlight. The 'Fauci Effect' raised the number of fellowship applicants in 2020, but this year almost half of the training programs went unfilled.

Jerry Bilinski, a retired social worker who lives in Fayetteville, N.C., says he deserves a full explanation from his medical team of what led to a small gash on his forehead during his surgery for a cataract.

He woke up from eye surgery with a gash on his forehead. What happened?

5:01am November 28, 2022

Some doctors and medical practices voluntarily give rebates on a bill if an injury occurs during a procedure, while others will not, a medical ethicist says. Here's how patients can respond.

Worried about future access to abortion, more women are asking to get their "tubes tied," doctors say. But there are a lot of barriers to actually getting this procedure.

Why this key chance to getting permanent birth control is often missed

11:24am July 12, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Doctors say they're seeing a surge in the number of women who want their "tubes tied." But hospital capacity, paperwork, religion and personal opinion are just some of the reasons requests get denied.

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Physicians must treat in line with patients' wishes and standards of care. Some medical ethicists say that abortion bans will force doctors to disregard these obligations in order to follow the law.

For doctors, abortion restrictions create an 'impossible choice' when providing care

5:32pm June 24, 2022

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Physicians must treat in line with patients' wishes and standards of care. Some medical ethicists say that abortion bans will force doctors to disregard these obligations in order to follow the law.

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Caregivers working with COVID-19 patients in a Barnes-Jewish Hospital intensive care unit write a message of love and support on the glass door facing a patient's room.

ICU teams report fatigue and frustration as they brace for omicron surge

4:41pm December 31, 2021

by Jon Hamilton

A resurgence in COVID-19 cases is testing the endurance of health care workers who care for the sickest patients, most of whom are unvaccinated.

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