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Excellence in Clinical Coaching Award: Humble Thanks
Today I want to thank everyone in my department for nominating me for the Excellence in Clinical Coaching Award . I accepted it during the Graduate Medical Education Leadership Symposium this afternoon. For some reason, I almost wrote “Excellence in Clinical Clowning Award ” above. I guess maybe one of the reasons is that I…
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Let’s Promote Living Well to 100
I get a big kick of this video every time I see it. It’s a YouTube about people who are 100 years old who are funny, wise, and talented. It’s included on the SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital YouTube channel. St. Mary’s Hospital is in Madison, Wisconsin. I worked as a psychiatrist there very briefly…
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The Groundhog Effect
Last year, we noticed a groundhog waking up and bulldozing our back yard, even though snow was forecast that day. It’s pretty good at just putting its head down and pushing through almost anything in its path including leaves, sticks, small rocks, flowers, and so on. Their single-minded digging has helped uncover bones and pottery…
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Black Psychiatrists in Iowa
It’s funny how a newspaper article can set off a series of remembrances. I read the Psychiatric News article, “Building Community in Professional Organizations: The APA and BPA,” written by Ezra E.H. Griffith, M.D. (published on line April 30, 2019). The article is about how Black psychiatrists have struggled to become a part of mainstream…
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Spring
I’m coming up on my last 3 days for the academic year and reflecting now that my favorite season is upon us. Spring does that to me, especially now that I’ve been in the phased retirement contract for the last 2 years. I’ll be going into the 3rd and final year as of July. I…
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Dirty Dozen on C-L Psychiatry
I’m back in the saddle again after a brief hiatus according to the terms of my phased retirement contract. During my time away, I thought about what a short introduction to Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Psychiatry might include to give medical students and other trainees a snapshot look at what CL psychiatrists encounter in their work in…
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Back on My Soap Box about MOC
I’m back on my soap box about Maintenance of Certification (MOC) again. Sidney Weissman, M.D. remarked in a letter to the editor of Psychiatric News (April 19, 2019 issue, Vol. 54, No. 8) on the rising numbers of graduating medical students who match in psychiatry residency slots. Many will graduate from these programs into private…
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My Definitive Journey
About 15 years ago, I left my position at the University of Iowa to work somewhere else. The spiral notebook with a picture of someone crossing a bridge and the fine birdhouse in the picture above were going away gifts. There were many touching messages in the little book. Friends wished me well and reminded…
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Long Day; Short Post
OK, it was a long day on the general hospital psychiatry consultation service. This post is going to be short. I put 3.4 miles and 29 floors on my step counter today and I’m feeling every one of them right now. It’s almost 10:30 at night and I’m trying to find a way to end…
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A Little Too Exuberant
I think a sense of humor is a wonderful thing. I was the class clown in my youth. I remember my English teacher, Miss Piggott, wrote in my report card that I was “A little too exuberant.” Actually, I was a great deal too exuberant. My sense of humor tends to fall into the broad…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 