Phone conversation between one of my staff and a patient’s husband who was a former competitive athlete and who admitted to taking "a whole lot of steroids" in the past. STAFF: Hello, Mr. ___ . This is ___ from Dr (IVF-MD)’s office. We have the results of your sperm test back from this morning. I’m [...]

I get a few emails asking me what brand of ovulation kit or what herbal fertility potions I recommend. Sometimes the questions mention specific trade names, as in "What is your opinion on Brand XYZ fertility vitamins?" It puts me in a difficult situation, because most of the time, the truthful answer is that it [...]

I’ve been on faculty at a University of California medical school for over 10 years now. Last year, I was invited to additionally join the faculty of a second medical school. At the first school, students graduate with an M.D. degree, which is the degree that the general public typically associates with "medical doctors". At [...]

I realize I’ve not been posting with my usual frequency. I know that some people use their blog for venting. I promise not to abuse this, but I will take my privilege this one time. There are a few reasons for by absence lately. Most notably, we’ve had more new patients this month than ever [...]

My work place is hazardous. This is all because of our patients’ generosity. We receive on average, well over ten gifts of sweets every month, culminating near Christmas time in a tumultuous onslaught of donuts, boxed chocolates, goodie baskets and other random acts of sugar. It is heartwarming to know that our patients are truly [...]

The phones ring madly here. Theres no escaping it. We have stubbornly clung to the policy of having a team approach to answering the phone (usually with about five people), rather than having a single receptionist or voicemail handle most of the calls. Patients especially love it, because our staff is entirely cross trained, so [...]

My private desk is at one end of my office suite and our blood test lab is at the other end. So it would take a pretty loud noise to travel the distance. This morning, my door was open and I heard a distant happy group-scream coming from that direction. My office manager, whose desk [...]