Mark G. Shrime, Freelance Journalist Profile

Articles

Physician wellness programs keep doctors captive

1 month ago | shrime.medium.com | Mark G. Shrime

You can’t yoga your way out of burnout—but you can wellness your way into staying stuckA couple of years ago, the American College of Surgeons recently announced its new well-being initiative for surgeons. Their wellness program has lofty goals:[The ACS] recognizes the need to foster well-being, resilience, and work-life integration for all surgeons, regardless of their career stage. Fostering the growth of both the surgical expertise and the person as a whole is paramount.
Advancing global health in an unprecedented (and unpredictable) era

1 month ago | gh.bmj.com | Mark G. Shrime

When BMJ Global Health launched 9 years ago, it positioned itself as a forum to address a fundamental, paternalistic information asymmetry in global health.
The dumbest decision I ever made (and the Nobel Prize that explains it)

Nov 21, 2024 | shrime.medium.com | Mark G. Shrime

Decision science, Family Guy, and why the “safe” choice is often the riskiest. Mark Shrime, MD, PhD·Follow8 min read·--I know exactly when I ruined my life. A touch overdramatic, yeah, but stick with me, because this story — about a single moment in Singapore 27 years ago — might also explain why you’re stuck in a job you hate, why you’re still living in a city that doesn’t set your soul on fire, or why you haven’t started that business or written that book or launched that podcast.
Christian, there's a name for what you're feeling

May 7, 2024 | shrime.medium.com | Mark G. Shrime
AI, global health, and racism

Aug 17, 2023 | shrime.medium.com | Mark G. Shrime

Back in 1976, the British statistician George Box wrote,All models are wrong, but some are usefulBack then, artificial intelligence wasn't a thing. Large language models, like those behind ChatGPT or Google Bard, were the stuff of imagination. And we were decades away from being able to ask Midjourney to create a picture of Jeff Bezos as a K-pop star. AI and the white saviorSimpler times. But... now, with a few keystrokes, we can transform the erstwhile richest man in the world into whatever we want.
Bouncers at the door of heaven

Jul 1, 2023 | shrime.medium.com | Mark G. Shrime

Who is allowed at the table? This post is late, because I've been toying with writing it for a few weeks-and by "toying with," I mean "agonizing over." This isn't the usual thing I write. This is much more personal. If you follow me, it's likely because you found my attempts to make heads or tails of the statistical paradoxes hidden in covid narratives useful, because you liked my book, or because you enjoy stories of life as a global surgeon working on a hospital ship.
A tale of two tumors

May 21, 2023 | shrime.medium.com | Mark G. Shrime

By Mark Shrime, MD, PhD The privilege of not going to the doctorLast week, while working on the hospital ship in Dakar, I met a man I'll call Amadou. Amadou is from Senegal. Like many of the patients I see on that hospital ship, he has a tumor. Unlike many, however, he doesn't have a very big tumor. He's had it for about five years, this benign overgrowth of fat cells called a lipoma. In that time, it's grown to about the size of an apricot pit.