Author Archives: Heather Thompson Buum

In medical school, I learned a five step model on how to deliver bad news to a patient. I still fall back on this method, time and again, in my primary care clinic; I’ve even used it when giving really tough feedback to a learner who is struggling in some aspect of their performance. ButContinue reading “Breaking Bad”

On a family vacation road trip last month, I read “Man’s Fourth Best Hospital” by Samuel Shem, the sequel to “The House of God.” Most physicians have read The House of God, including me back in college, which chronicles the grueling nature of residency training, with equal parts satire, dark humor, and poignant humanity. ItContinue reading “The New Laws of the House of God”

As a primary care physician, I have observed a record number of cases flooding into our clinic system in the past month, and they have nothing to do with the virus. Well, I guess indirectly, they do. It’s a phenomenon I see time and again and it plays out something like this: A 53 yearContinue reading “The Next Covid “Surge””

Given the advent of online bill paying years ago, my home mailbox doesn’t see all that much traffic; it is generally reserved for a few select medical journals, cooking magazines, and the usual junk mail.  After my cancer journey began, however, it was flooded with a whole host of interesting items–cards, letters, care packages, appointmentContinue reading “You’ve Got Mail”

This past week marked my 5 year “cancerversary”; April 26th was the date of the operation that made me cancer free.  It is also, coincidentally, my actual wedding anniversary and for me personally, it’s been enjoyable to celebrate both on the same day. But the 5 year mark for many women is significant.  Most breastContinue reading “Cancerversary”

Last summer, with gyms closed due to the pandemic, I made an extra effort to ride my bike to work, as often as possible.  It’s an efficient way to combine the commute with exercise for the day.  It is also more enjoyable and psychologically uplifting to be on a bike, outdoors, in nature, feeling theContinue reading “God Shows Up in the Vending Machine”

As I was listening to the radio in my car last week, I heard some commentary that at first seemed very encouraging.  In America, the 1920s were a period of economic growth, prosperity and optimism, with the decade being dubbed “The Roaring Twenties” as a result.  Much of this was fueled by the end ofContinue reading “The Roaring 2020s”

As a medical student in the mid 1990s, a few of the women in my class followed a popular fad diet called the Cabbage Soup Diet prior to a trip to Cozumel. It’s basically a very low carb diet, with lean protein added here and there, with the claim to fame of losing up toContinue reading “March Miracle? Or Madness?”

Last week, I had the rare opportunity to have my work day end early on a Friday.  I finished morning clinic on time; I attended virtual Morbidity and Mortality conference at noon via Zoom; I worked on curriculum from about 1:30 to 3:30, but couldn’t really do more until other faculty turned in their materials. Continue reading “Gym and Tonic”

It is interesting to note what can amuse us, generally speaking, as a society these days.  Humor is often found in everyday things that strike us as ironic, idiosyncratic, or absurd; think Jerry Seinfeld and his observations about “nothing.” Recently, technology has become such an integral part of our lives, that it too has becomeContinue reading “Chicken Breast Cancer”