What it’s like to be in obesity medicine: Shadowing Dr. Lazarus

As a medical student, do you ever wonder what it’s like to be an obesity specialist? Here’s your chance to find out. Meet Ethan Lazarus, MD, an obesity specialist and featured physician in AMA Wire’s® “Shadow Me” Specialty Series, which offers advice directly from physicians about life in their specialties. Dr. Lazarus is the secretary treasurer of the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) and the OMA delegate for the AMA. Read his insights to help determine whether a career in obesity medicine might be a good fit for you. “Shadowing” Dr. Lazarus Specialty: Obesity medicine Practice setting: Solo Years in practice: 18 A typical day in my practice: I see patients Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. I spend 30 minutes with follow-up patients and 60 minutes with new patients. I teach free classes on obesity and related topics one or two times per week. When not at the office, I speak either at CME conferences or for pharmaceutical companies about once a week. I also serve as an adviser to Novo Nordisk regarding obesity treatment. The most challenging and rewarding aspects of caring for patients in obesity medicine: Patients lose weight, then stop treatment, then they regain the weight and blame themselves. It is hard to get people to accept that obesity is a chronic disease. There is also a lot of bias against treating obesity as a disease, particularly with regards to the use of anti-obesity medications. Further, there is public...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news