When I was looking into residency options for pediatrics I never intended to actually move a plane ride away from my family.  However, when those match cards came in I found myself staring at a name I had almost forgot I had placed at the top.  Nebraska.   Moving to the middle of the country from my hometown of West Virginia was a shock at first.  Yet overtime it began to feel like home, and eventually when we had kids we decided to stick around.   Now I love where I live including the community I am a part of, coworkers I get to see daily, and friends we have made a ..read more

This past month an article was released by the Brookings Institution (and thus several news agencies) focusing on the cost to raise a child in 2020.  They estimated that by the time that child finished high school at 17 years or age, you will have spent over 300000 dollars on them.  That's a lot of money! However, the topic of money and how much you spend on your kids is not as simple as this estimate suggests.  This estimate would have you spending about 18000 a year on them.  I know physicians that spend more than that on private schools alone.   When we look at th ..read more

The topic of "love" is one that is frequently discussed but never fully agreed upon.   When our kids looks to us and ask us, "What is love, daddy?" I should have a quick easy answer for them to understand, right?   Sadly, love is not so easily explained, let alone understood, by most of us.   In the last few weeks I had a patient ask me this specific question.  The topic had never been brought up at home, and he was concerned he did not KNOW how to LOVE.  Not exactly a medical question, but we spent the better part of 45 minutes discussing it in the clinic. To be a ..read more

Today's episode is an interview with Dr Ryan Stegink.   Dr. Ryan Stegink majored in physics before going to medical school, ultimately specializing in general pediatrics. Previously bringing many charts home and going through burnout less than a year out of training, he now leaves work at work, so he can be more present at home as a husband and father. Not content to keep this transformation to himself, Dr. Stegink has started a podcast and now group coaching program to help physicians with their charting and wellness. Learn more about his program, and get home sooner with your charting ..read more

Have you ever talked to your kids about "wants" versus "needs"? How do you approach every day purchases versus luxury purchases when discussing them with your kids? Does your kid spend all their allowance money on rocks?  (yes, one of our might just do that) In this week's episode of the Imperfect Dad MD podcast I focus on the topic of saving versus spending and RECOGNIZING what your kids do.  It is interesting to watch our kids and how they utilize currency, be it money they gained from allowance or birthdays to the tickets they "earn" playing video games at the arcade.  I ..read more

I recently released a Reel on Instagram of our two boys sword fighting.  It was under the premise that I usually discourage our boys from fighting, yet I encouraged them to fight with swords and targets on their bodies.   As I watched the videos back, I very easily recognized the difference in fighting styles between the older and younger son.  One was more reserved and calculating, while the other simply berserked his attacks with no interest in hitting the target.   Correlating these behaviors to every day life, it was easy to deduce the differences in our boys and how ..read more

I didn't want to record this episode.  I had a completely different episode planned for this week.   However, we are now 1-2 weeks out from school starting for our kids and this thing we call Monkey Pox is becoming a hot topic.  How Hot, you may ask?  The WHO (World Health Organization) has just deemed to to be a Global Health Emergency.  They don't use those words lightly.   Here in the United States we are starting to see more and more cases of this spreading.  As kids plan to get back to school, the thought of small hands touching many surfaces continues ..read more

In the medical community the term "Imposter Syndrome" has become very popular.  The concept began back in the 1970s by Drs. Clance and Imes.  They met with many high accomplished academics, admins, and students who felt their accomplishments were not their own and were, in a lack of a better term, frauds.  This idea of being an imposter as grown exponentially in the physician community.  In fact, some studies show the rate of physician imposter syndrome to be close to 60%.  I personally blame the COVID era for this statistic, as we have seen the social media community ..read more

When was the last family vacation you took?  Was it memorable?  Enjoyable?  Full of stress and frustration? Many of us as parents recognize that family vacations are not always truly "vacations."  Sometimes stressing over travel, food choices, sleep schedules, tantrums, or simply picking what to do when we get to our destination can lead to less-than-desirable memories.   Last month my family and I traveled to North Carolina to spend a week at the beach with my parents, siblings, and nieces.  This involved air travel and spending time in the airport (not a fun s ..read more

We are BACK! Last month I decided to take time away from the podcast and focus more on myself and my family.  As the month of June is designated as Men's Health Month, I felt it was poignant to give more attention to my physical and mental health when it comes to being a father, husband, and physician. But now I am back in the podcast chair and ready to roll.  A lot happened in the month of June and I am excited to share it all with you!  I feel the best way to first summarize the month is to talk about the Top 5 Things I Learned this month.  These were 1) One child is e ..read more