Wiinston

I know it’s been a while. You haven’t heard from me in several months. Yes, I have been busy. I will try to communicate more often. First, I want you to know that all is well. Three major, well, time consuming and not ordinary events have occupied my last few months. I have completed two major projects and terminated a third.

Last summer I took extra time off from my clinical work at the Mayo. Planning ahead, I returned to it in the Fall. You will remember I was practicing part time to assist them with their backload of sleep patients. Interestingly to me, patient care is just as rewarding now as it was those years ago when I entered medicine. As they say, “You meet the nicest people.”

Computerization has ruined patient care. No, that is not exactly true. Computers have been a blessing. It is the multiple layers of regulations that are imposed through the computer programs and programmers that the doctor is burdened with completing. Large organizations are constantly modifying their systems to adjust to changing rules and regulations. I find those burdensome and onerous. 

Returning to my patient care this Fall, I found it was clearly time to leave practicing clinical medicine with Mayo.  My last day in September was sad but totally uneventful.  So, I am officially working on my own.  It is unlikely I will return to a clinical practice, but more details will follow and I will post them on the website.

“What about the other two projects?” you might wonder. They are a paper submitted and a book completed. I doubt the paper will have much success being accepted, as it is a consideration for the medical aristocracy suggesting that the AHI be modified by using total sleep time as part of the assessment for obstructive sleep apnea. I expect that I will need to offer it to another two or three journals before it is accepted for publication. Who knows, I might end up having to publish it on my own website which is certainly not the most prestigious thing to do.

And then there is the book, Reflections on Being a Physician. Depending on how I consider it, the project has lasted between three and 45 years. The book was released January 20, 2026. It is a series of essays describing the trials and tribulations I associated with becoming a physician, a series about the business of medicine from a physician’s point of view and lastly, and probably most importantly, my definition or perception of the differences between a physician and a doctor. I will send you a copy. I hope you find it an interesting read. It will be available through the website at a discounted price and available through book stores and online book retailers.  

One point the book stresses is the need for doctors, physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, all of us who are defined as practitioners by our government, to review and recommit ourselves yearly to our oath as a provider.  It is a thought you should consider.

I will get to your other questions on my next note.

RGH SaFa83,29564,2025