Zeke McKinney, MD, MHI, MPH

This was spotted on the UIUC campus in 2001...👀

7: It's warm today. Probably next month we can start biking a lot!
Me: Your sister (13) is actually going biking today.
7: You aren't worried about the roads?
Me: Nah. The roads are pretty clear. I'm not worried about snow and ice.
7: You ARE worried about ice. If you know what I mean.

👀 😬

Time to re-up this bad boy.

There are many ways to protest. Choose your own adventure. From the nurses' strike, to whistles and human chains, to noise parades and destruction of property, no one way alone is more or less effective.

It takes all kinds.

See also: beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/tactic

So true 😁

Drinking water and getting some sleep 😅

Ibuprofen is not bad too...

My arm hurts but I could deal with that. I felt pretty crummy in the afternoon, but it's worth it 🤷🏽‍♂️

Yay COVID and flu vaccines! Take care of yourself and others!!

So doctors (or all clinicians) - don't forget to take care of yourself!!

P.S. IHI added a fifth aim, now the Quintuple Aim -- health equity.

Ten years later (~2017; after my residency), the Triple Aim expanded to the Quadruple Aim, including improving clinician well-being (health, joy of work, etc.).

How can someone care for others when they are not caring for their self?

The good news is that this isn't a new or unconsidered issue.

Does everyone remember the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Triple Aim (improving cost, improving quality, improving experience) -- circa 2007? [I was in medical school then.]

TL;DR - doctors don't take enough care of themselves as a function of unspoken expectations and ultimately prioritizing taking care of their patients and succeeding in their training/career.

Unlearning Medicine’s Unhealthy ‘Hidden Curriculum’ Many doctors adopt damaging lifestyle ‘survival skills’ during residency and keep them for years. Here’s how to spot — and finally break — habits of self-neglect.

Interesting @medscape.com article today regarding #PhysicianWellness in the context of the #HiddenCurriculum.

Pretty near and dear to my heart as an #OccEnvMed physician.

www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

What to know about air quality alerts and how to protect your health Wildfires in Canada are impacting the skies over Minnesota. Here’s what to know when an air quality alert is issued and how to stay healthy amid smoky skies and unhealthy air.

Minnesota currently has a statewide air quality alert due to Canadian wildfire smoke. What can you do about it? See this great @mprnews.org story about it!

Full disclosure - they quote me from 2023 and I still agree with what I said then 😅

www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...

NIH director is replacing his top outside advisory board Some worry new members of the long-running Advisory Committee to the Director will mirror agency chief Jay Bhattacharya’s views

RFK Jr. and his toady Jay Bhattacharya have just dismantled the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director, an outside group of advisors who provide guidance on a range of topics.

They will be likely be replaced with another layer of toadies. Toadies all the way down.

Let’s talk about Covid myths!! I’ll provide sources on these so you can look at the info yourself.

First big myth: getting the initial vax series gave you permanent immunity!
Nnoooooope! Six months out, the protection wanes to 20%

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

An Exceptional Ozone Episode in August 2003 A large pollution event in Summer 2003

I keep reading heat preparation materials that don't mention how heat affects air quality.

One of the best learning resources I've seen on this is the Met Office's case study of the ozone event that was part of the August 2003 heatwave.

storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/eab2...

A checklist for designing and improving the visualization of scientific data Nature Cell Biology - Creating clear and engaging scientific figures is crucial to communicate complex data. In this Comment, I condense principles from design, visual perception and data...

I gave in! After students asking for it, I now made a simple figure design checklist.
To help all scientists w/o graphic skills create clear, accessible, and truthful charts!
-> Out in @nature Cell Biology: rdcu.be/erwl4

#DataVisualization #PhD #SciComm

Thx for review @bethcimini.bsky.social + 2

"The closure of these residency programs translates to "a reduced pipeline of trained occupational health and safety professionals" and "will impair the ability of academic centers to train OEM physicians to maintain and improve the health, safety, and productivity of workers in the United States".

AMA Delegates Debate How Much Its Leaders Should Publicly Oppose Trump Actions A hammer or a wrench? New AMA president says response strategy can vary

NIOSH funding cuts and impacts on Occ. and Env. Med. #OccEnvMed residency training discussed at AMA House of Delegates! #medsky

www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcover...

"The researchers found that, on average, it costs Medicaid $179,000 to save a year of life ... less than the combined public and private spending on interventions like safety inspections for cars or the removal of asbestos from buildings"

As Congress Debates Cutting Medicaid, a Major Study Shows It Saves Lives

#Medicaid Matters & SAVES LIVES

"The expansion of Medicaid has saved more than 27,000 lives since 2010, according to the most definitive study yet on the program’s health effects...deaths fell not only among older enrollees but also among those in their 20s and 30s"

YouTube video by Nathan Chomilo The harm of #Medicaid churn & how to help keep people covered & healthy

Congress is pushing 6-month #Medicaid checks—fueling #churn that cuts coverage for families. It raises costs, worsens health, & hits Black, Indigenous & Latine communities hardest.

MN shows what works: continuous coverage. We shouldn’t go backward.

#KeepFamiliesCovered #MedSky #StopTheCuts

Thanks for sharing! I have no experience with EAT yet but I should look into it more.

@qdurandmoreau.bsky.social - I assume you are/were not at #AOHC2025? I thought this might be the year for us to meet in person! Then again, I also cannot fault anyone for hesitating to travel to the US at this point... 😅😭

Thanks!! Dr. Blackstock is a legend on this stuff!! ✊🏾🖤

Zeke McKinney selfie, standing in front of an AOHC 2025 sign.

Like this 😃

You know, folks are wondering why I'm always wearing a shirt and tie in work settings... 👀

Dr. John Clarke on stage presenting at AOHC 2025. The backs of heads of attendees are seen in the foreground.

Great opening talk by Dr. John Clarke at #AOHC2025 on implicit bias! He's the Medical Director for Occ. Med. at @astrazeneca.bsky.social. Implicit bias is so critical in medicine, not only in terms of taking care of our patients, but also in how we (esp. Black physicians) present ourselves. 🩺✊🏾

Selfie of Zeke McKinney with many people sitting at tables in the background with an unreadable (at this distance) PowerPoint slide projected on the far side of the room.

First day of #AOHC2025 at the ACOEM House of Delegates meeting! 💚👍🏾

Yes! At least still the same project I mentioned before, which is relevant in the contemporary political environment and there are some funding opportunities that aren't reliant on the federal government. Thank you so much for everything you do! And for being patient with me 😅