Myth Buster: Don’t Panic Over One Frickin’ Study

Melatonin made headlines again this week—this time for supposedly increasing the risk of heart failure by 90 percent.

Cue the panic, the clickbait, and the sudden flood of patients ready to toss every bottle of sleep aid into the trash.

Let’s slow down.

Science Doesn’t Work on Panic

Real science isn’t built on a single data dump. It’s built on reproducibility—different teams, different patients, same results.
One study—no matter how big—only raises a question. It doesn’t answer it.

The research making the rounds came from an observational look at 130,000 people with insomnia.
The folks taking melatonin long-term seemed more likely to develop heart failure.
Interesting? Yes.
Proof? Nope.

They weren’t randomized.
They already had insomnia (a known heart-risk condition).
We don’t know their doses, their over-the-counter brands, or how accurate their medical coding was.

In other words, this study says, “Hey, we noticed something weird. Somebody should check this out.”
That’s how science starts—not how it ends.

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How This Should Actually Change Behavior

If you pop melatonin occasionally to reset after night shifts or travel, this isn’t your cue to panic.
If you’ve been taking 10 mg every night for years, maybe talk with your doc about whether you still need it.
Use data as information, not as doom.

The smarter takeaway is balance:

• Don’t treat any supplement like candy.

• Don’t assume “natural” equals “harmless.”

• And don’t change meds or supplements because of a single headline.

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What To Do Instead

• Talk to your provider before stopping or starting anything.

• Stay curious, not fearful. Ask why the data might look that way.

• Watch for follow-ups. If three or four future studies confirm the same link, then we have something real to chew on.

Until then, melatonin is still what it always was: a hormone your body already makes, sometimes helpful, sometimes over-used, rarely catastrophic.

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Bottom Line

Don’t stop taking melatonin—or any medication—because of one frickin’ study.
Science isn’t a headline. It’s a process.

Breathe. Sleep. Question everything—but don’t overreact.book

I write this and I don't even take Melatonin. Still, I'm smart enough to know that one study is not science. People tried to pull that tone on us during Covid, where one study showed masked present COVID, whan all it showed was that it reduced your risk for COVID a few percentage points. Be careful what you read. 

Live Like It Matters

Tonight, I listened to Erika Kirk, wife of Charlie Kirk, give a powerful speech about faith, courage, and purpose. Her message stuck with me, and here’s the crux of what she said — in my own words.

“They will be known by the boldness of their faith.”

How do you become courageous?
Ask yourself three questions every day:

1. What is something I can do for someone today?

2. What is something I can do to add value to the world today?

3. How can I honor God today?

You only get one life — this one.

(Tempit fugit, momento mori. Time flies. Remember, you will die. My addition here. But that's what she was referring to). 

So live like it matters.

God created you for greatness — not for something lifeless.

Greatness isn’t about how long you live; it’s about what you do with the life the Lord has blessed you with.

When you get to the end of your life, will the Lord be proud of what you stood for?
Will you be able to say you fought the good fight — that you used your time for something that mattered?
Or will you realize you wasted the precious time God gave you chasing after things that never did?

Hold that in perspective.

Stand up for truth. Defend life. Love your family fearlessly. Love this country and defend her.
Serve our God — boldly and unapologetically.

And don’t think it’s someone else’s role to do it.
It’s yours.

You do it.

Do it for the ones who will follow.

Do it for your family.

Do it for Charlie.

Erika’s words were a reminder that faith, courage, and conviction begin not with speeches or politics, but with action — one person, one choice, one day at a time.

You only get one life.

Live like it matters.

A Conversation About What’s Happened to Our Cities

It was a slow afternoon at the hospital when one of my regular patients started talking politics — not in a combative way, just matter-of-fact. He shook his head and said, “You ever notice how all these cities run by Democrats — San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit — are falling apart?”

I smiled. “I’ve noticed. And yet somehow, it’s always the Republicans’ fault.”

He laughed, but it was the kind of laugh people use when they’re tired of pretending things are okay. “Yeah,” he said. “Fifty years of the same leadership, and they still act like somebody else did it.”

We talked about it for a while — about how San Francisco used to be one of the most beautiful cities in the country, now buried under crime and addiction. How Chicago can’t seem to get a handle on violence. How Detroit, once the symbol of American industry, has never fully recovered.

He wasn’t ranting, just observing. “I don’t understand,” he said. “People keep voting for the same party, even though everything keeps getting worse.”

“Maybe they’re afraid to change,” I said. “Or maybe they keep believing it’ll finally work this time.”

Many people are drawn to socialism’s promises — equality, fairness, and security — not necessarily its track record. It sounds compassionate, even noble. But history shows it rarely delivers what it promises. That’s the thing about ideas that sound good on paper — they can crumble fast when real people get involved.

He nodded. “That’s what’s sad about it. It’s like watching someone stay in a bad relationship because they remember how it used to be.”

We both sat quietly for a second. Politics aside, we agreed on something bigger — that the people in those cities deserve better. That leaders, no matter their party, should be judged on results, not slogans.

As I left the room, he called after me, “You know, you should write that down.”

So here it is — a simple conversation between two people who care about what’s happening to our country, and wonder why common sense seems to be the one thing nobody’s voting for anymore.s://www.facebook.com/John Bottrell's Facebook

Annual Compliance Training: From Safety to Theater

The first year I sat through annual compliance training, I actually thought it mattered. Fire safety? Sure, I’ll pay attention. HIPAA? Good to know. Hand hygiene, patient rights, infection control — all important things. I took notes, stayed awake, and felt like I was learning something.

The second year, déjà vu. Same slides. Same narrator. Same quiz. Okay, still worth a refresher.

By the fifth year, I realized it never changes. Same script, same questions, same “check the box” exercise. That’s when I figured it out — this isn’t about learning, it’s about paperwork.

By year ten, it had turned into a game with my coworkers. Who could finish the fastest? Who could pass the quiz without even glancing at the material? Gone were the days of taking it seriously — now it was bragging rights in the breakroom.

These days, it’s videos on mute, quizzes answered from memory (or with AI), and compliance complete in a fraction of the time. Fully compliant, fully absurd.

Believe it or not, this didn’t start as a joke. Over the past 30+ years, federal and state regulators started requiring proof that healthcare workers were trained in specific areas. OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (1991) requires annual training for anyone at risk of exposure to blood. HIPAA’s Privacy Rule (1996, enforced in 2003) requires training on patient privacy and data protection, though not specifically annual — hospitals made it yearly to cover themselves. The Joint Commission has long required education on infection control, patient safety, and workplace violence. CMS has Conditions of Participation that push hospitals to prove staff competency and education. Over time, hospitals added more and more modules — partly for safety, partly for liability. Then COVID hit, and it all doubled down.

In Michigan, Governor Whitmer in 2020 added mandatory implicit bias training for healthcare workers, followed by gender sensitivity modules. That’s when it became a running joke for many of us. The bias training basically assumed you were guilty until proven innocent. The gender module even locked me out unless I answered that there were “many genders.” It had nothing to do with safety. Nothing to do with patient care. Just more clicking boxes to make someone in an office happy.

On paper, the point is good: make sure workers know safety procedures, protect patients, and keep up standards. In reality, the repetition makes everyone tune out. The very rules meant to protect us are so overdone that people lie, rush, and game the system just to get it over with. And sometimes, it really does feel like this is just busywork — something created to justify someone’s job in an office. My boss says that’s not true. Maybe he’s right. But it sure feels like it.

Look, it’s not the admin’s fault. It’s not even the hospital’s fault we have to sit through this every year. The push comes from higher up. So no blame here goes to the hospital. Still, you’d think they could do a better job of lobbying for a smarter system. Right?

Here’s a thought: instead of every year, why not every two? Or better yet, every five? That way, when training rolled around, people might actually take it seriously. They’d pay attention. It wouldn’t just fade into background noise. The truth is, annual compliance doesn’t make us safer—it just makes us better at hitting mute. Or here’s another idea: pay us. Bring us in on a day off and pay time and a half. Money talks.

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Sources

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030. (1991, requires annual training)

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. HIPAA Privacy Rule. (1996, training required but frequency left to institutions)

• The Joint Commission. Hospital Accreditation Standards. (requires ongoing training in safety and infection control)

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Conditions of Participation for Hospitals.

• State of Michigan. Public Act 30 of 2021. (Governor Whitmer’s mandate for implicit bias training in healthcare)

The Evolution of Annual Fit Testing

Sweating like a turkey in a sauna box.
Just say you don’t smell a thing — perfect fit.

The first year I did a fit test, I took it serious. Hood goes on, they spray the sweet or bitter stuff, I’m focused, I want to make sure this mask seals. Okay, I get it.

Second year, same thing. Still paying attention, still trying to do it right.

By the fifth year I’m looking around thinking… this is the exact same test, the exact same video, the exact same instructions. And I’ve got decades of this ahead of me?

By year six and beyond, it’s a different game. Hood goes on, I’m sweating like crazy, and the only thing I want is to get it over with. Do I smell anything? Nope, not a thing. Let’s move on. Videos go on mute. Quizzes get answered out of habit. Compliance box checked. Done.

What’s funny is the rule for annual testing isn’t new. OSHA wrote that in back in the 1990s. But before COVID, most places just did it once in a while — at hire, or when you changed mask models. And honestly, that worked fine. People took it seriously enough to make sure they had a good seal.

Then COVID hit. Suddenly, N95s were everywhere. Supply chains were a mess. One week you had 3M, the next week you had some no-name brand. Regulators cracked down, hospitals panicked, and the “annual” rule went from something loosely followed to something enforced to the letter. And what happens when you push people too hard? They stop caring.

It’s the same as annual compliance training. The first time you pay attention. The tenth time, you’ve got it muted and you’re just clicking through. If there’s a quiz, you know the answers already. Some people even have AI do it now. Everyone knows it, nobody admits it, and nobody’s actually learning.

Same with masks. We went from making sure they sealed properly to faking our way through because the process is miserable. Too hot, too repetitive, too pointless. People lie. People rush. And half the time, staff just end up wearing surgical masks anyway because N95s are uncomfortable.

And then there’s the gowns and gloves. They throw those at us for viruses like flu and COVID, when those are airborne. It doesn’t even line up with the science. It’s theater. Looks good for the inspectors, makes the paperwork shine, but it doesn’t actually change the way things happen on the floor.

I’ll give it this: those first couple of years, we all wanted to do it right. We wanted that mask sealed, and we wanted to feel safe. But by year five, and definitely by year forty, the truth sinks in. It’s not about the mask. It’s about the paperwork. And that’s why nobody takes it seriously anymore.

Solution: Let's compromise and do it every five years. 

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Sources

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Respiratory Protection Standard 1910.134 (requires annual fit testing). osha.gov

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NIOSH: Fit Testing of Filtering Facepiece Respirators. cdc.gov

• Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). Respiratory Protection Program Guidelines. Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity.

• Brosseau, Lisa M. and Sietsema, Margaret. “Commentary: Should Healthcare Workers Use N95 Masks Year After Year?” CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy), University of Minnesota, 2020.

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Chapter 2

Brothers and Baseball

“Hey, Lance, you coming outside?” Bobby called from the front porch, tossing a baseball in the air.

Lance looked up from his notebook, where he’d been sketching strange shapes and symbols. The warm summer air drifted in through the cracked window, carrying the smell of fresh-cut grass and faint exhaust from the highway.

“Not now,” Lance muttered, adjusting his glasses.

“Come on! David’s waiting.” Bobby was older by a year and more confident — he had the easy smile and the strong hands that made him a natural leader.

David appeared behind Bobby, grinning wide. “We need you, man. You’re our secret weapon.”

Lance sighed but stood, slipping his white Alupent inhaler into his pocket before following them out. The warm air made his chest tighten, but he didn’t say anything.

Outside, the sun warmed the cracked driveway. Bobby tossed the ball to David, who caught it easily. Lance felt the inhaler press against his leg — it made him feel safer, like a tiny shield no one could see.

“So, you believe in that radio stuff?” David teased, nudging Lance’s shoulder.

“I do,” Lance said, eyes serious. “I think there’s something out there listening. I just have to figure out how to talk to it right.”

“Sounds crazy,” David laughed, but there was no real mockery in his voice.

Bobby threw the ball to Lance. “Crazy or not, you’ve got heart. Let’s see what you can do.”

Lance caught the ball clumsily but smiled. For a moment, he forgot about the chip behind his ear, the whispers at night, and the dreams he couldn’t quite explain.

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Trump’s Welfare Changes: Not Cuts — Just Getting Rid of Fraud and Abuse

A lot of fear-mongering

The other day, a patient’s mom asked me point blank: “How do you think Trump’s welfare cuts are going to affect hospitals?”

It’s a fair question — and there’s a lot of fear and spin about this right now. So let’s break it down.

First, it’s not really a cut in the way people think. The bill she’s talking about — officially called Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) — just passed Congress and is heading to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

The goal of OBBB is simple: get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse in programs like Medicare and welfare. By law, people here illegally don’t qualify for Medicare or many welfare benefits — but loopholes and lax enforcement have let some slip through the cracks. That’s taxpayer money that shouldn’t have been spent in the first place.

So, how will this affect hospitals?

Not much — because hospitals can’t refuse emergency care, no matter who you are. If someone was on Medicare fraudulently and loses it, that care shouldn’t have been covered by Medicare anyway. So hospitals won’t lose legitimate funding — they’ll just stop getting checks for people who shouldn’t have been on the rolls.

Will some of these people still show up for care, uninsured? Yes — but hospitals already handle that. The impact is likely to be small compared to the savings for taxpayers.

What about people with real needs — like disabled kids?

The mom told me her son has cerebral palsy and needs a lot of care. She was afraid he’d lose coverage. The truth is: kids like her son do qualify. He’s not the problem. He’s not fraud. No one is pushing kids like him — or grandma — off the edge.

OBBB is about keeping the safety net strong for the people who truly need it, by plugging the leaks so money doesn’t get wasted on fraud and loopholes.

Bottom line:

✅ Hospitals won’t see a big hit.
✅ The trust fund stays protected.
✅ Real patients keep their care.
✅ Taxpayers save money.

There’s a lot of noise about “cuts” — but look closer. Waste and fraud help no one. Fixing them helps everyone who truly depends on these programs stay protected for years to come.