Month: June 2018
What is the surgeon’s role in preventing gun violence?
During my pediatric surgery rotation, I distinctly remember taking care of a teenage girl who presented with a thoracic cord transsection and paraplegia after a drive-by shooting; she had previously lost both her parents to gun violence as well. It was disheartening to watch someone so young lose so much. In honor of National Safety Month, I have decided to devote this blog to a topic surgeons are unfortunately well familiar with: gun violence. On average, 96 Americans, including 7 children/teens, are killed with guns each day, and the numbers increase each year in the United States (US). Compared to other high-income countries, the US has 25.2 times more firearm related deaths. As surgeons, we are ready to respond with medical and surgical resources once gun violence victims enter our ED doors. However, we are limited with medicine/surgery alone to combat the detrimental effects of gun violence, as exemplified by...
Dear Pat responds to “Please Call Me Doctor”
Dear Pat, I am a junior general surgery resident rotating at a new hospital. No matter if I’m wearing my badge which says MD in large letters or my white coat which also says MD on it, patients and staff continue to call me by my first name. I didn’t mind at first, but then I overheard the staff tell the patient that I would be coming in to evaluate them and referenced me by my first name to the patient. I understand I am a resident, but the male residents seem to be called doctor more often. I’m not sure how to politely address this issue. Don’t I deserve to be called doctor too? Sincerely, Please Call Me Doctor For this month’s #DearPat, AWS Council Member Dr. Marie Crandall shares her strategies in response to “Please Call Me Doctor.” Dear Please Call Me Doctor, This can be a really...
An Intern’s Advice on Thriving through Fourth Year
As I was entering my last year of medical school, I did not feel like I had a good source of information for navigating the demands fourth year, so I decided to write this post in hopes of providing my advice on how to be successful as a female medical student entering surgery. I have attempted to touch on all aspects of fourth year from away rotations to ERAS to interviews. I have also attempted to stress the importance of staying true to yourself as you conquer the exciting, yet challenging, year ahead of you. Define your role. Be straightforward in asking what is expected of you. Rotations as a fourth year student can be frustrating because you’re dying to show that you can take on more responsibility, but you’re limited by what you can do as a medical student. Try to see the positive in getting to focus on...
Summertime Safety
As a trauma surgeon, there are days of the year that we know will be busy calls. New Year’s Eve, Halloween, and the upcoming Fourth of July. It’s a good reminder that we all need to be safe and keep our loved ones safe over the summer. It’s also a good reminder that no matter what kind of physician or surgeon you are, you have a unique opportunity to bring messages of safety to your patients. As healthcare practitioners, the respect we get from the public and the position we have at anchor institutions in our communities puts us in the position of being able to spread public health messaging. For me, this includes safety messaging, but even if you’re not a trauma surgeon, take the opportunity to say, “Hey, it’s warm out. Don’t forget to be safe at the pool and to wear a bike helmet.” Or, print off...
The AWS Coaching Project
When I started my residency 7 years ago, not many people talked about physician depression, suicide, or burnout. It was like a dirty word, there, but hidden beneath the surface as many suffered silently. In the past few years, however, the topic of physician burnout has reached the forefront. It is hard to open twitter or even top medical journals without seeing a new article related to physician burnout. Burnout is defined as “feelings of emotional fatigue, cynicism and poor self-efficacy secondary to occupational stress”. Recent studies have shown high rates of burnout in surgery residents, up to 69% in one study 1, with higher rates in women. The drivers of burnout in women surgery residents may be different compared to their male colleagues and include gender bias, work-life balance stressors, and a challenge in finding effective mentorship in a field that is still lagging in promoting women to leadership...