Month: July 2019
Residents as Teachers: Shaping the Doctors of Tomorrow
By Jane Zhao, MD, MS It’s July, which means that around the country, it’s the beginning of the academic year for medical students and surgical residents. My brand new third year medical student finally became comfortable enough to confide in me, “I chose to rotate through surgery first to get it out of the way, and I’m enjoying this experience far more than I realized. I think I want to do surgery.” I will not lie. It’s a point of personal pride every time I have a student rotate through surgery with me and successfully convince him/her to legitimately consider pursuing surgery as a career. I sincerely believe that part of being excited about surgery is being involved. Part of being involved is being invited to participate. My favorite rotations as a medical student were the ones where I was included in the resident text thread or where I held...
Paging all interns – Tips for excelling during surgical intern year
By Mariela R. Martinez Rivera Photo taken by me during my first month of intern year. July 1st is finally here and with it, the beginning of your surgical training. Now is when things get real! Last July 1st, was my first week of residency and I walked into the hospital for the first time eager to start this new stage in my life. Little did I know that soon I would be getting lost in the hospital floors, trying to decipher a new EMR system, and acknowledging that when nurses said: “Dr. Martinez” they were referring to me. The transition from medical student to physician happens exceedingly quickly and adapting to your new role as a first year surgical resident can become challenging. Here are some tips to make the best out of your intern year: 1. Get to know the territory. During the first year of surgical training,...
From #MeToo to #TimesUp in Healthcare: The Dawn of A New Era
By Apoorve Nayyar MBBS and Kristalyn K. Gallagher DO FACS FACOS The #MeToo movement, with its growing visibility over the last year, has brought to the forefront the near ubiquitous prevalence of sexual harassment across industries, and healthcare is by no ways immune to inappropriate behavior. The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) reported the prevalence of sexual harassment experienced by women in medicine to be highest within the STEM fields. For surgeons the prevalence may be higher, with studies suggesting that 20%-60% of women surgeons experience sexual harassment. On Twitter, the hashtag #MeTooMedicine resonated with thousands of members of the healthcare workforce, with physicians, trainees, nurses and ancillary staff all describing their personal experiences of sexual harassment. From lewd comments, inappropriate physical contact, and sexual advances to outright sexual assault, these accounts have shed a light on the dark underbelly of healthcare – existing for decades yet...
Latino Surgical Society’s 1st Surgical Symposium on Latino Health – Reflections on a Diverse Conference
By Danilea M. Carmona Matos Recently, I attended the Latino Surgical Society’s (LSS) 1st Surgical Symposium on Latino Health held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was delighted with the idea of going back home to an event led by a group of surgeons whom I have previously had the honor of meeting throughout different conferences (e.g. Latino Medical Student Association, Academic Surgical Congress). Group Picture at LSS Surgical Symposium on Latino Health The symposium was very well-rounded with surgeons from mainland US and Puerto Rico sharing important knowledge on topics such as career development, surgical advancements, health policy and leadership in surgery. Career development tips and tricks surely are important for aspiring medical students, residents and young faculty as they try to navigate their road to success. What made the LSS’s take on this so special? “Latino students have the highest dropout rate from health care professions mainly due...
Racing back to work
By Bethany Harvey But, what about FMLA? That is the common response I receive when friends and family ask why I am working on formalizing a maternity/paternity leave and lactation guidelines for my residency program. Inspired by the work by Dr. Sarah Shubeck and Dr. Arielle Kanters at University of Michigan and with a now 55% female residency program; frequent AWS blogger and co-resident Dr. Jane Zhao and I decided that a formal policy was overdue. FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Unfortunately, most surgical residents are unable to access even half of that time. A recent study by Rangel et al. surveyed 347 female surgeons who had had...