By Carolina Torres Perez-Iglesias International Medical Graduates (IMGs) currently make up 25% of all licensed physicians in the United States and a fifth of all first-year residency positions annual...
Blog
Even Shame Has Its Limits
Christina Georgeades, MD “You mean every day should be shame day.” I was walking behind two of my co-residents the last month of my intern year when I heard the hurtful comment. It was Pride mon...
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Straight People Problems
By Dr. Elinore Kaufman “Don’t worry, I still wear make-up every day.” A surgical resident was assigned to talk to our group of medical students about being a woman in surgery—the first of m...
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The Identities We Choose
By: Heather Wachtel, MD Growing up in Vermont, I had one person who looked like me – my sister. The children of a first generation Cantonese immigrant and a second generation Russian Jew, we loved...
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Finding Myself: A Korean-American Adoptee’s Reflections on Identity, Loss, and Purpose
By: Elizabeth Lilley, MD, MPH Many people are surprised to learn that I am both a surgeon and a palliative care doctor. Although the number of surgeons pursuing fellowship training in palliative care...
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Diversify Ourselves
By Dr. Chantal Reyna How well would you handle not being able to perform surgery anymore? The real question is “How much of your identity is based on being a surgeon?” We tend to define ourselves...
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Creating an Inclusive Surgical Community: Association of Out Surgeons & Allies
When I was asked to write a piece describing who the Association of Out Surgeons & Allies (AOSA https://www.outsurgeons.org/) is for the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) blog, I paused. I hesi...
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What does being a surgical patient with limited English proficiency in the U.S. look like?
By Gabriela Brandão, MD Have you imagined yourself under the surgeon's knife? It might be a terrifying circumstance even for us, right? Now, can you imagine yourself under the surgeon's knife but in...
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The Same but Different
By Priya Dedhia, MD, PhD Emily was one of my first friends when I started as an attending surgeon. It was like we were destined to be friends—during the shutdown in March 2020, Emily texted me when...
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All the Unsaid things: Perspectives from Asian American Women in Surgery
By Annabelle Fonseca I was invited to write a perspective piece on being an Asian woman in surgery in honor of Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage month. Given the diversity of the Asian Ameri...