career development
Defining the Resident Role in the Operating Room
In recent years, expectations and requirements for attending supervision of residents in the operating room has increased. This has led to ambiguity for both residents and attendings as to how and when operative autonomy is earned, appropriate, and safe. Another area of uncertainty is when, how, and by whom the resident’s role should be described and explained to the patient. Research in thoracic surgery by Meyerson et al. showed that while trainees’ and attendings’ expectations of resident autonomy did not differ, both groups expected higher levels of autonomy than were observed. The January #AWSchat will explore these issues through facilitated questions led by three distinguished moderators: Dr. Shari Meyerson (@lungteacher), thoracic surgeon and Program Director for the General and Thoracic Surgery Residency Programs at Northwestern, Feinberg School of Medicine Dr. Nell Maloney Patel (@MaloneyNell), AWS member, colorectal surgeon, and General Surgery Residency Program Director at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical...
Why I Joined AWS
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead I have been incredibly blessed in my life. My parents have been, and continue to be amazing role models. One of my Mom’s favorite sayings was, “Always seek and surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. They will stretch your viewpoints of the world.” My dad on the other hand had colorful proverbs and parables to emphasize learning points (I continue to joke with him about writing a book entitled, ‘My Father the Philosopher’). One of his favorites, loosely translated from our local Indian language of Malayalam, was “Beware of continuing to climb up the same coconut tree behind a baboon. Your view will always remain the same.” Diversity is a buzzword these days. There are numerous examples of the power of diversity...
The Ideal Team Player
By Jean Miner, MD In all aspects of our lives, we are members of a “team”. We are members of our family “team” first and then head to school at a young age and are paired off on the playground. Many of us joined teams throughout our lives for sports, debate, math, dance, etc… As we get older, we start to value the importance of teamwork to accomplish goals or projects. Think about the college chemistry lab partners or the members of a committee who helped (or hindered) meet deadlines or complete tasks. As surgeons, we are always members of a team- in the operating room, clinic, and patient wards. Ultimately, in life we belong to numerous teams.Recently, the members of the AWS Clinical Practice Committee (CPC) held a book club discussion using The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni. Our lively discussion quickly turned into a focus on leadership...
So you want to be a Surgeon in the United States? 6 Tips to Succeed as an International Medical Graduate (IMG)
By Sristi Sharma Congratulations! Your ambition of becoming a surgeon in the United States has finally brought you to this country. You have left your family, your life and everything behind to train in an environment that is completely new to you. You know that you have a steep learning curve ahead of you-be it clinical, personal or social. So how do you navigate this new phase of your career? There are unique challenges that come with being an IMG in the States. Here are 6 tips that will help you become the best surgical trainee you can be: Be good…no excellent…at what you do! Know your subject inside out and practice your surgical skills . Challenge yourself to learn more everyday. There is no substitute for hard work, and as a foreign medical graduate you will have to work even harder to prove yourself everyday. Learn the system: Do...
How to Maximize your CV in Medical School
By Faith Robertson The curriculum vitae (loosely translated from Latin as “Course of life”) is a concise overview of your experiences and academic achievements over time. As a medical student, you will often be asked to provide a CV during applications for awards, grants, and scholarships, and on sub-internships for your specialty during 4th year rotations. Starting this document early on, and updating it periodically during your medical school journey, will not only help you prepare for those last minute grant opportunities, but also elucidate where you can continue to improve. The rules for outline style and content are inexact, but we will briefly discuss pertinent points on how to Reorganize, Reevaluate, and Revive your CV. 1. Reorganize Your CV should be easy to read. Period. A study published by The Ladders (2012) tracked the eye movements of 30 professional recruiters as they reviewed job applicant’s resumes and online profiles....
AWS Day of Service 9/9/17
By Simin G. Roward Being a medical student is challenging: between studying, rotations and research, it seems there isn’t enough time for everything. Often, it's easy to lose track of why we chose this profession in the first place. Community service and engagement are put on hold amidst other pressing responsibilities. The goal of the AWS National Day of Service is to designate a day on which medical students from all over the country would come together with residents and attendings and make service to others a priority. The members of AWS are compassionate, humanistic leaders, who chose the field of surgery because of the ability to make lasting improvements in people's health and to provide a vital service to communities. These positive characteristics were exemplified in last year’s AWS National Day of Service event, where students nationwide provided much needed services and donations to their community. These service events...
BLOG for FINDING FRIENDS
By Beth Shaughnessy This lifestyle we have chosen seems to come in 4-5 year runs, Each new phase of training means we may have to pick up and move somewhere else, again. At least until we get that first real job. And with that comes a little loneliness. What if we have never lived there before? What do I do to find a friend? Before I left for my fellowship in Los Angeles, I had lived in Illinois nearly my entire life - and was lucky enough to complete medical school and residency training close to home. I knew NO ONE in California except for my husband. As I started fellowship, he appointed me his social secretary! What to do? The social culture was a bit different in L.A. as compared to Chicago, as compared to Cincinnati where I now live. In California, people tend to live farther away, commuting...
Perception of Personal Success in Burnout
By Shree Agrawal In the preclinical years of medical school, the idea of burnout among healthcare workers is more of an abstract concept. The unique environment of healthcare, regardless of specialty or academic/private practice settings, has been shown to make all healthcare providers vulnerable to burnout.(1)(2) In my observations on clinical rotations, it seems highly successful peers, trainees, and faculty, who may have multiple publications, excellent clinical skills, and a strong work ethic, can also be the same individuals who unexpectedly experience burnout. Interactions with someone who does not realize they may actually be experiencing burnout are challenging, even for individuals who are at the fray of most clinical situations. Some of the key manifestations of burnout include emotional exhaustion, cynicism, depersonalization or isolation, feelings of ineffectiveness, and lack of accomplishment, as shown in Figure 1.(3) Some of these features are difficult to fully notice in brief professional interactions with...
My First Delivery Was My Own: A Medical Student’s Journey into Motherhood
By Grace K DeHoff, MS III I had my first child in November of my 2nd year of medical school. My husband and I tried to plan for a winter break baby but were surprised a little earlier. With plenty of open communication with my school, an unbelievable support system in my husband and my classmates, and more multitasking than I ever knew was possible, I had my child and was able to return to school full time after two weeks off. I was able to make up the missed work over Christmas break. The experience taught me a lot about why so few women decide to have children during medical school. Unfortunately, the alternative to waiting until after residency leaves many women delaying pregnancy to their their late 30s to 40s. Complication rates, infertility and genetic disorders all increase with increasing maternal age. This leaves female physicians with a...
How Medical School Turned Me into a Runner
By Hilary McCrary, MPH Prior to medical school, I considered myself athletic but never a runner. I could not run more than a few miles without an overwhelming sense of discouragement. When I began medical school in 2013, I found myself surrounded by individuals that had been running most of their lives. It was inspiring that people were able to juggle the demands of school and still properly train for a half or full marathon. Before long, I had set my first goal of running a half marathon. This race took place during my second year of medical school, which for me was the most academically challenging year with USMLE Step 1 looming in the distance. I was lucky to have a group of classmates that became my running buddies. We called ourselves the “wolf pack”, meeting after studying to run on the local river path. I found that training...
