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...
by: Anjani H Turaga, IMG The day starts at 5 am on an unusually cold morning in Los Angeles, where we see our protagonist, an IMG (International medical graduate) brushing her teeth furiously, trying...
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...
By Shadin Ghabra, MD As an Arab-American female of Syrian descent, who lived in the Middle East, applying to medical school was a no brainer. I grew up in a household that believed knowledge is the e...
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...
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...
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...
By Olivia Spaulding What is Native American Heritage Month? Every year the month of November is dedicated to celebrating Indigenous Peoples across the United States. It is a celebration of heritage, ...
By Natalia G. Penaloza My latinidad in the context of pursuing a surgical subspecialty has made me both invisible and hyper-visible. As a Latina in an operating room with a thousand moving pieces, fr...
I’m standing in the Trauma Bay with my heart racing, anticipating the arrival of a gunshot wound victim. Although I’m in my fourth year of residency, an incoming trauma activation still feels as ...
