medical students
Black Clouds
by Alyssa Brown “You won’t see much with Dr. C on call this weekend because he’s a white cloud,” mumbled my attending. I immediately asked what he meant. He gave me a withering look, like he always did when I asked too many questions, and went on to explain that a white cloud was a doctor to whom nothing bad or crazy ever happens while they are on call. He stopped walking, turned around looked me in the eye and said, “We are black clouds.” I was only three months into my third year, and I had already seen six patients die. I had never been called a black cloud, but it immediately stuck. Wherever I went on rotation, trouble and patients seemed to follow. On one particularly crazy night on Labor and Delivery, they finally sent me home after the sixth C-section in a row. We didn’t talk much...
The Importance of Mentorship and Experiences
By Fabiola Valenzuela As one of the winners of an essay contest held by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine (https://www.utrgv.edu/school-of-medicine/) Surgery Department and Interest group, I was given the opportunity to attend the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) annual conference and American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress. Attending the ACS Clinical Congress and AWS annual conference was a very rewarding experience for me. It was my first time attending a surgical conference, which provided exposure to various surgical specialties, and encouraged and empowered women to pursue a career in surgery Moreover, I was exposed to panels ranging from novel research findings to presentations regarding clinical experiences and surgical techniques. I was surprised to see the wide variety of topics that were discussed including ethics and how to deal with medical error and resilience. Among so many different sessions, a few that most captivated me...
Becoming a Woman in Surgery
by Rachel Salinas Becoming a surgeon is an intimidating endeavor. The moment I said it out loud, people would comment on how hard the hours are, how mentally and emotionally exhausting this career is, and they would always encourage me to research other specialties. For a Hispanic female, it just felt as though the world was saying “Don’t do it”. I constantly second guessed the path that felt so right for me from the beginning of my venture into medicine. In August of this year, I received an email about an essay contest being held by my institution.The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine Surgical Interest Group held a contest in which winners would be awarded support to attend the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) 2018 Annual Conference held in Boston. I jumped at the opportunity because I have never had the resources to travel to Boston...
Top Tips for Surgical Interviews – an AWS Tweetchat Summary
by Camila Guetter On September 17th, the AWS Twitter Committee in partnership with the AWS National Medical Student Committee hosted another extremely successful #AWSchat tweetchat to discuss Surgical Interview Tips. The tweetchat focused on important aspects of interviews for medical students seeking a surgical residency including how to ask essential questions about residency programs, navigate personal questions, and ensure you are communicating who you are throughout the interview experience. We would like to thank all of our AWS members and followers - faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students - that participated in this tweetchat using the hashtags #AWSchat and #SurgInterviewTips. We appreciate all your comments and all the tips you have shared with our current and future applicants! In addition, we would like to state our appreciation for this tweetchat moderadors: Sareh Parangi (@SarehParangiMD), Professor of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and president-elect of AWS Justin Dimick (@jdimick1), Division Chief...
Do you dare to be you?
By Dr. Jaime D. Lewis Do you dare to be you? Have you taken a chance on yourself to live out your dreams? To be true to the voices inside your heart? When was the last time you truly failed? And you truly flew? Who supports you when you take on the cynics? And believes every word that you say? Where do you land when you fall? And who picks you up when you can no longer walk? Who raises you up to celebrate your victories? And who helps you face defeat without losing heart? As women in medicine, it can be difficult to expose our true selves and risk the consequences. We want to point out the inequities, but not be seen as unworthy. We are challenged to lean in, but fear that we might lean in too far. We want to share our stories, but we aren’t sure...
What Interviewers Don’t Say
AWS National Medical Student Committee Tweetchat September 17, 2018 8 PM EST By Shree Agrawal Congratulations! You have finished your third year of medical school, and hopefully you are nearing the end of acting internships at your home and away programs! The long road of ever-changing clinical clerkships is coming to a finish line. As September 15th approaches, the next steps include synthesizing your journey up to this point and presenting yourself as a polished residency applicant to your field of choice. While the match and interview processes have evolved over time, common themes are expected. Next week, in our Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) National Medical Student Committee tweetchat, we approach the interview process, focusing on how to ask essential questions about residency programs, navigate personal questions, and ensure you are communicating who you are throughout the interview experience. As more women enter surgical subspecialty residencies, the number of...
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...
The Transition: Adding to the Picture of Surgical Care in India
My fourth trip to Nanakpur but my first in a hospital setting. We had five cases posted for the day: open inguinal hernia repair; open cholecystectomy; renal stone removal; bladder stone removal; and diagnostic cystoscopy. The surgeon arrived at 9 AM, asked for the list of patients and began to order the cases based on complexity and tool requirements. This was different from the U.S. where elective cases were scheduled for a time slot. The first patient was already in the OR getting prepped but the anesthetist was unable to gain access. Instead of using an ultrasound to find the vessel, the anesthetist told the patient to to return after two of the other cases. The surgeon had to complete all 5 cases before the staff left at 2 PM and did not have the luxury of time. We moved on. The next patient walked himself to the table and...
Balancing Act: Not Letting The #GymGrind Grind You Down
The Santa Hustle Half Marathon on a chilly, windy Galveston day in December 2016 “Everything in moderation” is one of those phrases we all toss around when it comes to nutrition and wellness. For me, it was one of my mother’s broken-record-phrases that she applied to everything from exercise to broccoli to peanut butter (gasp, I know). Long before mind-body wellness and balance were hip themes for marketing fitness products, they were core values that my parents prioritized in our family. As I considered our blog themes for this month-Mental Health Awareness and National Physical Fitness & Sports Month- I began to realize the intricate relationship the two have, especially in my life. I’ve always been an athlete, from tee ball to high school track & cross country, to college intramurals (with just a few championships along the way). Sports have always been an outlet for...
Sati’s Surgery: An Exploration of a Surgeon’s Vulnerability Through Kuchipudi Dance
In Greek mythology, Chiron, the master of the healing arts, suffered an incurable wound from Hercules’s arrow. Carl Jung referenced the centaur’s fate when he developed his famous “wounded healer” archetype, using Chiron as his inspiration for understanding how one’s own pain drives our desire to heal others. It was during my surgery rotation that I began to understand the impact of this shared vulnerability on both patient and physician. A small, thin incision was drawn across the patient’s neck. I watched from behind the patient’s head, retractor carefully held in place as the thyroid slowly came into view. Four hands worked seamlessly, dissecting away the tissue holding the organ in place. Suddenly, the blood started to pool. There was some whispering from the surgeons: Why is she bleeding so heavily? The two surgeons peered in closer. The culprit was a bleeding vessel which gave everyone a sense of relief...
