reflection
From Barbies to Blades: Reflections on a Barbie Society
By: Shannon Small “Mommy, so does Barbie have a vagina now?” My 3.5-year-old daughter has been excited to see the Barbie movie since we saw the first preview last summer. So when it came out, we both dressed in our Barbie best and went to see what I can only describe as a tragically accurate depiction of the life of women in this country both as my inner child dreamt of, and as my 42 year old grown self now inhabits. My daughter saw everything I could have wished for- Barbies as scientists, doctors, writers, Supreme Court Justices, and her personal favorite, (especially as a little brown skinned girl), President. She gasped in righteous indignation as Ken took over Barbie’s dream house “that is BARBIE’S house- he needs to LEAVE Mommy!”, and applauded when Barbie rebuked an advance from Ken “no one should touch you without permission!”. Her excitement at...
Balancing a Career as a Surgeon-Scientist
By: Kavitha Ranganathan, MD Satisfaction in one’s career can come from a variety of places. In fact, most of the time, it has to come from a variety of places. Don’t place all your eggs in one basket, they say. While a surgical career is unparalleled in the achievement of instant gratification, the daily reminder that healthcare isn’t perfect can also be a source of mental exhaustion. Being a surgeon-scientist is one way to address this. The scientist part of this career choice allows you to balance your short- and long-term visions, and amplify your contributions to the next generation. Importantly, however, it can be challenging to balance a clinical career alongside research acumen and productivity. Protecting your time for research and clinical care, securing grant funding, and staying resilient amidst unique challenges in two different worlds is tough. Below are some tips I believe to be helpful for those...
Making the Most of Your Research Year
By: Charlotte Berry Research years during medical school are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among students interested in surgical subspecialties. Data support the notion that medical students who take research years are more likely to remain academically productive throughout their careers. As a student between MS3 and MS4, currently wrapping up the first year of a two-year research fellowship, I have been reflecting on what has worked well for me, the best advice I have received, and what I wish I had known when I first started. Balance productivity and personal well-being Compared to the structured environments of lecture halls or hospital wards, research time offers more flexibility and allows you to take leadership over your schedule. While it's important to be dedicated to your research, do not neglect your personal well-being. Taking care of yourself will contribute to your overall productivity and happiness during your research year. When you are...
Active Allyship – Beyond Rainbows and Parades
By Lauren B. Nosanov, MD A few months ago, I was out to dinner with my family at a local restaurant when my 11 year-old son sighted a classmate sitting nearby. His excited wave was met with a somewhat urgent beckoning from his friend, so he ran over to chat. After a few minutes of intense, furtive discussion, he returned to the table. Unprompted, he explained that his friend was non-binary but was struggling with open communication in their home environment and was concerned about what pronouns my son might use in front of their parent. As he rambled on, I took a moment to reflect on his unwitting soapbox, notable for its simultaneous casualness and passion. His intense need to protect his friend’s right to self-identification, as well as his insistence on educating us, projected a profound respect for otherness and a deep kindness. The quest to find your...
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 many such talks and events I have attended, and this was her opening line. I think I know what she was trying to get at. I think she was trying to say—you can be a surgeon, and still be yourself. You can be a surgeon, and still be a woman. To me, it sounded like something else. It sounded a bit more like—makeup is what makes someone a woman– like not having any on would be a sacrifice or a failure. Like you can be a woman and a surgeon, just so long as you are able to uphold the expectations of conventional femininity. When I started medical school in 2007, I had been out as queer...
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 the freedom of the rural countryside which our artist parents had embraced. However, when we returned to New York to visit our extended family, we alternated between eating dim sum with chopsticks in crowded restaurants on Mott Street, and celebrating the Passover Sedar on Long Island. As a result, we could protest that we were too full to eat any more in English, Yiddish, and Cantonese! Although I treasure my diverse heritage and the warm, loving acceptance of both sides of my family, to be mixed race is also to feel as though you never fully belong. As with many mixed race children raised between cultures, I learned instinctive code-switching from an early age. Code-switching...
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 by our professions. Our profession has been a large part of our identity. We have dedicated our formative years to this profession. When we lose our profession, we lose a part of ourselves. It is a void; it is a hollowing. How can we put ourselves in a position where we still recognize ourselves if we lose a piece of our identity? Resilience is the answer. Resilience is flexibility. Resilience is adapting to unexpected changes, stressors, or adversity. Resilience is strengthened by diversifying ourselves and can be learned. We are the sum of many parts. Think about jigsaw puzzles or impressionist artwork. Each individual piece combines and interacts to build a structure that is...
Intertwining Surgery and Law: A Medical Student’s Mission to Pursue a Medicolegal Career
By Alyssa Reese In life and in medicine, we are often pulled by intangible forces to the next steps in our path. We go forward with uncertainty, yet we look back into the past to see that everything made perfect sense. We see how our interests have guided us and how the seemingly winding road evolved into a linear course. I personally look back on how my interest in law has and continues to shape my career goals. My interest in law began in high school, as a member of my school’s mock trial team. I have many fond memories of meticulously preparing our cases, studying affidavits, and riding the bus to local tournaments. While I thought about pursuing a career in law when applying to college, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be a physician because of the patient care aspect of medicine. Nevertheless, I couldn’t...
Compassion as a Strategy to Mitigate Moral Injury in our Lives.
By: Elizabeth Perazza Back to 2009 after 8 years of experience as a Board-Certified Urologic Surgeon, I was told by a supervisor that I was not contributing to the training program. This supervisor’s opinion led to a plan that resulted in my removal as faculty of the training program. I was 1 of 3 female urology attendings amongst 20-25 male attendings. For years in therapy with mental health specialists, I was able to overcome feelings of shame, inadequacy and incompetence that subsequently threw me to a diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressive features. Moral injury is defined as the profound psychological distress that results from actions, or the lack of actions, which violate one's moral or ethical code. Morally injurious events can include acts of perpetration or omission, or experiences of betrayal from leaders or trusted others. Moral injury is not a mental illness, although experiences of potentially morally injurious...
Destination Wellness: The Occupational Domain
By Kyla Wright “So, tell me – why general surgery?” My mouth begins reciting a premeditated answer before my mind has time to catch up. We are only a few weeks into interview season and, already, I must resist the temptation to let motor memory takeover and instead maintain some degree of authenticity in my words. Though interview season feels like an imitation game at times, it offers a unique opportunity for reflection: preparing for anticipated interview topics, applicants like me reflect on their values, strengths, weaknesses, and ability to cope with and face the challenges of a career in surgery. Many questions (E.g., What do you believe is the most rewarding aspect of a career in surgery? Can you maintain a work-life balance?) address a common theme – how will you achieve and maintain occupational wellness in your future career as a surgeon? Occupational wellness is a term that...
