Category: residency

By Mariela R. Martinez Rivera Photo taken by me during my first month of intern year. July 1st is finally here and with it, the beginning of your surgical training. Now is when things get real!...

Dear Pat, I was scrubbed in a case in the OR last week and my attending seemed to be very upset with me. Nothing in particular had happened, and I couldn't identify what the problem was. She and I...

It’s Dear Pat’s anniversary! This month marks the one-year anniversary of the #DearPat column, which was created in 2018 as a collaborative effort between the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) R...

Dear Pat,   A patient that I had been following for several weeks died a few days ago, and I can't seem to stop feeling upset about it. I talked about it with my colleague and he told me to...

By Sarah Armenia On a crisp Boston morning during the AWS annual meeting this fall, sixty medical students gradually filed into a ballroom and chatted nervously as they sipped coffee and looked at ...

By Renee Hilton I am asked the same question nearly every day by young female medical students aspiring to become surgeons.  “Can I be a surgeon and have a normal life as a woman?” You will ma...

By Andrea Merrill In residency, we had a nightly event called “9 o’clock meal”. Born out of a former surgery resident threatening to expose our measly salary to the local newspaper, every nig...

Dear Pat,  I went to see a consult the other day in the ED, and the patient kindly informed me that he wanted a different doctor because he felt that "women can't be real doctors." I was so mortif...

Dear Pat, Many of my male faculty have suggested that I find a female mentor to help me with career development. However, we have a handful of female faculty at my program, and I do not have a clos...