self-care
Food for Thought – Surgery: I Love This Job
By Lauren Poindexter, MD When was the last time you stood in the operating room and paused to think, “I LOVE this job”? What was it about that particular case, patient, or situation that caused you to feel a deeper gratitude for your vocation? As a general surgery intern, the prevailing feeling I experience on a daily basis is overwhelmed (as many of you may not so fondly remember ), but I am also energized by specific situations that emphasize the honor of diagnosing, incising, and healing. My most recent blog entry for the Association of Women Surgeons offered a broad suggestion that gratitude makes for a valuable New Year’s Resolution. I want to highlight a professional moment of gratitude in which I participated in an organ procurement (on a Sunday evening, of course!), I was deeply touched not only by the rare chance to follow the lead of a...
Starting Over, with Ourselves
By Kim Resnick I tug on my white tennis skirt nervously. The man (no doubt) who insisted that white tennis clothes were de rigueur at my new tennis club should be tarred and feathered. These hips simply don’t work in white Lycra; I am conscious of every lump, bump, and ridge. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Kim. Relax and follow through on your forehand,” my new coach grins as he critiques. The sweat sluices down my back, pooling at the top of my waistband as I hop across the court chasing serves, wondering why I decided to learn a new sport at my age- and with my career choice. I turn around to make certain that no one is behind me as I lunge after another ball. I am a successful surgeon. I am a Division Director at a large, tertiary care center. I am a mother of 2...
Starting Over: Making a Resolution That Works
Lauren Poindexter, MD Making New Year’s resolutions is, for many, a task fraught with expected failure. The time-worn “Go to the gym more often,” “Lose weight,” “Eat better” sound like positive endeavors nearly all of us can adopt, but how many gym memberships (mine included) go unappreciated after one, two, or three months? I offer you an alternative: a resolution that will result in decreased stress, happier days, and rewards for you, your families, and your patients. “Practicing gratitude.” Start small. Let’s start with our bodies and brains. Identify specific reasons for being grateful about the hands, arms, legs with which we do our work. List unique aspects of your personality for which your coworkers and friends are grateful. Our bodies enable us to bring healing and hope to our patients. Our brains calculate risks, seek out novel solutions to medical problems, and translate complicated medical jargon for patients and...
Cervical Cancer
By Minerva Romero Arenas I remember the first time I diagnosed cancer. I was a 3rd year medical student and was at one of our schools medical student-run Clinics Commitment to Underserved People. The patient, a post-menopausal patient whose primarily language was Spanish, had come to clinic with a chief complaint of vaginal bleeding. She confided in our team that she knew there was something wrong about that, but she had no health insurance and could not afford to pay her rent and go to see a doctor. A friend had referred her to the CUP clinic. After finishing discussing the rest of her medical history, I prepared for the physical exam. I was actually teaching another student how to perform examinations that day. “After gently inserting the colposcope, we look for any obvious abnormalities, any discharge, or evidence of bleeding.” I remember saying, “Then we will swab for the...
Food for Thought: When the Doctor Becomes the Patient
By Nickey Jafari During my first year of medical school, my class had the honor of having Dr. Jeffrey Piehler, a retired thoracic surgeon, come speak to us. You may know him as the author of the New York Times essay, "Ashes to Ashes but First a Nice Pine Box". You may also know him as the incredibly talented and dedicated surgeon that he was, being elected into all the major societies for cardiothoracic surgeons. Jeff Piehler, seen sitting in the pine coffin that he build has passed away. Credit Shari Hartbauer/Lincoln Journal Star. In 2002, Dr. Piehler was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This ultimately forced him to retire as he lost sensation in his fingertips from the aggressive treatments he underwent. In “Ashes to Ashes, but First a Nice Pine Box”, Dr. Piehler writes about how, after over a decade-long battle that he knew he...
Food for Thought: 2016-Time for a Change?
Lately I’ve started noticing a common theme- in public and private conversations, in various parts of the internet, the gathering of momentum. In November of this year I attended the Millin Meeting, the one day annual conference of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI). As it happened, one of the presentations that day was to be on the topic of women in surgery. In her speech, the surgeon covered the history of women surgeons in Ireland, discussed the current challenges of being a woman in surgery, and even gave a shout out to the #Ilooklikeasurgeon movement. Afterwards, a member of the audience asked the speaker about the problem of recruiting and retaining women into the surgical field. She paused for a moment before responding, “Both women AND men reject surgery careers due to problems with work/life balance.” Surgery is no longer for those who decide it’s ok not...
Inhale, Exhale, Say Yes
By Shree Agrawal Saying yes is complicated, powerful, and full of potential. Celebrities like Shonda Rhimes, known for her Thursday night television series and recent book, Year of Yes, and Ryan Seacrest, whose persona hosts many media outlets, have participated in the social experiment of saying yes to every opportunity they each are offered. They have earned success by saying yes and having the courage and ability to figure out how to fulfill each of their commitments. Medicine is no different from Hollywood. In each, only a small percentage of people achieve success. In 2013, the AAMC reported 48,000 people applied to medical school, and approximately 20,000 matriculated into their first year. In addition to international medical schools, the NRMP reported 41,334 registered applicants in 2015 for 30,212 available positions. This does not include the 80,000 people who take the MCAT each year and 13.2 million students who attend four-year...
Saying NO
By AJ Copeland My Chair asks me to host the Department holiday party at my house. An office nurse hits me up to purchase giftwrapping for her son’s fundraiser. My mother wants to come along when we buy our tree. As we hurdle into the holiday season, it is easy with our busy schedules to feel especially overscheduled and overstressed during what is “supposed to” be a joyous time of year. It is tempting to take on new commitments when asked to, whether out of guilt, a need to be liked, fear of rejection, conflict avoidance, or a misguided notion that we can “do it all”. And so it is particularly useful at this time to review strategies to say “NO”. Saying “no” can be one of the biggest gifts you give yourself and those you love, because it will reduce your stress levels and give you more time for...
GRATITUDE – 10 Things to be Grateful for
By Sarah B. Bryczkowski Gratitude - To be grateful, give thanks, show appreciation. For those of you who don't know, I am forever optimistic. I always hope for the best. Even when the fecal matter hits the ventilation system, I try to find a positive spin and learn something. There are so many things to be grateful for, which makes it hard to summarize in a post that is short and sweet. In an effort to avoid becoming #tldr (too long, didn't read), I've made a short list. I encourage everyone to take a moment and reflect on the things in your life that you are grateful for. Getting to operate. It's such an awesome privilege. For that I am grateful.Relaxing on post-call days. Second only to the one day off in seven.Ancillary staff. Because without them my job would be impossible.Teachable moments. I love being able to teach patients,...
Gratitude at Home and Work
By Lauren B. Nosanov Steeling myself for an incoming 5 year-old MVC victim with reportedly fixed and dilated pupils per the EMS report, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that my own children are safely asleep in their own beds. In this circumstance, and plenty of others, being grateful comes easily. Each day, surgical residency pits us against the horrible, messy reality of being human. The suffering of our patients offers endless opportunities to take stock of our own fortune and breathe a sigh of relief. Yet gratitude does not always come as readily as perhaps it should. Lauren celebrating Halloween with her family. At hour twenty-three of a grueling call, amidst a raging migraine and the incessant chirping of the pager, it is far easier to wallow in self-pity. Finding the capacity to be grateful in these moments requires a great deal of fortitude (and a...
