Tag: Dear Pat

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...

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...

Dear Pat, I am a second-year general surgery resident interested in a surgical oncology fellowship. I come from a community general surgery program without the opportunity for basic science research ...

Dear Pat, I am a junior general surgery resident rotating at a new hospital. No matter if I’m wearing my badge which says MD in large letters or my white coat which also says MD on it, patients a...

Dear Pat, My intern is a tall, white male. Every morning on rounds I introduce myself as the Chief Resident and state the roles of everyone on the team. However, patients continue to direct their q...

Dear Pat, I just returned to my clinical rotations after completing my research years in the lab and having my first child. Before I left for the lab I was planning on a career in Cardiothoracic, T...