Andrea Bischoff is a colorectal pediatric surgeon and can be reached on Twitter @drspenabischoff.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Is there a doctor on board? Yes, but we might not be the right doctor.

Conditions
April 17, 2020

My husband and I travel internationally at least three times a year to give courses with live surgical demonstrations of colorectal conditions in children.

During the past 13 years making those trips, we had our share of hearing the famous announcement in the plane: “Is there a doctor on board?”

Those have happened in many different scenarios including having been on call the night before and therefore being on an almost semi-coma …

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Is there a doctor on board? Yes, but we might not be the right doctor.

How 5-year-olds brought out the joy of learning in medical students

Education
March 2, 2020

Last week, Lais and Yuri, our five-year-old twins, were volunteers at the school of medicine, for students to learn how to examine children.

Full disclosure: Volunteers do get a gift card. Therefore, I asked them if they wanted to “work and get some money,” and I also told them what they would have to do during that afternoon. They both said yes, and they were truly excited about the opportunity.

When I saw …

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How 5-year-olds brought out the joy of learning in medical students

Make sure you pay attention to your medical interpreter

Physician
October 31, 2018

During my flight from Denver to Japan, I watched a movie called Un Traductor. It is a true story directed by the children of the couple who are the main characters in the movie. The reason why I chose this movie was that there was a Brazilian actor in it. Even so, I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.

The story takes place in Cuba, and …

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Make sure you pay attention to your medical interpreter

Medical simulation as a moment to reflect

Physician
July 29, 2018

Yesterday, I had an eye-opening experience that made me reflect once again about relationships.

During the afternoon, I had to attend a mandatory trauma simulation event. Since I am a surgeon, I am referring to physical traumas like traffic or firearms accidents, and just to be clear — psychological traumas are not included in these groups, even when I firmly believe that some of them would justify such an efficient and …

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Medical simulation as a moment to reflect

How do you come back after losing a battle?

Physician
July 18, 2018

During my pediatric surgery training, I could easily point out which was the hardest day for the three fellows that were under training on that specific year. It was late evening when I received a call that one of our patients had coded. I was at home, and the drive usually took me exactly seven minutes.

Due to social reasons, this patient was in the hospital with us for months (at …

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How do you come back after losing a battle?