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Stop trying to be God. Be human.

Carolyn Messere, MD
Physician
March 5, 2015

shutterstock_114588181

In medical school, I was taught to keep my distance. To remember that the patient is the one with the disease. I was told to protect my heart, to be a little cynical, a little deprecatory, to keep a separation between me and the patient. Because they can hurt you.

For 18 years, I met people on what was arguably the worst …

Read more…

Stop trying to be God. Be human.

The time I almost got fired for saving a young woman’s life

Carolyn Messere, MD
Physician
December 8, 2014

shutterstock_69679648

I was a fourth-year surgery resident, on the transplant team. It was a difficult rotation, because the doctor who ran it was sexist and got along better with you if you flirted with him. He made innumerable sexual wisecracks in the OR while we were working, and preferred to round with his arm around me as he made further innuendoes.

I wasn’t …

Read more…

The time I almost got fired for saving a young woman’s life

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