Women’s health

How shame almost ruined a physician’s life [PODCAST]

January 19, 2021Jan 19, 2021

"I do want you all to know that shame is a very familiar brain track (like an 8-track tape, if you know what that is), but not one I am stuck in. The above experience of failing a class turned…

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“I do want you all to know that shame is a very familiar brain track (like an 8-track tape, if you know what that is), but not one I am stuck in. The above experience of failing a class turned out to be amazing. I am now appreciative of how far …

Medical education

Residents are not disposable. They deserve better.

Anonymous

December 22, 2020Dec 22, 2020

I was a fellow physician, and my contract was recently not renewed for my three-year fellowship at the end of the first year. My experience highlights the examples that, at times, physicians are treated in a disposable manner. COVID-19 is certainly taking a toll on health care workers. So, too, are oppressive practices and unfair treatment of trainees.

The reasons my contract was not renewed concern mentorship and PPE, and I …

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There needs to be a better approach to victims of sexual violence

Anonymous

December 20, 2020Dec 20, 20203

I am a nurse who has worked at a rural hospital. My husband is a board-certified family medicine doctor. In the fall of 2020, I was raped by my massage therapist. I know that everyone has an opinion of what they would do in that situation, and I was probably one of those people. However, to my complete shock (quite literally), I didn’t behave in any manner that

…

What it’s like to be pregnant in a pandemic [PODCAST]

December 17, 2020Dec 17, 2020

"What has kept me comprised during this entire time has been the realization that this whole situation is not normal. It’s not normal for me; it’s not normal for millions of other people. This is not how pregnancy is supposed…

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“What has kept me comprised during this entire time has been the realization that this whole situation is not normal. It’s not normal for me; it’s not normal for millions of other people. This is not how pregnancy is supposed to go. This is a pandemic and an uncertain time for …

Normalizing infertility conversations in the workplace

Kate Hoppock, DO

November 28, 2020Nov 28, 2020

I am a medical doctor—a hospitalist working in an environment with many talented professionals. We share our knowledge and our approach to medicine with one another in ways that profoundly affect our patients and other personnel in the hospital. At…

At our best, we are a community whose foundation is a willingness and openness to discuss hard facts and make difficult decisions.

So why is it that when I was first diagnosed with …

A physician takes maternity leave during the pandemic

Amy Hughes, MD

November 12, 2020Nov 12, 2020

I smiled as I waddled to the recovery room for the sixth time that day. Before maternity leave, my final case was completed; I left with my patients in trustworthy hands, and the loose ends tied up. As I walked to my car, I never imagined the circumstances I would return to 12 weeks later and now six months ago.

I have never subscribed to clichés, but as I sat in …

#MedBikini and medical professionalism [PODCAST]

October 29, 2020Oct 29, 2020

"While our bodies have been a bastion of the heart and soul of medicine, a group of our peers thought it was acceptable to diminish the capabilities of our bodies to pictures on social media. They thought our ability to…

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“While our bodies have been a bastion of the heart and soul of medicine, a group of our peers thought it was acceptable to diminish the capabilities of our bodies to pictures on social media. They thought our ability to be exceptional physicians was inversely proportional to the number of pictures that showed us holding a drink or wearing a bikini.

Our …

I will be a doctor because I was once a patient

Shira Fishbach

October 24, 2020Oct 24, 2020

I found out I was pregnant the night before a chemistry exam. I had taken a break from stoichiometry to take a very different kind of test, one I bought from the nearest Walmart to avoid any indiscretion on the family Amazon account. After the second pink line appeared, clear as day, I got up off the bathroom floor and joined a friend to finish the last of our review. …

Nicole Leigh Aaronson, MD, MBA

The other side of believing the science

October 23, 2020Oct 23, 20202

In medicine, we define shared-decision making between the patient and physician as our gold standard ideal. Leveraging separate ideals is our standard of behavior. So what must it feel like to a patient of faith when his/her physician tells him/her “believe the science?” Scientific evidence and religious texts can both be manipulated to support a group’s point of view. Based on their own agendas, groups have used science to argue …

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The other side of believing the science

A physician experiences unprofessional behavior. What happened next? [PODCAST]

October 22, 2020Oct 22, 2020

"Setting: An impersonal, windowless conference room within a hospital Characters: A nurse in charge (NIC), a department chair (DC) and me (ME) NIC: Thank you for joining us to discuss the report you made of unprofessional behavior in the operating…

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“Setting: An impersonal, windowless conference room within a hospital

Characters: A nurse in charge (NIC), a department chair (DC) and me (ME)

NIC: Thank you for joining us to discuss the report you made of unprofessional behavior in the operating room. We’d like to start by letting you know that in this institution, we have a culture of informality. When I first got here, …

Medical education

The vulnerability of abortion access and training

Shereen Jeyakumar

October 18, 2020Oct 18, 202010

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed how vulnerable access to abortion care is in the U.S. health care system. Abortion is one of the most time-sensitive, potentially life-altering procedures an individual can undergo, however, lawmakers since March have explained it away as an elective and non-essential procedure. Bans and restrictions were instituted in 12 states in March and April, with most overturned thereafter or removed once elective procedures were allowed to …

Health policy

Nobody should ever be forced to make a medical decision on the basis of congressional hearings

Anonymous

October 15, 2020Oct 15, 2020

On October 12th, 2020, I underwent a LEEP procedure to remove the distal portion of my cervix. In the wake of COVID-19, with PPE and willing staff in short supply to complete Pap smears in clinic, a colleague and I were trialing self-swab HPV testing – a technique pioneered in countries like Australia that is likely to become the eventual standard of care for cervical cancer screening. Since my last …

Physicians are tired of being judged based on their gender

Kellie Lease Stecher, MD

October 12, 2020Oct 12, 2020

It was an average Minnesota fall day. I ran out of the house to do a 3 a.m. vaginal delivery. I was tired, both mentally and physically. Medicine has always been such a joyous calling for me. I probably commit nearly 16 hours a day to my job in one way, shape or form, whether its education, writing, clinic duties. Everyone has always asked me how I haven’t gotten burned …

Medical education

Medical students: The work you do matters

Justin Tiongson

October 12, 2020Oct 12, 2020

By my second rotation of the third year, I could not help but feel like a superfluous, if not inconsequential, cog in the medical machine. Yes, we are learners and need to see patients in order to become adequate health care providers – but on a busy labor and delivery (L&D) floor, it was easy to become entrenched in the notion that our efforts have little impact on patient care. …

The poignant message in the balloon

The poignant message in the balloon

Kellie Lease Stecher, MD

October 7, 2020Oct 7, 2020

After the combination of COVID-19 and George Floyd's death, it felt like time stood still across the Twin Cities. As a physician, I couldn't understand how a pandemic response could be partisan. However, I became even more shocked at the…

After the combination of COVID-19 and George Floyd’s death, it felt like time stood still across the Twin Cities. As a physician, I couldn’t understand how a pandemic response could be partisan. However, I became even more shocked at the partisan divide when it came time to discuss racism and gender equity. As a physician, we take an oath to protect life. We are trained to care for people in …

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Infertility: Where uncertainty is the only thing that is certain

Kate Hoppock, DO

October 6, 2020Oct 6, 2020

Physicians love to feel in control. We thrive in environments where we feel we can predict the outcome. Do well in medical school and on boards—you will get into a residency. Take the statin—it will improve your cholesterol. Do the…

Physicians love to feel in control. We thrive in environments where we feel we can predict the outcome.

Do well in medical school and on boards—you will get into a residency.

Take the statin—it will improve your cholesterol.

Do the screening colonoscopy—it will improve your chances of catching cancer early.

I think most of us can agree we would give these recommendations. But certainty, the foundation of predictability, is not a given. We know …

Infertility as a physician: the gift of perspective

Kate Hoppock, DO

October 3, 2020Oct 3, 2020

As physicians, we know all too well how life can change in an instant. How tomorrow is never promised. This knowledge can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it is also a gift. Because we know how precious life is. I am…

As physicians, we know all too well how life can change in an instant. How tomorrow is never promised. This knowledge can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it is also a gift.

Because we know how precious life is.

I am a physician—but I am also a patient. An infertility patient, for whom each passing year can feel like a lost opportunity.

Because my eggs don’t have the perspective. They don’t see the privilege. …

Brennin Brown, MD & Susan Hatters Friedman, MD

Racial disparities and maternal mental health during COVID

September 27, 2020Sep 27, 2020

As the coronavirus pandemic has unfolded, the uncertainty of this crisis has stoked heightened awareness and precaution in each aspect of our lives. We have incorporated personal protective equipment into our human interactions, and we are compulsively practicing sanitation rituals. Our social connections have been tethered at a distance for months on end. As a society, we are experiencing collective grief. Grieving hundreds of thousands of lives lost and the …