Author's posts
The profound experience of being naked with other doctors
I am sitting in hot springs deep in the dark and crisp air woods – naked. It has been a day of lectures and workshops at a retreat with my fellow physicians. We are all naked in the effervescent, warm bubbles of the springs. In the dark, I can recogniz…
A new way to look at leadership: Embrace the commitment
Faced with starting a women’s cervical cancer program at 12,000 feet at the top of the world in the Himalayas was daunting. I had no idea how I was going to do it. I had my colposcope (a microscope to see the cervix) and a few speculums that I hoped wo…
A physician hung himself. That could have been me.
The mood hung in the air like a clenched jaw, a clenched fist, and slumped shoulders. I watched a fellow patient shuffle by the nurses’ station with his little paper cup. You know, the ones that are an inch or two tall and wide with a slight lip; the k…
Calling out sexism: 10 tips for speaking out
The number of women going into medical school has risen to top the number of men admitted. Harvard has its first Black woman student body president. I am seeing more and more women sharing their experiences and uplifting other women in my physician coa…
A medical student walks out of a class. The silence that follows is what hurts most.
As a medical student, I was finally starting my clinical rotations, a time of great anticipation and celebration among medical students and their families. After two years of book learning, I was going to be called “doctor” and wear my shor…
Fighting back against Dr. Patriarchs
The COVID pandemic has revealed chasms between health care delivery system tectonic plates, revealing disparities of care and treatment of people of color and underrepresented groups. I write this from my own feminine perspective in hopes of cultural c…
I have more hope than ever for women in medicine
Recently, I was a speaker at a conference for 200 physician moms. Most attendees were early- to mid-career. I had to laugh — I was one of the oldest doctor moms in the room. I thought to myself, where are the later-career moms? How many women are quitt…
Should physicians lie when asked these questions?
Dear colleagues, I know you have seen these questions: Do you currently have any physical or mental impairment that could limit your clinical practice? Are you currently taking any medication? Have you ever been hospitalized for any reason? Have you ev…
She was dead: How shame almost ruined a physician’s life
Dear friends— especially my colleagues, I recently failed a class (I have been working on a PhD in psychology) and found myself immobilized and disengaged from life, personal happiness and joy. I actually didn’t even tell my husband, who is my true con…
