Author's posts
The insiring women physicians of the COVID-19 pandemic
I am a professor and cardiac anesthesiologist who practices at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Like the majority of health centers across the world, our leaders are working around the clock to treat COVID-19 in our communi…
An anesthesiologist’s message to her community
I am an anesthesiologist who practices in Omaha, Nebraska at a large university. Our institution is preparing around the clock to care for our community in the midst of the COVID-19 virus. We are all coming together – doctors, scientists, nurses, techn…
A physician’s plea to patients
I am a cardiac anesthesiologist. I meet most patients I care for minutes before I take them to the operating room and render them unconscious. I breathe for them, administer pain medicine and drugs to give them amnesia, and I keep their hearts, lungs, …
We need physician leaders who understand our problems
You cannot work in medicine today without being inundated with burnout statistics and commentary on your feed, coming to your inbox, or spoken from stages about the state of medicine we are in. The data is dire: we are disengaged, we are making mistake…
It takes a village to be a physician today
After my second child was born, I realized a harsh truth: I could not be everything to everyone. It took me almost 30 years to understand this. I was working as a full-time physician with unpredictable hours. I was trying desperately to make it all wor…
We are anesthesiologists. We got you.
I am a cardiac anesthesiologist. I want to explain what anesthesiologists do, who we are, and why it is important for the public to know. Anesthesiologists are physicians. Anesthesiologists are the guardians of the operating room. Anesthesiologists are…
5 powerful tips for women in medicine
As a woman in medicine, where the odds for pay, promotion, and leadership are stacked against me, I feel obligated to light the path for younger women who come behind me. It has taken me a while to be comfortable with my style of leadership, own my ow…
A physician mother and how her heart shattered
My heart broke a little this week. When you want to grow a muscle, you have to damage it first. You have to lift something heavy and overextend it. It’s sore for a few days — and then it grows stronger. That is what happened to my heart. My oldes…
