Category: surgery

From house calls to the OR: a surgeon’s journey and unexpected lessons

Clueless at the time, when I applied to medical school, I imagined myself one day making house calls, good ol’ Doc Schwab, paid in chickens and pies, smiles, and blackberry jam. There I’d be, delivering babies on kitchen tables, patching up…

From house calls to the OR: a surgeon’s journey and unexpected lessons

Clueless at the time, when I applied to medical school, I imagined myself one day making house calls, good ol’ Doc Schwab, paid in chickens and pies, smiles, and blackberry jam. There I’d be, delivering babies on kitchen tables, patching up…

The demise of doctor-owned medicine?

When I joined The Everett Clinic forty-two years ago, we were thirty-some physicians. The main campus consisted of what’s now called the Founders’ Building and a couple of parking lots. The building was industrial and off-putting, guiding p…

Embracing innovation in the digitized operating room

In modern medicine, the operating room epitomizes precision, expertise, and innovation. While we’ve made incredible advancements in medical science and patient care in recent decades, operating rooms have faced their share of challenges, from ine…

The unseen work of women surgeons

I always said yes, taking on numerous tasks and roles, but now question the value of unpaid work in my career trajectory as a colorectal surgeon. I always said yes. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Always say yes because you don&#8…

The truth about employee turnover: It’s inevitable (and OK!)

It is a simple idea, but we don’t think about it. Everyone will leave their job, including us. This thought occurred to me as our office was undergoing a painful turnover. I started my private practice in 2020, expecting it to be a small, close-k…

Finding my calling: a surgeon’s path through medical school

September 1974. I was a third-year medical student at NYU. My husband and I, newlyweds, lived in a single room in the med student dorm. Fortunately, third-year students took night calls, so on those nights, my husband had the single pull-out bed all to…

Toxic work culture in surgery: Can it be fixed?

After destroying a light fixture in the OR and being written up for another episode of disorderly conduct, John was at the end of his wits. His marriage, profession, and self-respect were all on the line, and in the eyes of everyone around him, he was …

Healing together: patient and physician well-being [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Join Kim Downey, a physical therapist, and Anthony Avellino, a pediatric neurosurgeon and author of Finding Purpose: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey of Hope and Healing, as they …

Gender bias is pervasive within state medical board official documents and websites

“Each licensee shall furnish the board his current address.” “When a practitioner is closing, selling or relocating his practice, he shall meet the requirements …“. “The practitioner shall retain in his records.” Whe…