Category: surgery

We don’t always choose to tap into the power of our emotions. Our reluctance frequently comes from our background, as the transformation required to channel our feelings is uncomfortable, forcing us to examine our biases and sit with them. Even t…

Every surgeon dreams of the day when they’ll wield the cold steel of the scalpel independently. Of the day they’ll see their name on the daily operating room (OR) schedule. Of the day they’ll be the one leading the surgery team. Of th…

An excerpt from A Surgeon’s Knot. The phone jarred Jackson Cooper, MD’s weary, anxious brain into consciousness from the edge of sleep. He jumped up, dropping the receiver on the cold floor of the call room. “Hello,” he said, te…

It’s no secret that health care workers are some of the most stressed and burned-out professionals in the workforce. Health care was a tough job even before we had to bear the brunt of the worst of the pandemic. Even now that we’re nearly f…

The alarming rise in physicians resigning from their roles is a testament to the severity of the crisis. Where physicians were once the pillars of health care, delivering vital services to their communities, they now find themselves struggling with dim…

Over the past 20-plus years, I have made my mark within the plastic surgery field. I firmly believe that dedicating valuable time to understanding each patient and grasping their sense of aesthetics and beauty is essential in providing exceptional pati…

My tribe consists of competitive overachievers. We used to call them “gunners” in medical school, and Gunners tend to be morning people, or “larks.” Let’s be honest; people are impressed by those who are up at 4 a.m., trai…

I regretfully told my 65-year-old patient in the preoperative area, “I’m going to have to cancel your case.” We both knew this was coming. He suffered from a large inguinoscrotal hernia that was symptomatic but not dangerous, a condit…