The Same Day Surgery Waiting Room
Today, I made a two-year-old cry because I wanted to look into his eyes to rule out vision-threatening disease. The light was too bright, the lens was too close, and the attention was too much.
Surgery
Resident Editor
Geisinger Eye Institute
Jonathan Tsui is currently an ophthalmology resident at Geisinger Eye Institute in Danville, PA. He studied finance at Rutgers Business School as an undergraduate and then continued on at Rutgers to obtain his medical degree. Prior to starting ophthalmology residency, he completed his preliminary year in medicine at University of California, Irvine. His career interests include cataract surgery and global health. Today, when Jonathan is not operating or seeing patients he can be found at the gym, spending time with family, or backpacking abroad.
Why Being Kind Matters: Mistreatment of Residents Leads to Increased Rates of Burnout and Suicidal Ideation
Residency is a challenging time plagued by long hours, overwhelming clinical service loads, escalating documentation requirements, and inadequate resources for support. A recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine illustrates how mistreatment in the training environment takes an additional toll on medical trainees.
The Change: A Perspective on Women Surgeons from a Resident Physician
It wasn’t caterpillars turning into beautiful butterflies, that’s for sure. “The Change” was when a bright-eyed, optimistic female junior resident turned into an angry, and sometimes mean, senior resident with very little patience for anyone.
Resident Physicians as Leaders in TIME’S UP Healthcare: Changing the Narrative for the Next Generation
In 2019, sexual harassment and discrimination in medicine prevent patients from receiving the best possible care. We all deserve better. Not only do all who practice medicine and care for patients deserve an equitable workplace, patients deserve optimal care provided by medical teams in which all members are respected and valued. This is why I’m proud to be a founding member of TIME’S UP Healthcare.
Pondering the Human Experience: A Quartet of Poems
To help a soul / To heal a wound / To hold a hand / To walk again
We’re Ignoring a Key Factor in the Opioid Epidemic
In order for the country to make meaningful progress in tackling the opioid epidemic, we need a cultural shift in the way patients and providers think about pain.
Pharmaceutical companies and physicians are being demonized for their manufacturing and dispensing of opioid analgesics. Money-hungry executives from Big Pharma caused the crisis by brainwashing doctors to prescribe these medications left and right. Greedy doctors want patients dependent upon them for years, ensuring a steady stream of paying patients in their waiting room. Drugs drive the market. Drugs lead to big profits for everyone involved. The more drugs, the better.
Gunshot Victims Rushed to the Emergency Room: What It’s Like to Be Their Doctor
It seems that each week we learn of a new mass shooting. Gunfire from a legally-purchased AR-15 assault rifle hits innocent high school students, nightclub patrons, and mall-goers. A politician reassures the nation that our brave first responders are bringing the victims to a nearby hospital. The media’s report to the public generally ends, but when I hear “trauma team to ED STAT,” my work only just begins.
The Patients That Deserve the Most Act the Least Entitled
“How are you doing this morning, Mr. Tracy? Sorry we’re running late. You’ve been waiting an hour.”
Perspectives of Women in Orthopaedic Surgery on Leadership Development
Over the past 50 years, the demographics of medical school graduates in the United States has changed dramatically with the number of women (47%) almost equaling the number of men in 2014. However, the Association of American Medical Colleges reports that out of all the sub-specialties, orthopaedic surgery has the lowest proportion of female residents, instructors, assistant, associate, and full professors.
Physician Burnout: Moving From Solutions to the Problem
The unexpected suicide of a graduate of our surgical residency program — nearly seven years ago — still reverberates off the walls of Stanford Hospital. While he didn’t end his life on the premises (that happened during fellowship in another city), the effects of his tragic death subdue the residency to this day
Suicide
It’s been about three years since Jacob committed suicide. In the high turnover microcosm of general surgery residency, there aren’t many who remember him.
Scar
His mother asks whether or not there will be a scar. I tell her yes. We’ll do our best to make it small, but there will be a scar.
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Columbia-New York Presbyterian Hospital
Jake Prigoff is originally from Roslyn, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from The University of Michigan and his medical degree from The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is currently a General Surgery Resident at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. His primary career focus is on oncologic surgery, but his interests also include Public Health and the epidemic of gun violence in America.