Essays on surgical care, training, communication, and culture — examining how systems, identity, inequities, and belonging shape the experience of care.
A meditation on transformation, presence, and what it means to stay rooted while reaching toward light. Tracing a path from a dairy farm in the midwest to the close of surgical training, this piece explores what the lotus has come to represent — not just resilience, but the possibility of creating something meaningful from what was never meant to be easy.
On beginning a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Care — and the lifelong belief that a surgeon's duty to heal does not end at the operating table. Traces the deep roots of palliative care in surgery and the vision for what becomes possible when the two are joined.
Co-authored with Tyler Rouse, MD, Alec Beekley, MD, and Rajesh Aggarwal, MD, PhD. Traces the historical roots of surgeon stereotypes and how movements like #ILookLikeASurgeon and #NYerORCoverChallenge are reshaping the image of surgery — challenging the cultural forces that have long defined who a surgeon is allowed to be.
On founding TIME'S UP Healthcare and the imperative for equity in medicine. Drawing on the legacy of Dr. Frances Conley, this piece traces the arc from survival to courage to collective movement — and makes the case that residents, with the most to gain and the longest careers ahead, are essential voices in changing the culture of healthcare for the next generation.
Written during a 4-day strike by the Buffalo Union of American Physicians & Dentists, this piece makes the case for fair compensation and healthcare coverage for resident physicians — and the patients who depend on them. A personal account of why the decision to strike came down to family, fairness, and the future of care in Buffalo.
Co-authored with Sara Scarlet, MD, Christian D. Jones, MD, MS, and Rajesh Aggarwal, MD, PhD. On why "work-life balance" is the wrong frame — and how integration, technology, culture change, and inclusive definitions of family create space for surgeons to show up whole, at work and beyond it.
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