“Throwing My Life Away” Was the Best Decision I Ever Made
As medical students, we are trained to anticipate the next step, being a resident. As a resident, we are placed on track to know that there are offices, hospitals, clinics, etc that need us. The position is waiting; you just have to fall in line and find the right...
Med Student Memoirs: My Expectation Hangover
It was my first day of undergrad and the feeling of pride and excitement were overwhelming. I was thrilled, I was going to be the first in my family to earn a college degree. I checked my email several times a day, and being that it was the first day of college, I...
How to Get into Medical School With A Low GPA
I’m an orthopaedic surgeon...but if you told me I’d be here when I graduated from college, I’d be laughing at you! When I got started in college, I thought I was going to be a premed and apply to medical school. It was not a well-thought-out decision. I thought that...
Doctor Lulu Heads to the Capitol
So, I was minding my business doing school work at home last Monday, when I looked at my phone and noticed a message on Facebook messenger from a random gentleman that I had never heard of before. He introduced himself as Dr. Wilson Lam, a member of a group of doctors...
How Working in Global Health Changed Me as a Doctor
Being in medicine requires practitioners to be more than a clinician but also an advocate, coordinator, counselor, information resource and supporter for patients. As physicians we are in an unique position to understand and treat the protean manifestations of...
#WomenPower: What Happens When Female Doctors Join Together
Last year a Texas based physician came under fire after he was quoted in a medical journal stating female physicians earn less because we do not "work as hard". A repost on the Facebook group Physician Mom's Group, an online community of over 70,000 female physicians,...
Why I Like Being a 43-old Physician
"Are you the doctor?" was the most frequently asked question I received from patients in my new practice. The 2nd most common question was "Are you old enough to be a doctor?", followed by the rather blunt question "How old are you?" I graduated from family...
Feeling Like an Imposter?
Have you ever felt guilty in your successes, discounted praise, doubtful in your ability or just plain lucky but not “enough”? If you answered yes to any of these, you’ve probably experienced something called “imposter syndrome”. It’s something many of us in the...
#Reality Check: Choosing to Be A Mom-Doctor
I'm a doctor, I'm a woman, I'm a mother to a fiercely independent little girl and I want her to know she can do anything she wants. But I am not a feminist, at least not the way it's been interpreted recently. ( ...and cue in the angry comments) As a fourth year...
Unbreakable: How I Survived Raising An Infant as a Resident and Single Mom
“Oh, shit,” I said to myself as I sat on the toilet, pants down, grasping at a pink plastic stick between my legs. “I’m pregnant.” I stared at the baby blue “+” sign. There was no mistaking it. I didn’t have to wait the 60 seconds for those fateful intersecting lines...
Perfection is Not Required
I remember June 20th, 2010 like it was yesterday. In the months preceding that day, overwhelm had become my new normal. I had so many hats to wear and it did not seem like I was succeeding in any of my roles. I was a wife, mother of two children ages 2 years and 7...
A Card For Father’s Day
One evening this week I was strolling the stationary aisle of my local grocery store looking for Father’s Day cards. The selection of cards was dizzying; a wealth of color and sparkle and sentiment. This card poked fun at a love of fishing, that one was grateful for...
Advice for All Our New Physicians
Dr. Natasha Sriraman along with other Women in White Coats gives new interns advice about how to be successful in residency.
What its Like Being Married to a Black Woman Doctor
“We refuse to be what you wanted us to be; We are what we are; That’s the way (way) it’s going to be.” –Bob Marley and the Wailers The Trials of Mia Aretha (as Witnessed by Karl) For real though. Ordinarily I don't vent in public. In fact, I am not...
The Double Standard for Doctors
“Some reports have come in that you are unapproachable” “Excuse me” I said stone faced while my mind began racing and searching memory banks and files for any instance where I could have been accused of being rude, unapproachable, or unprofessional. No...
