Insights on Residency Training

July 12th, 2022

Training Alongside the Drug Epidemic

Brandon Temte, DO

The drug epidemic in America continues to worsen. In 2021, the CDC reported a historic high in overdose-related deaths of 107,622. This number is up 15% from 2020 and 100% from 2015 [1]. In Oregon, where I completed my residency training, substance abuse is still a significant concern. Opioid deaths in Oregon rose 40% last […]

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April 26th, 2022

Enjoy the Journey – You Deserve It

Brandon Temte, DO

A few years back, I was a third-year medical student, exhausted on my general surgery rotation. I woke up at 4 am to the sound and smell of my coffee maker, muttering to myself, “only 1 week left.” I did not intend to become a surgeon, but I showed up early each day to get […]

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April 19th, 2022

Calling out Impostor Syndrome

Abdullah Al-abcha, MD

As chief resident, I have been in a position to observe and mentor students, interns, and residents. I have always believed in the importance of recognition and support in a workplace. On a recent encounter with an intern, as I was praising her for her work, she responded rather unexpectedly! She thanked me for recognizing […]

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February 18th, 2021

The Human Side of Medicine — Grieving the Loss of Our Patients

Masood Pasha Syed, MBBS

“The life of the dead is placed in the memories of the living” — Marcus Tullius Cicero Growing up in a family of physicians, I was exposed early to healthcare from the provider side. Some days, my father would come home late after a long surgery with an unanticipated complication or an unexpected outcome and would […]

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February 4th, 2021

Engaging with History: Why Do the Actions of Nazi Physicians Matter in Medicine Today?

Holland Kaplan, MD

The reflections and photos in this post are a result of the immersive experience I had via the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics in 2016. Many assume that Nazi physicians were antisocial, sadistic psychopaths. But viewing the perpetrators of the Holocaust as morally deficient is simply inaccurate; in fact, the Nazis physicians […]

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January 22nd, 2021

Gratitude – Reflections on 2020

Vivek Sant, MD

2020 was a tough year. With natural disasters around the world, a global pandemic, and significant social and economic upheaval both in the U.S. and abroad, no one has emerged unaffected. Especially in medicine, we have acutely experienced our share of grief and loss and have witnessed humanity in its most broken state. In the […]

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December 31st, 2020

What Time Is It?

Sneha Shah, MD

How many minutes have you given yourself to read this post? There was a time when none of us could tell time. Imagine not knowing what the ever-moving hands of a clock are trying to reveal. My memories skew, but in that era before I could tell time, all I remember is laughter, effervescence, and […]

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November 10th, 2020

Why I Wore All Black That Day

Sneha Shah, MD

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Even the sharpest dressed attendings come to work donning scrubs in the time of COVID. I was no exception. Halfway through my 2 weeks on service, I appreciated the extra comfort my blue scrubs provided. Then, on September 19th, I wore all black. Those accustomed to seeing me in […]

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October 26th, 2020

Futility as a Cause of Burnout in Residency

Holland Kaplan, MD

At the beginning of my residency training, one of our program leaders defined burnout as “work out of proportion to meaning.” In a sense, I think this also defines futility – performing a disproportionate amount of work compared with the results or meaning you are deriving from the work. The proposed causes of burnout in […]

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September 29th, 2020

Below Hospital Deck

Stephanie Braunthal, DO

There is debate about which of the many medically themed TV shows best depicts our lives in medicine. Is it the conundrums of House? The interpersonal drama of Grey’s Anatomy? The camaraderie and antics of Scrubs? While each of these capture unique problem solving, empathy, relationships, and burdens that accompany being a physician, I had yet […]

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