Assma Itani

Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. Complications are an inevitable reality for surgeons. Though we can strive to reduce their frequency and impact, anyone who operates will have patients who have a complication. I have found it interesting to observe how different surgeons disclose complications to patients.

Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. No one warned me I would come to love you. No one warned me you would start to feel like family. No one warned me I would cry with you. The truth is that I’m not a crier and I’ve never really been a crier. My own vulnerability makes me uncomfortable. I’m a scientist and physician, after all. But who am I to encourage you to feel your feelings and have no shame in expressing them when I won’t do that myself.

Op-Med is a collection of original articles contributed by Doximity members. As I reflect on my 3.5 years of medical school, there are distinct moments that stand out in my memory. My first exam — how carefully I reviewed that first month’s worth of slides. My first patient encounter — the nerves causing my hands to shake as I scrawled down the patient’s history. My first anatomy lab — meeting the donors who generously sacrificed their bodies for our medical education.