Laura Vater, MD, MPH
@doclauravater
I champion the dignity of patients & clinicians and strive to keep healthcare human. Oncologist, writer, TEDx & commencement speaker, mom
I'm an odd oncologist, maybe. When my patients opt for no chemo, I keep seeing them if they wish. I help w/ symptoms, follow scans over time, & help interpret data about alternatives. A doctor is a guide. We should continue to guide, even if a person opts for a different path.
Hot off the presses! Tips from the editorial board @JCO_ASCO @ASCO on what we're looking for in narrative medicine or poetry pieces for the Journal of Clinical Oncology! The Art of the Art of Oncology | @DrSGraff @SylvesterCancer @UMiamiHealth ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JC…
Too tired from an exceedingly busy clinic day to type something insightful here. Just take a deep breath, and then another. Honor your humanity. Know that your work matters.
Rounded with a stellar resident team yesterday and this is still one of my favorite things to say around 3 pm: “You’ve worked hard and cared well for people today. Now go home and enjoy your life.”
I've been at the hospital most of the week (for family) and I'm struck by how much better things would be if we could make the hospital more, well, hospitable! Here are some hospitality notes I have so far this week (some good, some areas for improvement...):
Leadership isn't measured by how many followers you have. It's gauged by how may lives you improve. Selfish leaders divide people to advance personal agendas. Servant leaders unite people to achieve common goals. The best leaders are those who bring out the best in others.
Every time a radiologist marks key images on an MRI an angel gets its wings
In case no one told you: Thank you for taking care of people today. Your work matters.
All people deserve healthcare, when and where they need it, regardless of their background, employment status, or personal circumstances.
“Health is not a merit badge. And illness is not a personal failure.”
Why is it so hard for people, especially some wellness influencers, to admit this simple truth…. You can do everything right. You can eat the kale, take the supplements, walk 10k steps a day, lift the weights, meditate, sleep 8 hours, avoid sugar, avoid seed oils, avoid…
When you have a busy day and you feel like you’re barely getting by and a patient stops and says, “Thank you, doctor, for caring for me so well.”
People in their most vulnerable states still just want to be people. —Suzy Crocker
Meeting a person at the beginning of an advanced cancer diagnosis and walking them through the end of life is such a deeply profound privilege. And it's so hard. Still, I'm grateful for this work.
As a psychiatrist, I get to sit front row as people share intimate details about their lives. Earning a human being’s trust is the ultimate privilege. You may be the only person someone ever opens up to. Never take this privilege for granted.
To anyone in a new role this month: You’re not unskilled or incompetent. You’re just new at it. Be kind to yourself as you learn.
The culture of medicine is good at making doctors feel like they’ll never be good enough—not seeing enough patients, not finishing charts quickly enough, not published enough, not teaching enough, not enough shifts, not enough call, not enough committees, not enough conferences…
Immigrants play a huge role in US health care and the hospital workforce. If we discourage them from entering the US, this can make shortages worse—causing understaffing, decreased access to care, poorer quality of care, and more burnout among clinicians already in practice.