For Premeds & Medical Students

You’re drawn to surgery. You can grow into it without giving yourself up.

Whether you’ve already chosen surgery or are still getting to know it, this page gathers what’s worth knowing early: who gets to be a surgeon, the culture you’re stepping into, what training asks of you, and how to keep what matters most along the way.

Start here

What training actually asks of you

Before the clinical questions, there are the human ones. This essay traces a path from the Midwest to the end of surgical training — and what it means to remain whole inside a process designed to break you down and rebuild you.

What the Lotus Holds The essay that started this site. On transformation, roots, and reaching toward light from difficult soil. Surgical Palliative Care: Healing Beyond the Operating Room On what surgery can offer when cure is no longer the goal — and why that matters from the very beginning of training. Surgery & Palliative Care A possibility many students never hear about: surgeons can train in hospice and palliative medicine. What that looks like, and the different ways in.
On belonging

Who gets to be a surgeon — and why it matters that you’re asking

The image of who belongs in surgery is narrower than it should be. These are the projects that have tried to widen it — and the research that maps what happens when it doesn’t.

Stone steps with flowers. I'm the first in my family to attend college. The path to becoming a surgeon has been long and winding.
#ILookLikeASurgeon A global movement that started with a single tweet. The history, the data, and what it continues to mean for anyone still looking for themselves in this profession. Surgical Identity Research Peer-reviewed work on stereotypes, representation, and the evolving image of who surgeons are.
On the culture

The system you’re entering — and what it’s worth knowing now

Medical culture is not neutral. It rewards certain things, discourages others, and shapes who makes it through in ways that aren’t always visible until you’re inside. These resources name what’s often left unnamed.

#UnmaskMedicine A growing conversation about what medicine asks of the people inside it — and what it might look like if we built it differently. Mental Health in Medicine The culture you’re entering, why seeking care should be safe at every stage of training, and support if you need it. Books, Podcasts & Communities A curated list of things worth reading and listening to as you figure out what kind of surgeon you want to become.
Connect

You don’t have to figure this out alone

The best way to grow into surgery is to get close to it. Ask the questions you’re carrying, even the ones that feel too basic or too personal. Follow surgeons online to see the work and the life up close. And look for mentors, more than one, who will be honest with you.

Follow surgeons on social media Searching #ILookLikeASurgeon is one easy place to start finding surgeons who share their work and their paths. Find mentors through societies Many surgical societies welcome students and offer mentorship, meetings, and community. These are the ones that shaped my path. Women in Surgery For women drawn to surgery: an annual career symposium and year-round community, with sessions just for premed and medical students. Ask me a question I’m one of many people glad to help. If there’s something you haven’t been able to ask anywhere else, send it my way.
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