One of our greatest human needs is love. Abraham Maslow put that into perspective for us nearly 80 years ago when he published his theory on the hierarchy of needs. After some food, water, and shelter, before we can achieve self-esteem and realize who we are and what we are meant to be… we need love. His theory has undergone some criticism over the years, but it’s hard to argue that we don’t need love as relatively foundational to achieving...

This COVID thing fascinates me on so many levels. As a surgeon…how the virus affects my patients and how we safely operate on those infected; as a researcher…how we study and learn about the disease; as a wife and mother… how I am protecting my family; and as a leader…how my team, my work community, is impacted physically, emotionally, financially, mentally. I have received dozens of texts, calls, emails, and social media messages asking, “How are you?” “Are you safe?”...

The baby is 10 years old now and our firstborn is off to college. I have been done with my professional training for 9 years. We crossed the 20 year threshold in our marriage. We made it. All is well. Right? Right… For so many years, I have moved from one major milestone to the next…high school, college, grad school…marriage, kids, launch the first child…first job, promotion, executive leadership… Now what? Maybe I have lost my view of the next...

While away from the office the other week, spending some time with friends, I opened my work email (perhaps my first mistake) and found a message with a semi-urgent tone, requesting a project be expedited. A project that remains with unanswered questions and ongoing discussion that the original plan should be revised. I composed a panicked email, then deleted it. Then wrote another email and showed it to my husband and friends, and then deleted it. Finally, I replied, “I...