Heather Logghe, MD

This past week I've taken a deep dive into the powerful voices on LinkedIn. Brave physicians, courageous surgeons, visionary leaders, resilient patients—all making their voices heard. Knowing there is so much to heal within medicine. Yet I know there remains so much unspoken pain. Nearly every one of us touched by the culture of medicine carries something we hold deeply, but have never spoken. Traditionally, our medical training has taught us that silence = strength. But what if honesty is what starts the healing? Those of us in healthcare know the fallout of silence too well: Burnout. Depression. Addiction. Panic attacks behind closed doors. Crying in call rooms. Sleepless nights, relentless expectations, the weight of pretending you're okay day after day, night after night. Patients bear the stress of not being heard, the fear of bad news, the exhaustion of navigating a system that fails them—that strips them of their dignity, and leaves them feeling invisible, powerless, and alone. We ALL feel the stress of a system that too often erases our humanity—we carry too much. The long hours for residents. The long waits for patients. The doctors overloaded—buried in charting, billing, and administrative demands that pull them away from patients, leaving little room to truly listen. The nurses stretched impossibly thin, absorbing grief, anger, exhaustion, and fleeting moments of gratitude with no pause to breathe. The patients who feel unseen. The harm of obesity bias. The pain of racial disparities. This isn’t just about the suffering of individuals—it’s about the imperfect system we all live in, and the silent toll it takes on every one of us. It’s time to speak. Our voices have power. Because sharing heals—and community strengthens us, inspires courage, and reminds us we were never meant to carry this alone. It's time for a movement to hashtag#UnmaskMedicine—giving a face to the pain, and a voice to the silence. Share that thing you’ve never said. Something that weighs on you. Something that shaped you. Something that’s true. Your voice matters. It might even save someone. Let's all take off our masks and offer a space where truth is welcome—unfiltered, vulnerable, and fully human.  Together, we can rehumanize medicine. One voice at a time. #UnmaskMedicine-- a face to the pain, truth to the silence

A sign of emotional intelligence is the ability to laugh at yourself. 6 studies: After making small mistakes, people are seen as warmer and more capable if they're amused instead of embarrassed. Taking your responsibilities seriously but your ego lightly is a core life skill.

Peripheral vasopressor administration in critically ill adults was associated with a low incidence of adverse events—major events were rare using short peripheral intravenous catheters, and use avoided central venous catheter placement in 60% of cases. ja.ma/4btNGSr

What happens when a physician becomes the victim of medical gaslighting? They almost die. In a recent episode of The Podcast by KevinMD, neurologist Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor shared a story that exposes a massive crack in our medical system. Dr. Taylor went to her gynecologist of 20 years with postmenopausal bleeding. Her doctor, who was days away from retiring and closing her practice, was too busy to investigate properly. Instead of referring her out or doing the necessary procedures, she told Dr. Taylor her symptoms were "just stress" and told her to come back in a year. Dr. Taylor is a physician. She knew she wasn't stressed. She listened to her intuition, sought care at an academic institution, and was immediately diagnosed with endometrial cancer. If she had waited that year, she likely would not have survived. Medical gaslighting is an epidemic, particularly for women and the elderly. Dr. Taylor points out that this is rarely born out of malice. It comes from a broken culture. Doctors are severely crunched for time, buried in electronic medical records, and exhausted. When they cannot figure out a complex problem quickly, it is far too easy to dismiss the patient as anxious or stressed. But the subtle nonverbal cues like a sigh, a smirk, or a rushed exit make patients feel small. It makes them stop asking questions. We have to change this dynamic. Patients: Your intuition is valid. If you feel a whisper in your mind that something is wrong, do not ignore it. Demand a second opinion. Physicians: We must remember the power of our words and our body language. It is okay to say "I do not know, let me refer you to someone who might." We have to bridge the gap between curing and healing. You can find the link to this recent episode in the comments. It is a must-listen for both medical professionals and patients. #MedTwitter #MedicalGaslighting #PatientAdvocacy #Healthcare #WomensHealth #KevinMD #PhysicianBurnout #MedEd

Heading home from Phoenix after a weekend at the @AmerGastroAssn Women’s Executive Leadership Conference. Here’s what I’m bringing back with me: As women in medicine we’re taught to compete harder. Work longer. Do more. Be more. But what if that’s the wrong game entirely? This weekend we were reminded of the Blue Ocean Strategy. ⭐️ Red Ocean: compete in existing space, beat the competition, fight for the same demand. ⭐️ Blue Ocean: create uncontested space, make the competition irrelevant, generate new demand entirely. Most of us in medicine are swimming in a red ocean - working harder to out-perform, out-publish, out-everything our peers in an already crowded space. The leaders who create lasting impact aren’t the ones who won the existing game. They built a new one.

Dr. Joshua Weiner always knew he wanted to be a transplant surgeon—but his path wasn’t typical. His advice: Do what you love, not what checks someone else’s boxes. “You’ll be happier and that’s the best way to succeed.” Watch his full #PipelineFriday feature for more insights.

Fluid restriction has no proven benefit in heart failure or cirrhosis, but can lead to anxiety and harm. Use it sparingly in patients with dilutional hyponatraemia.

Soft tissue sarcoma limb incisions: Longitudinal incision, as opposed to transverse, prevents contamination of uninvolved fascial compartments and reduces the need for unnecessary complex skin and soft-tissue coverage 🔪⤵️! @TomVargheseJr @SWexner @pferrada1 @CirUandes

Sage and practical advice for a long and satisfying surgical career from Dr. Kellie Brown at @NMSurgery Grand Rounds yesterday. Thanks for your visit! @NMCardioVasc @NMSurgery

March is #ColorectalCancerAwarenessMonth A curated collection of articles published in @acsJACS from the past 2 years can be found at the link: facs.org/for-medical-pr… @AmCollSurgeons

Profile facs.org/profile/522507… As a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons for over 20 years, I encourage members to act together to stop Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from finalizing a 2.5% cut to work relative value units (wRVUs). This is a call to action. facs.org/advocacy/regul…

So grateful for the opportunity to talk about this! @NEJM @waljeejenn @IU_Surgery @ASPS_News @SocietyofBAS @AmCollSurgeons @CMSGov @acgme @AmerMedicalAssn @AcademicSurgery @IUMedSchool #Medtwitter #GME

Surgery resident @AaronGilani asked why people close the fascia of trocar sites with a figure-of-eight suture instead of a horizontal mattress. Let us look at these briefly via one of my experiments. (1/ )

Did you know that appendicectomy is a valid treatment in ulcerative colitis? This is what you need to know about the recent ACCURE trial ✂️

Join us next Wednesday, March 18th at 7:00AM for our #Surgery #GrandRounds with our very own Dr. Devon Callahan! 🏢In-Person: HMA ➡️Virtual Meeting Link: microsoft.com/microsoft-team… 👉Meeting ID: 226 356 294 722 6 👉Passcode: PF2dD94p

I've had concerns about the aggressiveness of OPOs for a while. This is exactly why. Are we certain our patients are unconscious during controlled donation? A must-read JAMA Perspective raising hard but necessary questions about covert consciousness and the ethics of end-of-life care. #MedTwitter #Surgery #OrganDonation

The Connell Mayo suture pattern technique! The drunk 🥴 man mnemonics ⤵️🔪! Only in our @CiruAndes2 @MediUniandes @Uniandes @FSFB_Salud bowel suture workshop! @pferrada1 @SWexner @TomVargheseJr

Congrats to Dr. @LeslyDossett who has accepted the position as the new Chair and Clinical Service Chief for the Department of Surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. A fantastic leader, Dr. Dossett has a track record of achievement in several leadership roles as Division Chief of Surgical Oncology, Maud T. Lane Research Professor of Cancer Quality Improvement, professor of surgery at Michigan Medicine, and deputy director for clinical innovation and engagement at Rogel Cancer Center. Nationally she is the current Recorder for @AcademicSurgery and the immediate Past President of @SurgOutcomes . Her research leverages implementation science frameworks and behavioral strategies to improve health care value. Amazingly, after surgery residency at Vanderbilt, Dr. Dossett served on active duty with the United States Navy, including completing two deployments supporting combat operations in Afghanistan. She completed a clinical fellowship in complex general surgical oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 2016. As you can tell, I’m a huge fan. Know you will thrive Lesly in the new position, and look forward to your success as Chair. Congrats! @KuSurgery @KUMedCenter @KUcancercenter @UnivOfKansas @WomenSurgeons @UMichSurgery @jdimick1

Suicide is now the LEADING cause of death for US medical residents. We are losing 500 physicians a year. That is an entire med school class. Stop demanding "resilience" from doctors and start fixing the system. Tie executive bonuses to wellness, not just RVUs. Link to the recent episode is in the comments 👇

1/ Welcome to Edition 296 of West’s Well-Being Wednesday! Today I’ll focus on a study of well-being domains and suicidal ideation in surgeons @JSurgRes @ReaganACollins @drjessigold Associations of Well-Being Measures With Suicidal Ideation in Surgeons sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Removing options for telemedicine care for Medicare patients is irresponsible. This patient is older, cared for by his wife - has severe lymphedema and difficulty ambulating, among a host of other medical problems. Per the wife: “Just getting him out of the house and into the car is an undertaking.” There’s no reason these patients shouldn’t be able to be seen remotely - it’s safer, more accessible, and more cost effective for the patients - who are already facing increasing premiums and healthcare costs. @CMSGov @DrOz @MartyMakary @DutchRojas @BobTahara @Watts_IR @LoggheMD