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Shirlywhirl, M.D.
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Medicine has a bullying problem. The structure of medical training is highly hierarchical, and trainees are wholly dependent on a small number of often randomly assigned higher-ups who then evaluate them. A scathing evaluation, from the wrong person, can mean that a trainee gets locked out of a desired field. Given this, we’re told to be deferential, obedient, restrained.

Throughout my training, multiple residents, fellows and attendings have taken advantage of this power dynamic to be demeaning or verbally abusive. The pattern is almost always the same: they are annoyed by a situation, react to it by being abusive toward me, and retroactively declare that their behavior was actually an effort to “teach” me.

I’m a grown woman, & an African one at that, so I don’t let people talk to me “anyhow” anymore. My method of dealing with these situations is to take a little time to cool off, and then loop back to confront that behavior. These conversations have never ended in the other party apologizing, & I don’t go into them seeking an apology. I go to force them to reexamine their behavior under a microscope, which typically encourages them to police their emotions in their future interactions with me. I do this with some professional risk, however, & wouldn’t necessarily encourage a med student to do the same.

How do you deal with your professional bullies?

#meded #medicaltraining #workplaceviolence #mistreatment #healthcareworkers #hcws #residency #cardiology #fellowship #wic #intern #internship #meded #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #internalmedicine #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician #webcomic

Sorry I’m talking so fast, y’all. Instagram limits its Reels to 60 seconds & you know I always have a lot to say!

If you lurk in the stories, you saw this redraw MONTHS ago. I actually drew it during residency, and have a TON more where this came from. Just trying to find ways to actually let them see the light of day! Let me know if you liked this format, or if you’d rather I shut up so you can watch the process in peace 😂😂

#thelittlemermaid #disneyprincess #blackdisney #blackart #drawthisinyourstyle #authorsofinstagram #22debuts #blackauthors #writingcommunity #writers #traditionalpublishing #publishing #writersofig #writersofinstagram #bookstagram #booktok #onrotation

A long, long time ago, I thought I was going to be an OB-Gyn. I was very wrong about that, but I was right about this: wanting to take care of women.

Women are underrepresented in Cardiology, making up only about 15% of the field. They are thus underrepresented in Cardiology clinical trials, & we are only recently shining a spotlight on conditions that disproportionately affect them. All this, despite the fact that CVD is still the number one killer of women in the United States!

So today, I #gored to raise awareness of #cardiovasculardisease in women! I pledge to 1) use this platform to educate more on topics in cardiology and 2) direct yall to more educators! Prevention is key in addressing CVD, and education is power!

What Cardiology topics would you like me to discuss?

#goredforwomen #medscape #healthcareworkers #hcws #residency #cardiology #fellowship #wic #intern #internship #meded #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #internalmedicine #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician #webcomic

January’s Medscape Comic. I know I rant about how tough this year has been a lot. Drawing this comic forced me to recall the moments when medicine truly felt like a calling.

See the full article in the link in my bio!

What have you been thankful for this year?

#medscape #healthcareworkers #hcws #residency #cardiology #fellowship #wic #intern #internship #meded #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #internalmedicine #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician #webcomic

YOU KNOW. Just normal healthy conversations happening here!

I grew up in part in a small town in Arkansas, & went to school in Hot Springs. I have a lot of fond memories of that time in my life, & I still keep up with lots of my friends from middle school (they’re still my favorite cohort.) For a kid like me, who moved around a lot, our little town was the closest thing to a hometown I can claim.

But there were scary parts. My story of my family being escorted out of a hotel by cops happened in our “hometown”. I was allowed to get a dog because strange white men came to our house (nestled in the woods, very out of the way) in the middle of the night & shined flashlights into our house. My parents shielded us, but I know there were more stories.

Even now, I worry about taking road trips with my husband. When we stop at gas stations or restaurants outside of major cities, we can feel the weight of hostile gazes trailing us. An older Texan interracial couple, seeing themselves in us, once gave us unsolicited advice about where in the state we would do best to avoid. Don’t get me wrong; there are Black & brown people everywhere. But with our current political climate turning #BlackLivesMatter into a four letter word, creating extremists who are armed, insecure, & not afraid to threaten violence, there’s a lot of the country that feels… unsafe. That part has always responded to black excellence by burning it down.

#antiracism #uncomfortableconversations #healthcareworkers #hcws #residency #fellowship #wic #intern #inpatient #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician

Non medical folks: i could never go into the healthcare field; I can’t stand the sight of blood

Me, nodding sagely , knowing that blood isn’t even in the top 5 of worst bodily fluids

#woundcarenurses #woundcare #healthcare #interventionalcardiology #cathlab #healthcareworkers #hcws #residency #fellowship #wic #intern #inpatient #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #internalmedicine #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician

As promised - the SHIRLYWHIRLMD 30K GIVEAWAY! (INSTAGRAM ONLY. Sorry y’all!)

It’s not being sappy to say that y’all have changed my life. Growing up, I always thought I’d eventually have to choose between my dream of being a physician, an artist, and a writer. Medicine takes me seriously because of y’all, which in turn emboldened me to go from not even telling folks I wrote (my husband didn’t realize until we were engaged ha) to seeking out an agent and selling my novel! What!

To enter, tag three friends on this post. That’s it. ALL FOUR OF YOU MUST BE FOLLOWING @shirlywhirlmd TO QUALIFY!

TWO lucky winners will get 1) a personalized, signed physical advanced reading copy of ON ROTATION out via @avonbooks @harpercollins @williammorrowbooks 2) a coveted “BABY DOCTOR” pin, AND 3) a ShirlywhirlMD badge reel / lanyard!

Winners will be notified on Sat. 1/29/22 by DM. You’ll be expected to provide your email address + home address. Please respond within 24 hours of receipt- I will pick a different winner if you don’t!

(And no, I’m not quitting medicine to make a bootygram. My 👼 + 😈 will be back though!)

👗 : @fabletics #moveinfabletics #MyFabletics #fableticspartner

#giveaway #onrotation #30kgiveaway #authorsofinstagram #22debuts #blackauthors #writingcommunity #writers #traditionalpublishing #publishing #writersofig #writersofinstagram #bookstagram

From now on, when people ask me what my book is about, I’ma send them this. Thank you to my publicity team (y’all! A girl has a PUBLICITY TEAM) for the guidance through this, and an extremely loud thank you to the many friends who contributed their significant time and talents to making this little promo POP. Hope y’all enjoy this much as much as I do! (Stay tuned for the giveaway announcement this weekend!)

🎬 : @linnliu 🎥: Bae + Patrick Schiller, during his CCU call 🎶 : @stevenbradleymd, the GOAT 👚 :@shop.hmaj

#onrotation #authorsofinstagram #22debuts #blackauthors #writingcommunity #writers #traditionalpublishing #publishing #writersofig #writersofinstagram #bookstagram #physicianartists #physicianauthors #doctorswhowrite #blackwomeninmedicine #withoutthewhitecoat #wic #fellowship #residency #medicalschool

As promised- the full Family Medicine Girl!

The original Medical Magical Girl, Family Medicine Girl has become more elusive and more desired than ever in recent years. And it’s no surprise why- having her on your team is a huge help! With her focus on preventative health & knowledge of almost all specialties, she’s just as capable of managing hypertension as she is delivering your baby. She covers ailments across ages & takes care of entire families. Even the burden of paperwork falls on her! FM Girl would be almost overpowered, except, with an evasion so low, she almost always bears the brunt of initial attacks (everyone punts their fights to her!) Make sure you treat your friendly neighborhood Family Medicine Girl with respect- she deserves it!

#magicalgirl #anime #manga #medicalmagicalgirl #familymedicine #primarycare #familymed #generalpractice #gp #pcp #generalpractionter #resident #residency #intern #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #premed #premedmotivation #internalmedicine #medschool #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician

FAMILY MEDICINE GIRL REVEAL! Stay tuned for stats + the full image.

It’s my (2nd ever) REEL! I’ve been wanting to get on the #instagramreel bandwagon for a while to show off my processes, but had no clue where to start. Thank you @dreverywoman , reel queen, for the tutorial. And thank you to @heysugarqueen for the commission!

#magicalgirl #anime #manga #medicalmagicalgirl #familymedicine #primarycare #familymed #generalpractice #gp #pcp #generalpractionter #resident #residency #intern #doctor #womeninmedicine #blackdoctors #graphicmedicine #premed #premedmotivation #internalmedicine #medschool #medicine #medicalschool #medlife #md #medstudent #nurse #physician