Dr Ruth Vilayil

Make the beginning and ending count.
✨ A warm greeting. A moment of eye contact. A positive note closing.

“Wishing you the best with the ultrasound.”
“See you in the fall.”
You’re creating a memory of care and connection and making the messy middle more palatable.

#Communication #PatientCare

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou

Love this Maya Angelou quote.

But WHEN does that feeling get locked in?

Research shows:
👉 First impressions
👉 Final moments

These are the most emotionally powerful parts of any interaction.

In surgery and leadership, this matters more than we realize.

Talk about it!
And not just when fertility is affected.

Common, chronic conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis, and even fibroids, onset in adolescence.

By not speaking openly about periods, what's normal & what's abnormal, we plant seeds of shame & being unworthy of proper care.

So smart! #implementationscience

Surgeons & healthcare leaders: it’s time we stop circling around the research and start closing the know-do gap. One step at a time. #MedEdSky #SurgSky #QISky #ImplSci

It takes 17 years for just 14% of research to impact patient care. 🤯

That’s why I’m not just into publishing research, I'm into putting it into practice.
🔧 Quality Improvement = making care better here and now
🌍 Implementation Science = making change stick and scale

How 'eco improv' can help manage climate anxiety | CBC News Anaïs Pronovost-Morgan mashed together the arts and climate for her master’s degree, proving that improv could help teenagers come out of their shells and deal with difficult feelings. Now, she’s help...

Such a creative innovation! Could have parallels to “medical improv” which we use to teach communication skills to residents .

#climatesky #mentalhealth #improv #MedSky

www.cbc.ca/news/science... How 'eco improv' can help manage climate anxiety | CBC News

Hey #Surgery Peeps! Are you out there??

The community health workers protecting pregnant women from dangerous heat in Delhi In one of the world's hottest capital cities, a specialist team is working to help pregnant women survive the scorching temperatures.

The community health workers protecting pregnant women from dangerous heat in Delhi

“India is expected to be among the 1st countries where temps exceed safe limits for healthy people by 2050, even while resting in the shade, which could impact labour productivity, economic growth & quality of life”

I don’t see “Gynecologist” on this list. Should we stop worrrying about the 🌎 HHR shortage then?
(Top 40 jobs deemed safe from #AI)
#MedSky

Selfie of OP and Ugandan surgical registrar Dr

Great to catch up with a mentee surgical registrar while in Kampala. Inspiring chat about all things #SurgicalEducation #GlobalSurgery #SurgicalSafety and #NonTechnicalSkills. Thanks Dr Brian!

OP and two Ugandan doctors

We need more stories, more research, more LMIC voices at the table when we talk about wellness in surgery.

Let’s keep the momentum going. #SurgicalEducation #WellnessInSurgery

Group photo of the CME participants pouring tea

So grateful to be part of the growing recognition that we as surgeons and HCWs deserve to be well.

Also: I did a little happy dance 💃🏽 seeing the weekly CME sessions I helped launch in 2017 still going strong.

Donuts!

Best part:
Catching up with old colleagues, meeting new ones, and sharing African tea & donuts after the session. 🍩☕️
Sometimes the most important discussions happen AFTER the lecture.

Graphic on the emotional journey after an AE

We explored :
-what it really feels like when things go wrong in the OR
-how our reactions, coping mechanisms, and support systems matter, not just for us, but for our patients and teams
-LMIC-relevant experiences and realities

OP in front of WHI plaque

Had a great time presenting at the CME session at Women’s Hospital International & Fertility Centre in Kampala 🇺🇬
Topic: Emotional reactions to adverse events in surgery

🧵

#CME #Wellness #GlobalSurgery #SurgSky

YouTube video by Dr. Glaucomflecken The Surgeon Apologizes

youtu.be/WN96eV59Wqc
Yes! It’s the Canadian way.
& A quick apology to the team goes a long way to promote #psychsafety
#SurgSky
@glaucomflecken.bsky.social

London Health Sciences Research Institute poster featuring a photo of Dr. Genevieve Eastabrook, a 40-something year-old white woman with dark blonde hair and blue eyes, smiling with her mouth closed. In the background there are pictures of a placenta and a fetus in profile

Now that I know it’s out in the wild, I can show off my @lhscri poster!
Two fun facts:
1. The ultrasound picture in the background is actually my youngest son
2. The white lab coat is a loaner, since I haven’t worn one of those in over a decade!

Cassava cut into shape of fries with coleslaw in the side

Behold, cassava chips! Yum

BJS Academy What’s wrong? Do you want me to deflate the pneumoperitoneum? My surgeon stops what he’s doing and just looks at me expectantly. I hadn’t said anything to him, nor had I really clocked my own discomfo...

The other side of the barrier @doctorhelgi.bsky.social

How subtle cues, teamwork & understanding between anaesthetists & surgeons improve patient safety.

👉 www.bjsacademy.com/bjs-academy/...

#PatientSafety #Anaesthesia #Surgery #medsky #surgsky

The Tricky Balance Between Having a Clinical and Administrative Practice Transitioning to practice that includes both clinical and administrative work brings change, new priorities, and new responsibilities.

📢💻 Don't miss tomorrow's webinar on balancing clinical and administrative work. Join the ACS Women in Surgery Committee for a moderated discussion on how to navigate this type of transition.

🗓️: July 24 | 5:30–6:30 pm CT

When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.

Selfie of OP in front of tropical garden

Happy to be back here in Kampala, in the Pearl of Africa
#Uganda

A new curriculum aims to improve workplace culture across the healthcare sector.

A Better Culture Curriculum offers a practical framework to evaluate and improve work environments, offering assessment modes and resources.

Read the curriculum: #[bit.ly/3IyKOca

💯 Nontechnical Skills like teamwork are crucially important and CAN improve
#nontechnicalskills
#SurgSky

Heart shaped green leaf

Had such a great visit to beautiful Rwanda.
For now, thinking about this message from one of the survivors speaking at the Kigali Genocide Museum : (paraphrase)
“If you focus on hate, hate will grow. If you focus on love, love will grow.” ❤️
What are you focusing on today?

Green heart shaped leaf

Had such a great visit to beautiful Rwanda.
For now, thinking about this message from one of the survivors speaking at the Kigali Genocide Museum : (paraphrase)
“If you focus on hate, hate will grow. If you focus on love, love will grow.” ❤️
What are you focusing on today?

Pic of OP on a camel in desert

Selfie of OP in desert

Slight change in landscape from Pacific NW
Vacation stop in Qatar ☀️
#bluesky

#CanadaSky #sovereignty
#ElbowsUp

6/
Because showing up hurt, or going on medical leave, isn't "part of the job."
It's a preventable loss.

Let’s stop trading mastery for misery.
Let's stop pretending pain is just the price of excellence.

We deserve both. @surgergonomics.bsky.social
#ObGynSky #SurgSky #Ergonomics #Wellness