One of the things I appreciate most about my life is that no two days are ever the same. Each morning begins with my commute over the Golden Gate Bridge on my e-bike, accompanied by a cup of coffee to warm up and prepare for the day ahead. Depending on my schedule, I might leave the house a little after 5:00 AM to arrive at work by 6:00 AM, while on other days, I can start closer to 8:00 AM.
Twice a week, I work side-by-side with one of our Residents at the Parnassus Campus. We manage urgent and emergent issues, often involving patients with complex head and neck diseases. These include cases from the emergency room with airway compromise, facial trauma, or bleeding, as well as a variety of challenging surgical and medical issues from patients referred to UCSF by colleagues from other specialties. These days provide a broad set of complex medical and surgical challenges, and I find it especially rewarding to work closely with Residents during these pivotal experiences in their training.
In between my Parnassus responsibilities, I spend one day a week in my outpatient clinic, focusing on patients with sinonasal disorders—my primary clinical specialty. Here, I maintain continuity with some patients for up to 15 years, while also seeing new cases regularly. Sometimes, I have the pleasure of working with a medical student or Resident, and I often have a colleague in the same workroom, which allows us to exchange ideas or simply catch up on what's happening in our department.
The other two days of my week are divided between staffing surgeries at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and handling the surgical cases generated from my sinus clinic. I'm fortunate to work with Residents during these activities as well. Not only does this allow me to contribute to training the next generation of Otolaryngologists, but it also keeps my perspective on patient care fresh.
If I'm lucky, my ride home on the e-bike includes a scenic sunset over the Pacific Ocean as I cross the bridge back home. On tougher days, the commute is more about battling the fog and wind, but either way, it's a good time to decompress after a full day's work.
