"It was almost like stand-up in a way," he says. We're going to have a conversation with Dr Will Flanary, an ophthalmologist and comedian also known, in the medical community and beyond, as Dr. Glaucomflecken.. Flanary churns out original content every few days. The next video is a sponsored one for a pretty cool reader that could help with accessibility. In front of a standing room-only crowd, Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken delivered an opening keynote session packed with laughs (so many laughs!) "One time, I walked out and he was in full clown makeup with Pagliacci music playing." Then, the surprise bills arrived accumulating charges for out-of-network care he received in the depths of his health crisis. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer twice the first time was when he was in his fourth year of medical school at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and the second time while he was in his third year of residency at the University of Iowa. Like many things involving TikTok, the Dr. Glaucomflecken phenomenon was born out of boredom. (Interestingly enough, I just saw Louis CK talk about this same thing on Joe Rogan's podcast). Thats effectively a personality loves to sit down.. But everybody likes the TikTok where "Dr Daddy" Flanary in a red puffer jacket refers his 5-year-old daughter to debt collectors for failing to pay him for a $900 emergent splinter removal and Frozen Band-Aid application. Feb 10 2023 Length: 39 mins Podcast Listen for free View show details Summary Today for our 100th episode, Asif and Ali welcome back one of their most popular guests, Will Flannary aka social media star Dr. Glaucomflecken. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Turns out, I was having agonal breaths, which are a sign of cardiac arrest. Two weeks before classes began, Flanary got a call: Dartmouth accepted him too. You've successfully added to your alerts. $15.00. Everything from social media to the patient experience to why cataract surgery isnt as bad as you think it is. Written by: Left untreated, it is a minutes-long prelude to death. It does highlight how wonderful family medicine doctors are though. While still in his residency, Flanary was concerned his medical comedy would get him in trouble. His pandemic content on vaccinations have garnered the most negative response but he tries not to pay too much attention to the angry comments and messages, he says. Q: I watched some reaction videos from doctors. Daniel Kahneman. Severe Weather Through my stories, I hope to make a difference. But its a minority most people are just fine with it. "It's crazy some of the things we do." Dr. Glaucomflecken's real name is Will Flanary. That leaves nights and weekends for the ring light, the iPhone, and Flanarys alter ego, an internet celebrity known as Dr. Glaucomflecken. mountain-biking emergency medicine doctor, shortcomings of the American healthcare system, "Ophthalmologist Accidentally Agrees to See Inpatient Consult. The more hours you work per week, the closer you get to park to the hospital. Three days later, he woke up in an ICU bed, recovering from a cardiac arrest. She was alone, he said. Advice for the relationships in your life and how to boost your own well-being. When you encounter someone like me in your workplace a family member, lay responders, the co-survivors remember our shared humanity and reach out to help.. 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For example, neurologists may have a slight rage stroke hearing someone described as having an altered mental status, which they describe as garbage terminology because it could mean anything from slightly confused to comatose. Theyre also put to use in Flanarys tried-and-true format, dating back to the insurance video: pithy clips in which a reasonable person encounters a preposterous system, and comedy ensues. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to continue for long enough. His idle hands first turned to Twitter, where hed amassed some 100,000 followers as @DGlaucomflecken, borrowing the German term for a glaucoma symptom because he wanted the most ridiculous word I could think of in ophthalmology. But soon he wasnt finding it as much of a challenge to be funny via text. He's an ophthalmologist in Portland, Oregon and, on the side, a comedian. It wasnt until I was able to do a rotation in ophthalmology at the beginning of my fourth year that I made the decision, so I decided really late. There was an error saving your display name. I saw, Oh theres a big appetite for this. Medicine can be very hard, and I think really his type of humor keeps us humble. Better known as Dr. Glaucomflecken to the rest of the world, his humour has been a bright spot for his 1.3 million TikTok and 472.9K Twitter followers looking for a bit of levity amid the. Flanary says the videos have taken him to a place he never expected, and hell continue doing it as long as his audience still watches and he continues to enjoy it. More:If you'd like to watch the full keynote address, it will be available to all ACEP Unconventional attendees. At home, "it kind of felt like 50 First Dates for the first few days," Kristin says, as Will's memory improved. And I trust myself. The trauma surgeon laughed really hard at the part where the surgeon tells the medical student hes mad at the student for not being psychic. I could attack all these topics that Id been discussing on Twitter just with boring words, but now I could approach it in a different way and do something new.. What is this world? In 2014, after a transitional year in Chicago, the young family moved to Iowa City, where Flanary began his residency at the University of Iowa. Flanary is writer, director, editor, and star, with the typical sketch foisting two or more of his characters into an instructively maddening situation that resolves with a punchline and perhaps some music, all in about 90 seconds. His Dr. Glaucomflecken alter ego has been a balm, not only for his colleagues, patients, and a pandemic-weary public, but also for himself. Becoming a partner in his own practice changed the risk calculus. He posts amusing tweets and videos about some not-so-amusing parts of medicine. "I was just a med student, but I knew my testicle wasn't supposed to grow another testicle," he says. "Nobody really likes a nag," Kristin says. And Twitter, a website on which the rhetorical distance between I disagree with you and you should be put in jail can be alarmingly short, was becoming a bit of a drag. Chetan Bhagat. 'Its really hard having a diagnosis like that in your 20s because when youre in your 20s, you have this sense of invincibility, like nothing can hurt you, youll never get sick. This is such a neat way for your fans to support your awesome comedy work, which the world needs more of! After all, you got an ophthalmologist to come in on a Saturday!, I've learned a lot about emergency medicine and the role you play in your communities, really acting as a safety net for society. If the IOP remains elevated long enough, glaucomatous optic neuropathy may occur, resulting in primary angle closure glaucoma. When the words wont come. Things patients do while waiting for the doctor | Take a nap | Play with expensive medical instruments | . "I remember being very tired and telling her, I'm so tired. They think that by portraying the character that way, Im dissuading people from entering that field, which I dont buy for a second. Babe Ruth, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan competing at their peaks. Your membership will automatically continue for 199/month after the first 30 days, and you can cancel anytime. In his first video to get more than 1 million views, posted that July, Flanary plays two roles: the flabbergasted patient saddled with a massive bill, and the unnervingly calm customer service representative explaining that if he had simply chosen an in-network doctor while he was unconscious, all of this could have been avoided. Together, Will and Kristin Flanary have tackled health challenges and internet fame. The dispatcher, Lisa, led Kristin through 10 minutes of CPR as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. At this point, I feel back to normal. Ophthalmologist Portland | Dr.William E. Flanary | EHNPC Home Our Doctors William E. Flanary, M.D. 199 per month after 30-day trial. If youre not familiar with the Glaucomfleckens, their actual names are Will and Kristin Flanary. He made a full recovery. Brianna Wiest, Written by: Q: What did you think when you learned you had a cardiac arrest? Dr. Flanary is an ophthalmologist who specializes in satirizing the medical field with hilarious social media skits. A glaukomflecken is a change in the lens of the eye after an acute angle closure, whereas Dr Glaucomflecken is a social media sensation. The health care system is laden with power dynamics, and patients are at the bottom, he said, so I should never be perceived as making fun of patients, because thats not going to go OK., When things get a little more complicated, what it comes down to for me is: Do I believe that my ridicule of something is justified? he said. But she knew he needed more help than she could give. Eyeballs aside, he had found the perfect specialty for him. Its just been a very serious field. The duo headed to Hanover. Ciara Conlon, Written by: Telling jokes helped me to navigate the challenges of living as a cancer patient in my 20s. If I didnt find the humor in this awful situation, the gravity of it all would crush me. Here, Dr. Flanary shares some of his experience. Get started by signing in with your Amazon account, Based on your location you have been directed to audible.in. More recently, Flanary joined TikTok, which has allowed him to showcase some of the skills he honed over years of live performance. Cancel anytime. She wrote about her experience in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. A short format, very easy to edit and shoot, and it would work on my schedule. "Comedy is a way to assert some sort of power over a situation in which you feel powerless," Flanary says. It was the spring of 2020, and the nascent Covid-19 pandemic had shuttered businesses around the country, including Flanarys private practice. Will Flanary, aka Dr. Glaucomflecken, at home in Portland, Ore. Flanary in character as the emergency medicine doctor, eternally clad in cycling gear. The audience was rapt as they listened to her 911 phone call. A: Its been a little bit surprising, Ive just done it as a creative outlet. William E. Flanary is an American comedian and ophthalmologist who performs under the stage name Dr. Glaucomflecken. Thats a big compliment to me, that people who are not in medicine still watch, because that tells me my acting skills are decent. But it is all just balls.. iconic take on the EM residency interview. [7], Since 2017, Flanary has raised money for the non-profit organization First Descents, which provides outdoor experiences to young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer. I checked it out and it seemed perfect, Flanary said. 'I noticed one morning that it felt like my testicle was trying to grow another testicle. That combined dedication to learning the inside details of medicine while practicing the outsider art of satire might explain what makes Dr. Glaucomflecken work. It also introduced him to the intoxication of a "like" at that time, on Facebook. 2023 Glaucomflecken | Web design by Edge One Media | Privacy Policy. Dr. Glaucomflecken will deliver the keynote address during EMS World Expo, Sept. 14-18, 2020. Medical school can be brutal, and its making many of us suicidal. She supported her husband through two bouts with testicular cancer in their 20s before helping to save him from sudden cardiac arrest in May 2020. When she realized he was unresponsive, she called 911. Kristin says. KRDO NewsChannel 13 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation. Ive gone from cutting up in front of my 6th-grade classmates to delivering keynote addresses around the world and entertaining an audience of millions online. Product type. William E. Flanary is an American comedian and ophthalmologist who performs under the stage name Dr. Glaucomflecken. If you are asking a question, don't forget to check the sub FAQs, or do a search of the sub to see if your question has been answered already.. Failure to follow rules may result in your post being removed, or a ban. Here are some of our top picks to get you started. If you log out, you will be required to enter your username and password the next time you visit. Its this sweet spot of demystification and comedy simultaneously.. Read our privacy policy for more info. And then theres ophthalmology, where I get to sit down to operate. In 2010, when he was 25 years old, Will was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Flanary said he wants his peers to see themselves in his satire, to come away feeling like somebody understands. But he also hopes poking fun at the profession might help nudge doctors away from what can be a monastic self-regard. He started with stand-up in high school, making "teenage boy jokes" wherever he could find an open mic. "I got on to see, where are you all the time? Stephen Fry - introductions. The culture of medicine is notoriously conservative, and doctors social media accounts tend toward the robotic. Comedy may not be his career, but it has served another role in his life. Flanary continued to recover, with the help of friends, family, and, of course, comedy. It helps to laugh in the face of pretty difficult situations. In December 2009, the couple got married. Welcome back to the Doctor Rich channel! Radhakrishnan Pillai, Written by: ", He began to develop a personal coda for how to conduct himself online. Subscribe to STAT+ for less than $2 per day, Unlimited access to essential biotech, medicine, and life sciences journalism, Subscribe to STAT+ for less than $2 per day, Unlimited access to the health care news and insights you need. Over the ensuing months, hed set his sights on the idiosyncrasies of medical education, academic journals, and all of health cares many instances of institutions preying on people who are less powerful than them, he said. If the later one would have been ophtho for me, I would have dropped out and painted clay doves for a living until I die. Hi, we are the Glock Flecking. and important messages. A: I dont think of myself as a survivor, really. Now you're reasserting control over the situation., Fast forward to his fourth year of residency when the Glaucomfleckens found out that Will was one of the lucky 1-2 percent of people with testicular cancer who get it in the other testicle., True to form, he made jokes. Since then, it has evolved to incorporate satire of the US healthcare system, academic publishing, and the interpersonal conflicts that are pervasive in the medical system. Napoleon Hill, Written by: 'Its really helped me because I enjoy making people laugh,' he told the outlet. I started the Dr. A roundup of STAT's top stories of the day. Whats the difference between heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest? The criticism that rankles Flanary most is that his humor is "unprofessional." That continued into the internet era, initially with posts for GomerBlog and now on his strangely named social media channels. 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