And each submits to a few minutes of Jungian analysis, care of the staff psychiatrist. I feel like I can just try these things and see where it takes me.. William E. Flanary is an American comedian and ophthalmologist who performs under the stage name Dr. Glaucomflecken. That continued into the internet era, initially with posts for GomerBlog and now on his strangely named social media channels. Theres the warm but disconcertingly studious pediatrician, the charmingly alarmist dermatologist, the meatheaded orthopedic surgeon, and Jonathan, the loyal medical scribe whose dedication borders on sociopathy. The account is named after glaukomflecken, a sign of acute angle-closure glaucoma. Written by: The idea is in the very early stages, Flanary said, but hes been working with an outside firm to press things forward. Welcome back to the Doctor Rich channel! So he found an open mic near Dartmouth's campus, prepared a 10-minute set, and performed for an enthusiastic crowd of 50-60 people. Ciara Conlon, Written by: 2022-8-17 Follow. Social media star and comedian Dr. Glaucomflecken, aka ophthalmologist William E. Flanary, MD, along with his wife, Kristin Flanary, MA, shared social media insights as well as his experience as an ICU patient during his presentation of the Peter Safar Honorary Lecture, "Wife and Death: Featuring Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken," on January 22, 2023, OK, OK, send me all your consults, he told the audience. To hear more, attend ReSS 2020: Survivorship at 9 a.m. Saturday. I was just a third-year med student, but I knew enough to know that wasnt supposed to happen,' he recalled to The Today Show during a recent interview. According to reports, only one to two per cent of testicular cancer survivors develop it again in the other testicle - but he was unfortunately one of those survivors. Ankur Warikoo, 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, Written by: Are there additional benefits for Amazon Prime members? 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. I learned about the pandemic and how it's really impacted your profession, Dr. Glaucomflecken said. A: I was pretty confused when I woke up, and it took me a few days to process what happened. But although his TikTok account is filled with laughter and jokes, things have not been easy for the doctor in real life. So the ophthalmologist, who moonlights as a comedian on social media, knows well the importance of laughter as a prescription for coping with bad news. "One time, I walked out and he was in full clown makeup with Pagliacci music playing." He added: 'No one knows your testicles better than you, more than likely. Sabrina December 6th, 2022 Birthday They dont like the portrayal of the some of them as overworked, underpaid sympathetic figure, always doing some sort of fellowship. He'll do it all under the guise of his signature, top hat-wearing ophthalmoscope. You will receive email when new content is published. Honestly, its surreal, Flanary told CTV National News in a video interview from his home in Portland, Ore. Flanary had been doing stand-up comedy intermittently since high school, but always wanted to go into medicine. What is an ophthalmologists personality? 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. What is this world? Although Flanary excels at specialist humor, he says "one of the central tenets of doing comedy as a physician is it's safest to make fun of yourself.". Babe Ruth, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan competing at their peaks. 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. Then, the surprise bills arrived accumulating charges for out-of-network care he received in the depths of his health crisis. mountain-biking emergency medicine doctor, shortcomings of the American healthcare system, "Ophthalmologist Accidentally Agrees to See Inpatient Consult. Then all of a sudden, it just comes crashing down on you.'. Telling jokes helped me to navigate the challenges of living as a cancer patient in my 20s. You've successfully added to your alerts. Yuval Noah Harari, Written by: In his fourth year of med school, after an "awful" vascular surgery rotation where he was on his feet for hours at a time, draped in lead, Flanary took an ophthalmology elective. "It was the dispatcher that I spoke to who recognized what was going on," Kristin says. The audience was rapt as they listened to her 911 phone call. But she explained that she needed him to listen to it because she needed someone to live in that space with her. At home, "it kind of felt like 50 First Dates for the first few days," Kristin says, as Will's memory improved. $15.00. If youre not familiar with the Glaucomfleckens, their actual names are Will and Kristin Flanary. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. His Dr. Glaucomflecken alter ego has been a balm, not only for his colleagues, patients, and a pandemic-weary public, but also for himself. In May 2020, he went into cardiac arrest in the middle of the night in his sleep, according to media reports. When she realized he was unresponsive, she called 911. How do you know the little idiosyncrasies so well? Ultimately, performing comedy live became too challenging to keep up as my medical career progressed, so I turned to social media. In February alone, Dr Glaucomflecken released nine installments of his ongoing 60-second video series, in which a hapless medical student is thrown into the deep end by various specialists, from an elbow-patched psychiatrist to a mountain-biking emergency medicine doctor. with the Glaucomfleckens. Glaucomflecken is a result of lens epithelial cell necrosis from the elevated IOP. My mom kicked me out of her 6th grade language arts class. From his home in Portland, Ore., Flanary, who served as the Yale Medical School commencement speaker this year, talked about finding humor in the everyday, what he hears from other doctors and his side hack as a Cameo star. Once at the hospital, he underwent hypothermia treatment, which involved cooling his body for 24 hours to reduce damage to the brain. Chetan Bhagat. Theres this prevailing notion that you cant do the things Im doing on social media because its not professional, he said. ", He began to develop a personal coda for how to conduct himself online. He also skewers emergency medicine and surgeons, but says he is careful around practices that are more sensitive or do not get the respect they deserve, like primary care doctors and pediatrics. Flanary says he never considered comedy a realistic career option. Comedy may not be his career, but it has served another role in his life. This is my life with aphasia. 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. In the end, he went through with the surgery and underwent hormone replacement therapy. Sarah Cooper, a comedian who rose to internet stardom by lip-syncing to President Trump, parlayed her success into a 2020 Netflix special that was not particularly well-received, and then the election came and went along with her moment. His sense of humor was just a bonus. Being funny was always meant to be a hobby rather than a vocation, but the surging popularity of Dr. Glaucomflecken has turned into a business in its own right. But unlike the many debunkers, explainers, and self-promotional plastic surgeons who populate the platform, Flanarys primary concern is with making people laugh. At the time, Flanary told CTV News, "If Id known that it would turn into this I would have chosen an easier name to say. Flanary still doesnt know what caused his heart to stop beating. Damian Garde covers biotech, is a co-writer of The Readout newsletter, and a co-host of "The Readout LOUD" podcast. And those are the ones where theres a lot of truth about a subject thats a little bit more sensitive people have a more of a reaction to it because they feel heard. Fumitake Koga, Written by: In addition, you can get exclusive access to our member-only sales and deals. "It gave me that relief and just a sense of joy that I hadn't had in a while," he says. Two weeks before classes began, Flanary got a call: Dartmouth accepted him too. In 2012, they had their first child. Today, we're going to do something a little different we're going to do a reaction video to one of the most popular TikTok/YouTube videos on social media: Dr. Glaucomflecken. Benjamin Graham, Written by: A doctor who who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and survived cancer twice has become a viral TikTok star, after sharing hilarious stories about his health woes Will Flanary, 36, has gained more. On the other hand, some physicians attempts at white-coat comedy have veered into questionable jokes at patients expense. It kept me moving.". "But he healed so quickly, it was like nothing ever happened." 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. Then one morning in 2013, Flanary woke up and felt a lump in his testicle. Dr. Joseph Murphy, Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection. Dr. Glaucomflecken recently uploaded a video to his real youtube channel (one with ~25k subscribers) notifying people that the 144k subs account is actually not him, rather an impersonator that is taking all of his videos off other social media platforms and reuploading them to that channel. "[7] He has received many speaking opportunities since revealing himself as the creator of Dr. Glaucomflecken, including as the commencement speaker for the graduating class of Yale School of Medicine and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in May 2022. People want the opposite. If this is your first time posting, please read the sub rules. Gaur Gopal Das. 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. But I still know what comedy is. Will Flanary, MD, is not a typical ophthalmologist. Kristin is a superhero in her own right. Dr. Glaucomflecken hasn't responded to me and probably won't. Go ahead and share this so he gets the message. I hope to change how healthcare workers see their patients and their families. Reporting from the frontiers of health and medicine, You've been selected! Get TikTok App . Paramahansa Yogananda, Written by: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that neurologist Anna Nordvig was among those who had reacted to Will Flanary's videos. That online conference is coming up Nov. 2-4 and allows you to participate in ACEP22 educational content from the comfort of your own home. That can be a tricky proposition. I am Dr. Glock Flecking. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to continue for long enough. For Flanary, who survived two bouts of testicular cancer, the videos have been therapeutic, but they have also allowed him to fundraise over US$100,000 for First Descents, a non-profit that provides outdoor adventures for young adults impacted by cancer and other serious health issues. Honestly, it's surreal. This version has been corrected. Everything from social media to the patient experience to why cataract surgery isnt as bad as you think it is. Here, Dr. Flanary shares some of his experience. 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. "It meant that he wouldn't be able to have any [more] children. 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. We have a real delight today. But its funny.. And theres this prevailing notion that doctors cant show who they really are. Oregon ophthalmologist Will Flanary, better known in social media circles as his comedic alter ego Dr. Glaucomflecken, recounted his May near-death cardiac arrest experience and the heroic efforts of the 9-1-1 dispatcher, Flanary's wife, and the responding EMS crew who worked to revive him. In December 2015, he made his first (anonymous) contribution to GomerBlog, in the form of a satirical news report headlined "Ophthalmologist Accidentally Agrees to See Inpatient Consult. Flanary, originally from Houston, has been a practicing comedian longer than hes had a medical license. Through my stories, I hope to make a difference. Titles added to your Library with a credit are yours to keep, even if you cancel. Glaucomflecken, a term for a sign of glaucoma. On May 11, 2020, William A. Flanary, MD, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, went to bed like every other night. Lillian Gissen For Dailymail.Com. It allowed me to express frustration toward my genitals for having betrayed me as well as tell jokes about my life as a resident in ophthalmology.
He started with stand-up in high school, making "teenage boy jokes" wherever he could find an open mic. Q: Does your family think youre as funny as everyone else does? But cancer is not the only challenge Flanary has faced. Its been a little bit surprising how popular the characters are its taken on a life of its own. Hes also starting to think bigger. Thankfully, Dr Glaucomflecken has a prescription for that. "That's my coping mechanism," he says. I called it the Quiet Place. 'Life was just more complicated at that point.'. Dr. Glaucomflecken Sticker Pack 01. Orthopedic doctors are bros who love the gym. If you log out, you will be required to enter your username and password the next time you visit. How is that working out? [8] As of June 2022, his Twitter account had over 573,000 followers, and his TikTok account had over 1.5 million followers and over 58 million total likes. That combined dedication to learning the inside details of medicine while practicing the outsider art of satire might explain what makes Dr. Glaucomflecken work. Cancel anytime. Emergency room doctors savor adrenaline and bike helmets. 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. America to face a shortage of primary care physicians within a decade or so. Check it out: As graduation approached, the couple seemed to be going in different directions literally. Q: A lot of the doctors you portray have very specific personality traits. His wife performed CPR on him for 10 minutes before paramedics arrived and resuscitated him. Ashish Bagrecha, Permanent Roommates: He Said, She Said, Season 2, Written by: But at some point you just have to go for it. Nikita Okhade, Written by: Life in one of the world's most isolated communities: Indigenous Canadian woman reveals it takes two days to get groceries from nearest town 338 miles away, there's only five hours of daylight in winter and no one has an address because it's so small, Student, 18, reveals she 'could have died' from toxic shock syndrome caused by falling asleep with a tampon in after hospital doctors dismissed her symptoms as 'Freshers Flu', Children's campaign group slams 'despicable' UK secondary school over letter telling parents that pupils who arrive without a mask will have to buy one or face being hauled out of lessons - branding it 'child abuse'.