There’s a quiet anxiety that comes with being a surgeon today. We’re quicker, sharper, and far more efficient than we were just a decade ago. Diagnostic tools have improved. Laparoscopic setups are slicker. Conferences are louder. And yet, in the middle of all this speed and shine, something critical often gets missed. I’m not talking about surgical precision or academic knowledge. I’m talking about attention—true clinical attention. The kind that sits with a patient for a few extra minutes and doesn’t dismiss chronic pelvic pain as “just dysmenorrhea.” The kind that pauses to ask how the patient is coping emotionally, not just physically. The kind that questions protocols instead of blindly following them. Somewhere between EMRs, CME credits, and surgical reels, we risk losing the ability to reflect—not just on what we’re doing, but why. And when we lose that, our patients lose too. But here’s the good news: awareness is the first step to change. And for patients, this means your voice matters more than ever in slowing us down enough to truly listen. Read more