"With my passion for writing and connecting digitally with others in health care and the general public, this 'downtime' has allowed for an expansion of these interests. I've begun recording on my podcast, a multidisciplinary conversation between women who thrive in fields that traditionally they haven't thought to be able to (or shouldn't). I've spent more time than I ever could have imagined with my son – a wonderful by-product of the distancing measures. And I've found that I love to make my friends – and even strangers – find their laughter during this dark time.

My family and friends will often attest to this, how I get joy from getting a smile, a smirk, or even a head shake (I can see you trying not to laugh under there though). As I've grown as a clinician, I've become more comfortable with infusing humor – appropriately – with my patients, and I know that a shared laugh even as they are going through a time that isn't the best in their lives is appreciated."

Nancy Yen Shipley is an orthopedic surgeon and can be reached at her self-titled site, NancyMD, and on Twitter @_nancymd and Instagram @_nancymd.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How a physician finds laughter during this dark time." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/04/how-a-physician-finds-laughter-during-this-dark-time.html) We also discuss her #1 tip for women physicians interested in traditionally male-dominated fields, and her new podcast, The 6% with NancyMD. (https://www.nancymd.com/podcast/)