Episode
Glauc Talk: Why Are Med Students Saying They "Wasted Their Twenties"?
- Published
- May 26, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2746
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Summary
We’re diving into a heavy topic that’s been making the rounds on medical TikTok, the soul-crushing feeling of "wasting your twenties" in medical training while your non-medical friends are out buying houses and going to clubs instead of living in squalor with five roommates. Kristin and I look back at our own unusual twenties, including the "Sock on the Pager" move which Kristin officially is claiming as a romantic peak of my residency years. Then we get into some "pajama patient" ophthalmology talk because Kristin refuses to take a "contact lens holiday". I explain the nightmare fuel of people who layer contacts until they have dozens stuck under their eyelid, and why a corneal abrasion can actually feel worse than childbirth. From the hidden chemistry required to be a dermatologist to the reason you can’t get eyelid mites from your poodle, this episode is a mix of deep reflection and my ongoing quest to save Kristin's corneas. Takeaways: Why comparison is the "thief of joy" for medical residents watching their friends enter the workforce while they live with five roommates and uncleaned dishes. The specific sensory "imprints", like the smell of spring air, that can make a medical anniversary a recurring trauma years later. Why Kristin claims putting a sock under a vibrating pager is one of the most romantic gestures of my medical training. The "Bandaid Effect": why wearing contact lenses for too long can actually mask the pain of an open wound on your eye. Why you should never fact-check Will on whether the highest concentration of nerve endings is in the cornea or elsewhere. — To Get Tickets to Wife & Death: You can visit Glaucomflecken.com/live We want to hear YOUR stories (and medical puns)! Shoot us an email and say hi! [email protected] Can’t get en…