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Membership / Member of the Month / Resident / Cara Lai, MD

Cara Lai, MD

Cara Lai, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery Resident, PGY5
Mayo Clinic
Phoenix, AZ
Member Since: 2021

How has the AAOS helped you during residency?
The AAOS has been a valuable educational resource for me throughout residency through its online offerings and in-person courses. Going to the Annual Meetings has also been a great way to reconnect with colleagues in different programs and remind myself what a privilege it is to be in this profession.

As a Resident Member, which AAOS resources do you use most and why?
The ResStudy platform has been a fantastic educational resource to prepare for OITE, and even more so now that I am starting to study for board exams. JAAOS Reviews are also a great, concise way to do background reading for cases and get thorough and up-to-date overviews of clinical topics.

What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?
I had a great mentor early on in medical school, Dr. Cindy Kin at Stanford, who taught me that on a lot of days, it can feel like we're hamsters running on a wheel trying to get work done and reach our next goal. The goal is to someday get off the wheel – get control of our time, run our practice the way we want, do the things that make us happy – but it is easy to lose sight of that and start to think of the wheel itself as the reward. I try to remind myself of this on tough days in residency: Remember the big picture and why I chose this career, and that the intrinsic desire to do the right thing for patients and be a better surgeon than I was the day before outweighs any external milestone or recognition.

What’s your go-to productivity trick?
Heading to a coffee shop and getting a matcha latte. Also, boba study breaks.

What’s one thing you’re currently trying to make a habit?
Read more for fun! I love reading the long form articles in The Atlantic and The New Yorker but am trying to make time for more books.

What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
Getting outdoors – hiking, snowboarding, backpacking. Hanging out with my corgi. My husband and I have been very fortunate to go on treks all over the world, and when we get the chance to go on vacation, we try to pick a place based on what we'll be able to do outside when we're there.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know?
I have – knock on wood – excellent parking karma.