Dr. Glaucomflecken Explained

Dr. Glaucomflecken
Birth Name:	William E. Flanary
Birth Date:	^[1]
Education:	Texas Tech University Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Module:	Child: yes Profession: Physician Work Institutions: EyeHealth Northwest

William E. Flanary is an American comedian and ophthalmologist who performs under the stage name Dr. Glaucomflecken. He lives in Portland, Oregon and practices in various locations in nearby Clackamas County. Since 2016 he has become well known for making and uploading medical satire skits on Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.^{[2] [3]}

Biography

Flanary grew up in Houston, Texas. He was educated at Texas Tech University,^[4] where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in cell and molecular biology. While attending Texas Tech, he met his wife, Kristin. He then enrolled at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, where he discovered his interest in ophthalmology.^[5] While attending Dartmouth, he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha.

It was also while he was a medical student at Dartmouth that he was first diagnosed with testicular cancer (specifically, a highly curable stage 1a seminoma) at the age of 25. He then had surgery to remove the testicle that had the tumor on it.^{[2] [6]} After graduating from Dartmouth, he completed his residency at the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in 2017.^[7]

During his third year of residency, Flanary was diagnosed with testicular cancer again. This time the diagnosis was a stage 1b seminoma, and he had surgery to remove his remaining testicle, followed by androgen replacement therapy consisting of a weekly self-administered injection of testosterone. (He has joked, "It's so easy even an ophthalmologist can do it.") By this point, he and his wife had two children.^[2]

In May 2020, Flanary suddenly went into cardiac arrest in his sleep. His wife performed CPR on him for 10 minutes before paramedics arrived and resuscitated him. He told CTV News in January 2022 that he still did not know the reason that he went into cardiac arrest.

Work with First Descents

Since 2017, Flanary has raised money for the non-profit organization First Descents, which provides outdoor experiences to young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer. He had raised over US$100,000 for the organization as of January 2022. He has described his own experiences using the organization after being diagnosed with cancer as "a lifeline".^[8]

Dr. Glaucomflecken

Flanary created the Dr. Glaucomflecken Twitter account in 2016 out of boredom at a research conference. The account is named after glaukomflecken, a sign of acute angle-closure glaucoma.^[9] 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. At the time, Flanary told CTV News, "If I’d known that it would turn into this I would have chosen an easier name to say. Honestly, it's surreal." His videos frequently satirize tropes or stereotypes found among different medical specialties.^{[10] [11]} Flanary's videos have amassed popularity in the medical community.^[12]

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, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in May 2022 and University of Michigan Medicine in May 2024 . ^[13]

According to Robert D. Putnam and Céline Gounder, comedians like Flanary are "leveraging irony and exaggeration to expose the ills of the American healthcare system and the lunacy of global COVID vaccine inequity."^[14]

Cast of Characters

Flanary has created a wide cast of characters, mostly but not entirely named after their professions. Some of the most common include:

• Administration: Heads up the hospital where most of the other characters work. Depending on the video, he may be portrayed as someone trying to get things done with limited resources or an out-of-touch executive who thinks that trivial gifts offset loss of agency for the medical professionals on his payroll.
• Anesthesia: Specialist in managing consciousness or pain during medical procedures. Wears a pink hairnet. Frequently behind a curtain (portrayed by a towel), working on sudoku puzzles while waiting for Surgery to finish.
• Bartholomew Banks: Represents a private equity firm. Frequently appears as a potential savior to struggling practices, but focuses more on profit than on supporting patients.
• Bill: Represents medical residents. Frequently called out for his mistakes by the various specialties. Graduated from residency in a 2024 video in which he met new resident Phil on the way out.
• Cardiology: Heart specialist who is ever at war with Nephrology due to a perception that Nephrology thinks the kidneys are more important than the heart.
• Charge Nurse: Wears a flower-dotted hairnet. Runs whatever situation she is in. Rarely speaks, but often threatens to bite.
• Emergency Medicine: Wears sunglasses, a bicycle helmet and jersey, and downs Monster Energy drinks and Diet Cokes. Tends to engage in extreme sports when outside work, and runs or bicycles to and from work, no matter the weather.
• Family Medicine: A jack-of-all-trades, Family Medicine is forever burdened with too much work, but is too dedicated to do something else. His glasses are permanently askew, representing the chaos in his life. He usually works on his charts at home late into the night, resulting in a lack of time to have a family. Desperate for assistance that rarely comes.
• Gynecology: Specialist in women's reproductive health. One of the rare characters not played by Flanary, instead played by Flanary's wife, Kristin.
• Infectious Disease: Specialist in contagious diseases. Regarded by most other characters as among the mostly highly skilled of all professions, almost mythical in nature. Extremely knowledgeable and generally happy to share his knowledge, but occasionally expresses disappointment in other doctors for not taking what he regards as minimal effort to diagnose a patient first, and especially when they overprescribe antibiotics.
• Internal Medicine: Specialist in managing complex cases. Very analytical about even the most mundane questions. Extremely pedantic about terms related to statistical chances. Loves to lead journal clubs, and occasionally forces them on residents.
• Jimothy: Long-suffering assistant to the CEO of United Healthcare. He constantly points out the problems with his boss's attempts to extract more profit from the healthcare system, but is always stymied by his boss.
• Jonathan: Ophthalmology's "loyal scribe." Jonathan spoke in early videos, but Flanary dropped this in later videos. Instead, Jonathan now generally responds with a simple nod that has become his trademark. Jonathan has been shown to be capable of executing a wide variety of tasks, both medical and non-medical. It's not certain whether he's human, as he's been shown standing in a closet overnight, possibly recharging, and has been shown getting packed into luggage to accompany Ophthalmology on a trip.
• Med Student Mafia: A group of senior residents upset with legacy practices such as extremely long shifts and abusive attending physicians. They work to improve the lives of all doctors, starting with residents, by calling out the legacy practices and showing why they're wrong.
• New Med Student: A common early character, the New Med Student would visit various specialties as part of understanding what they do in preparation for picking a specialty themselves later in their career. The specialist would usually challenge the New Med Student's understanding of the specialty, often leaving the New Med Student in an awkward situation.
• Nephrology: Kidney specialist who is ever at war with Cardiology because of a belief that Cardiology believes the heart is more important than the kidneys. Carries at least one Morton Salt container with him at all times.
• Neurology: Specialist in nervous tissue, especially the brain. Has an enormous ego and is extremely critical of others, especially residents, but also extremely protective of his patients. He is easily offended, especially when other doctors use their stethoscopes during neurological exams instead of a proper reflex hammer. Wears very oversized glasses. Does not get along well with Neurosurgery.
• Neurosurgery: Specialist in brain surgery. Like Neurology, has an enormous ego and is extremely critical of others. Constantly arguing with Neurology over who is more important.
• Ophthalmology: Specialist in the eyes and the optic nerve. As an ophthalmologist himself, Flanary pokes the most fun at his own profession due to its limited scope. In one video where Emergency Medicine tries to force him to work on weekends, he claims, "My medical license is only good Monday through Friday from nine AM to four PM."
• Ortho: Specialist in bones. Heavily into personal fitness and can often be seen with weights or kettlebells. Good at what he does, but tries to avoid getting involved in issues better handled by "medicine doctors."
• Pathology: Specialist in disease detection. Has a microscope named Tabitha, and has named some of his other equipment as well, which worries Psychiatry. Known by other specialists as among the friendliest of doctors.
• Pediatrics: Specialist in treating children. Wears a unicorn headband and is almost perpetually happy because he gets to work with children.
• Pharmacist: A specialist in medications and their effects on the body. The Pharmacist helpfully intercepts problematic orders and contacts medical doctors to correct them.
• Phil: As of 2024, a recently graduated med student who takes Bill's place in residency.
• Psychiatry: Specialist in mental health. Frequently seen helping other specialties through the difficulties of their work. Wears glasses and a houndstooth coat.
• Radiology: Specialist in analyzing radiological imagery, including CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays. Usually wears at least two sets of shaded eye protection, with shaded goggles over dark sunglasses and avoids brightly lit areas, especially the outdoors. Insists on detailed histories, and is usually disappointed at what other doctors provide.
• Rural Medicine: A generalist who does what he can across a vast range of medicine with an extremely limited budget and hospital equipment. Often barters for services. Lost an election for local mayor to a goat, but isn't too bitter about it, because the goat had "pretty good ideas."
• Surgery: Specialist in general surgical intervention. Has a high ego, though not as high as Neurology or Neurosurgery, and will do anything to avoid spare time between operations.
• United Healthcare CEO: A greedy executive looking to cut corners for a few more dollars. Usually bouncing new ideas off of Jimothy and explaining that what Jimothy thinks is unethical is still acceptable because it's profitable.
• United Healthcare Phone Representative: Answers calls from doctors looking for prior authorization for procedures. Usually denies requests at first, then suggests alternate, cheaper therapies that have nothing to do with treatment the patient actually needs.

Unseen Characters

• Dermatology: Specialist in skin disease. Ranks with Ophthalmology as the most privileged specialists.
• Jasper: A local farmer and frequent patient to Rural Medicine. Tends to either repair the rural hospital or build chairs while waiting to be seen.
• Texaco Mike: Never seen, but frequently referenced by Rural Medicine. Texaco Mike runs the local CT/MRI, brews his own contrast, built a telescope on top of his Texaco station, and transports patients by fan boat.

Other Characters

Flanary has created a number of one-off or rarely-used characters. These include Dentistry, Interventional Radiology, the NICU Nurse, Occupational Therapy, Oncology, Pediatric ICU, and Pediatric Oncology, among many others.

External links

• • YouTube channel

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2022-03-25 . The internet's funniest doctor is in on the joke . 2022-06-05 . STAT . en-US . 2022-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220610025037/https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/25/dr-glaucomflecken-will-flanary-profile/ . live .
2. Web site: Pawlowski . A. . 2021-11-23 . Doctor who had testicular cancer twice in his 20s urges men to 'check yourself' . 2022-03-06 . . en . 2022-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306173314/https://www.today.com/health/health/doctor-known-dr-glaucomflecken-testicular-cancer-twice-rcna6319 . live .
3. Web site: Ophthalmologist Portland Dr.William E. Flanary EHNPC . Eye Health Northwest . 2 May 2024.
4. Web site: 2022-03-25 . The internet's funniest doctor is in on the joke . 2022-03-25 . STAT . en-US . 2022-03-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220325084907/https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/25/dr-glaucomflecken-will-flanary-profile/ . live .
5. Web site: Dr.William E. Flanary . 2022-03-06 . Eye Health Northwest . en-US . 2022-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517034627/https://www.ehnpc.com/eye-doctor-portland/william-e-flanary-md/ . live .
6. Web site: Roth . Abigail . 2022-02-03 . MD Class of 2022 Selects William Flanary, MD, (aka Dr. Glaucomflecken) as Its Commencement Speaker . 2022-03-06 . . en . 2022-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306173314/https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/md-class-of-2022-selects-william-flanary-md-aka-dr-glaucomflecken-as-its-commencement-speaker/ . live .
7. Web site: William E. Flanary, II, MD . 2022-03-06 . . 2022-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306173315/https://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/eyeforum/bio/authors/Flanary-William.htm . live .
8. Web site: Favaro . Avis . Ho . Solarina . 2022-01-09 . TikTok star Dr. Glaucomflecken uses humour as prescription in hard times . 2022-03-06 . . en . 2022-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306173312/https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/tiktok-star-dr-glaucomflecken-uses-humour-as-prescription-in-hard-times-1.5732132 . live .
9. Web site: Cummins . Eleanor . 2021-03-10 . How Dr Glaucomflecken Overcame Death to Get Internet Laughs . 2022-03-06 . . en . 2022-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306173319/https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/947199 . live .
10. Dickinson . Karen J . Racher . Mary Luann . Jackman . Kimberly . McCallie . Theresa . Marino . Katy . Langford . Timothy . Mustain . W Conan . 2022 . Surgical Residents' Perception of Multi-Specialty Learning . Journal of Surgical Education . en . . 79 . 6 . 1363–1378 . 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.07.003. 35902349 . 251123876 .
11. Tracy . Lincoln M . 2022 . The Models of Care They Are A-Changin' . British Journal of Pain . en . . 16 . 1 . 4–5 . 10.1177/20494637221075187 . 2049-4637 . 8801681 . 35111308.
12. Sanky . Charles . Gentile . Caroline . Ren . Jennifer . Bortnick . Eric . Krieger . Stephen . January 10, 2023 . Education Research: The Inappropriate Consult: Discordant Expectations of Specialty Expertise and Areas for Improvement in Interdisciplinary Resident Education . Neurology: Education . en . . 2 . 1 . 2 . 10.1212/NE9.0000000000200044 . 255635541 . 2771-9979. free .
13. Web site: 2024-05-19 . Commencement Speaker Med Students Gateway . 2024-05-19 . web.archive.org.
14. January 11, 2022 . How America Can Rebuild the Community Bonds It Needs to Face the Next Pandemic . 2022-08-12 . . en . 2022-08-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220812071343/https://time.com/6138465/covid-19-immunity-community/ . live .