The Story Behind Dr. Glaucomflecken, the Empowering Physicians Conference Headliner

August 22, 2024

By the time he was in his 30s, he had suffered two cancer occurrences and sudden cardiac arrest. Doesn’t sound very funny. And yet this ophthalmologist became a successful comedian.  

“I was at a conference for ophthalmology called ARVO [Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology],” Will Flanary, MD (aka Dr. Glaucomflecken) told Minnesota Medicine. “I was bored to tears. I had never been to such a boring conference in all my life. It made me realize that the research life is not for me. So, to pass the time, I decided to start a medical comedy Twitter account, and I called it Dr. Glaucomflecken. And at the time, I was telling painfully specific ophthalmology jokes to an audience of about like six people who are all vision researchers. So, you can imagine how much traction all my jokes were getting.” 

William Flanary, MD, (aka Dr. Glaucomflecken)

Since then, he has built his audience to significantly more than half a dozen people. (On TikTok, he has 2.3 million followers; on YouTube, 1.14 million; X/Twitter, 720,000.) 

Dr. Glaucomflecken will bring his comic outlook on life and the world of healthcare to this year’s Empowering Physicians Conference, on Friday, September 27, at the American Swedish Institute, 2600 South Park Avenue in Minneapolis.  

As a physician, Flanary has a unique perspective on being a patient and vice versa. His perspective on the healthcare system is distinctive and powerful. In his multimedia, award-winning presentation, conference attendees will experience humor, amazement, and love as Flanary shares his story with the hope of making a difference. He strives to change how healthcare workers see themselves, their patients, and their families and to remind them of the importance of compassionate care. He hopes to make healthcare a little more human. 

You can read more about Flanary’s journey in the upcoming September/October issue of Minnesota Medicine, arriving in mailboxes in early September.  

To register and for more information on the conference, click here.