Editor Emeritus: Former Medical Student Editor (2013-2015)
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
I am currently a first-year pediatric resident at the Children's Hospital of West Virginia. I received my MD degree from Texas A&M Health Science Center in 2014. I love medical writing!
Vanilla Ice famously once said “Stop, Collaborate and Listen” in his 1989 song “Ice Ice Baby.” To the same token, we all can agree that we do not do enough of collaborating and listening when it comes to the issue of health care reform: it is a complex topic with no easy fix and one which has become divided on party lines.
While memorizing anatomy and learning how to perform certain medical procedures are vital in training the prospective physician, it is equally, if not more important, to prepare the upcoming physician for humanism in medicine. In 2011, 69, or 52%, of the 133 accredited medical schools in the U.S. required a course in medical humanities. It is through the window of humanity that one learns the art of medicine: the obligation to care for the sick may …
It was Wednesday, August 4, 2010, a day I will never forget. I woke up that morning in anticipation of meeting a new friend who I had never met before. Up until this point, this friend was only in my dreams; I only had imagined how he would look, how old he would be, or where he would be from–let alone a multitude of other questions. Today was the day when I would meet this mystery …
A 28-year-old woman with acute joint pains attends a clinic in Switzerland after returning from Mauritius. A 66-year-old man develops severe myalgias in Hong Kong after returning from Africa. These clinical cases summarize one disease: Chikungunya. Chikungunya–linked neither to chickens nor to the deadly avian flu–means in the Tanzanian dialect Makonde ‘that which bends up,’ referring to the stooped posture of afflicted patients. This nonfatal viral illness transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, which started as an urban phenomenon, …
Yes, medical students have limited technical skills. Yes, they have limited knowledge. But despite these limitations, a medical student can comfort the patient as no other individual can. Many people base their success on what they have accomplished in work, school or family life. However, people rarely achieve this success without developing strong team-working skills. Achieving success on a team enables a person to acquire new skills and work on existing skills. In no other …
Editor Emeritus: Former Medical Student Editor (2013-2015)
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
I am currently a first-year pediatric resident at the Children's Hospital of West Virginia. I received my MD degree from Texas A&M Health Science Center in 2014. I love medical writing!
