Donning and Doffing
As you search your closet/ For your scrub cap,/ Stethoscope,/ And pants,
Featured
Contributing Writer
Emory University School of Medicine
Olivia is a medical student at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, Class of 2026. In 2017, she graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in public health, then went on to complete a Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. She enjoys making tea, hiking, and playing with her dog in her free time. After graduating medical school, Olivia would like to pursue a career that centers health justice. She'll figure out the specialty, eventually.
The Moments That Go Unnoticed
When you begin clinical rotations in medical school, people encourage you to be as involved as possible in patient care. They tell you to take initiative, to challenge yourself.
Jumping: From Between Two Worlds
I am moving, yet I am going nowhere. I am going nowhere, yet I have come a long way. I do not count how many go by, but each spin demands that I keep moving. With every rotation, I take another step, another leap, one jump on this Earth. These cycles fly by, so much so that I can almost hear them as they whoosh over my head in an instant, making seconds go slow.
Everyone Remembers Their First
Fluorescent lighting, lemon-scented cleaner and recently mopped tile floors. The sights and smells of a hospital floor were slowly becoming familiar to me as I wound my way around corner after corner bright and early at 6:15 a.m. on a Thursday morning.
Echoes of Grief
“We have reason to believe that your daughter is brain dead.” The silence was deafening.
The Anatomy of Healing
On September 29th, 2021, my world started to unravel. My first anatomy lab as a medical student had just begun. I stepped foot in the cadaver lab where the pungent odor of formaldehyde clung to the air, and I was overflowing with eagerness.
Speaking of Stigma
I placed the first pill on my tongue, opened my mouth so the nurse could see, closed my mouth, swallowed the pill, and opened my mouth again so the nurse could confirm that I had swallowed it. I had to repeat this for nine more tablets and this drill continued for seven days a week and for seven more months of the treatment.
When Advocating Becomes Difficult: Health Care Professionals and War
The purpose of this piece is not to assign blame, nor is it to debate the inciting event for the current state of the people in Gaza. Instead, I hope to inspire you, the reader, to set aside any political differences and to lean into your role as both a human and patient advocate. I urge you to speak up in support of our colleagues overseas, who are treating and operating under the threat of death; for history will not judge our silence kindly.
Finding Balance in the Wake of My First Code Stroke
As we got closer to the ED, the excitement evolved into a feeling of discomfort. It was uncomfortable to feel even briefly excited by another person’s misfortune. I felt a sense of disequilibrium as I realized I had strayed from the delicate balance medical students and physicians continually try to find.
A Letter to Pipo
It will soon be over seven years since the last time I saw you. It feels like yesterday we were singing along to your favorite song as you drove me to my weekly dance class.
Betrayal of Selflessness
A bag full of dreams was all my mind possessed,/ To leave my mark on the turbulent sands of time and be respected,
A Swim in a Pond on the Wards
I first wrote to author George Saunders in my senior year of high school. Thankful for everything his writing taught me about empathy, I sought advice as I crossed the “seemingly arbitrary line into adulthood.”
Writers-in-Training Intern and Contributing Writer
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
Pal is a medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine in Chicago, IL, Class of 2024. In 2019, he graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience. He enjoys playing basketball, trying out new recipes, and giving belly rubs to his two cats in his free time. After graduating medical school, Pal would like to pursue a career in Med-Peds.