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Veronica Gibbons Veronica Gibbons (1 Posts)

Veronica is a medical student in the West Virginia University School of Medicine class of 2028. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Swarthmore College, where she also played collegiate soccer. Her interests in medicine include plastic surgery, rural outreach, and the role of the humanities in patient care. Outside of medicine, she enjoys endurance sports such as trail running and triathlon, as well as painting, creative writing, and spending time outdoors.




Foreign Bodies (Berries)

Published by Veronica Gibbons

Foreign Bodies (Berries) Veronica Gibbons (2026) acrylic on paper This painting reminds us that beneath every incision is a unique individual, shaped by experiences that cannot be standardized. Medicine is inherently unpredictable, and while training emphasizes mastery of uniform knowledge, that focus can shift attention toward efficiency, performance, and personal progress. The unexpected blueberries disrupt this mindset, highlighting that while anatomy may be shared, each patient is different. The piece underscores the responsibility to stay …

How a 3-Minute Scene from “The Bear” Reframed My Perspective on Medical School

Published by Sandra Boutros

I was having one of those days in medical school where the weight of everything felt crushing — the pressure to be perfect, the constant comparisons to my peers, and the nagging doubt of whether I truly belonged here. In need of a break, I turned to The Bear on Hulu, hoping to escape, even if just for a while. Although, like any medical student, I felt initial guilt in indulging in this free time.

“You Must Hate Patients”

Published by John Waters

From premed onward, an interest in pathology is often met with a well-meaning but mildly disapproving joke. It comes from friends, family, mentors and internet forums. “You must hate patients.” It seems introverts and misanthropes alike are often relegated to the sub-sub-basements and windowless corners of the hospital, where radiologists and pathologists hiss at lost patients. While every specialty is ripe with ridicule and stereotypes, this particular joke damages the image of an already underappreciated …

Supply List: What Honoring Those Who Passed Taught Me About Respecting the Living

Published by Samia A. Ali

It began with a list. Not of medication or interventions, but of what we needed to prepare my grandmother for burial. In the seven-by-ten-foot room tucked behind the prayer hall, there were no beeping monitors, and no nurses rushing to check vitals. Instead, bathroom tiles were beneath our feet, a floor drain at the center and a shelf filled with supplies. I could hear the faucet dripping in the back, almost rhythmic, like a slow …

Surviving 3rd Year

Published by Tanvi Saran

I stepped foot on the island, unaware of what the next 39 days will hold. I recounted the advice I sought out prior to this adventure. “Remember to not step on anyone’s toes.” “Don’t be a burden. Be proactive.” “Read the room.” I wandered about my new home, using a map to guide me to my assigned tribe. I stepped foot into camp; a windowless room filled with scattered computers, rolling chairs, and an overfilling …

The Sound of an Urban Cowboy

Published by Matthew Petitt

“Walker! David Walker!” I called the name of the next patient as I stood in front of the obnoxiously loud automatic doors that separated the emergency department waiting room from the clinical area. As the doors scraped shut behind me, I realized I’d probably called his name too loudly. The waiting room was dead silent. Only empty chairs on a nauseatingly sticky floor looked back at me as I glanced around the room for Mr. …

The Wall at Mile 20

Published by Hannah Korah

It, in fact, hit me like a wall. As I pushed past mile 20 in my first marathon, I felt the notorious ‘wall’. My glycogen stores were depleted, and my legs felt like they were no longer part of my body, but rather two 40 pound dumbbells I was lifting and dropping on the hard pavement with each step forward. Most distance runners would break down a marathon as a two-part race: cruising for the …

How a 3-Minute Scene from The Bear Reframed My Perspective on Medical School

Published by Sandra Boutros

I was having one of those days in medical school where the weight of everything felt crushing—the pressure to be perfect, the constant comparisons to my peers, and the nagging doubt of whether I truly belonged here. It felt like I was running a race on a treadmill—no matter how fast I went, I was never getting any closer to the finish line. The harder I pushed, the more distant my goal seemed, leaving me …

Healing’s First Breath

Published by Emilio Blair

The clinic room was quiet, the air laced with the familiar scent of hand sanitizer. Cold air crept out from the overhead vent and slipped through my scrubs, sharpening my focus but numbing my hands at the same time. I was a third-year medical student on my family medicine rotation. Sitting across from me was my first patient of the day, a woman in her forties, here for her routine annual checkup. I settled onto …

The road less travelled

Published by Ayesha Khan

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” ‘The Road not Taken’ by Robert Frost. ‘The Road not Taken’ is a poem by Robert Frost, where he talks about the impact of making different choices. The poem has stuck with me as I believe it resonates with my choice to specialize in family medicine – unknown to more than half of …

The Bridge We Build

Published by Leanne Peres da Silva

In halls of sterile light and steel, Where pulses echo, hearts to heal, A quiet truth begins to rise— Care can’t be measured by device.   For every chart, each test result, There lies a gap, a hidden fault, Where voices lost, unheard, remain— A silent burden wrapped in pain.   From city streets to rural lanes, Health divides in unseen chains, A mother waits, her voice denied, As walls of care grow far and …

Bridging Personal and Professional Perspectives on Mental Health Medication

Published by Jacob Murphy

As medical students, we spend years preparing for the daunting hurdle that is the summer between the third and fourth year of medical school, a twelve week stretch in which you prepare for USMLE Step 2, perform at your highest caliber on a sub-internship in the specialty of your choice, and craft your application to residency. Accordingly, as I approached this part of medical school myself, I expected its accompanying level of academic stress. I …

Jacob Murphy Jacob Murphy (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Jacob is a fourth year medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland class of 2025. In 2020, he graduated summa cum laude from University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology. He enjoys reading, collecting watches, and pickup basketball (claim to fame: once almost played with Adam Sandler) in his free time. After graduating medical school, Jacob would like to pursue a career in internal medicine with considerations of a career in pulmonary/critical care or medical oncology.