A Word From Your 2019-2020 Editors-in-Chief
We are excited to announce our official transition as your new editors-in-chief for the upcoming 2019-2020 academic year.
Featured
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
James Lee is a fourth-year medical student at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine who will pursue a career in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. As one of in-Training's new editors-in-chief, he is excited to continue in-Training's legacy as the center of medical student writing. He recently was deemed the runner-up for the Irvin David Yalom, M.D. Literary Award for his short story "Conversations with Joanne" and his opinion pieces have been published in Academic Medicine and the Yale Daily News. Within medicine, James is passionate about mental health, academic medicine, and palliative care. Outside of school, James enjoys rock climbing, singing/songwriting, and hip-hop dancing. He is also a corgi fanatic.
To Do or Not To Do Research? That is the Question
Medical schools have an interest in advocating that their medical students pursue research in order to prepare them for careers in academia.
A Case for Building Hope in Medicine
I gritted my teeth as I stretched my pinky finger across the fretboard of my acoustic guitar, reaching for the last note in a D-sharp chord. My unconditioned hand was cramping from the fourth chord progression that I was trying to learn, and after straining a little bit more, I huffed in exasperation and slammed my tutorial book closed.
Weighing the Scales on Reproductive Health
Charity Scott, JD and professor of law at the Georgia State Catherine C. Henson School of Law, stood at the front of our medical school lecture hall with her arms stretched wide. “The welfare of a pregnant mother?” she said as she dipped one arm down, burdened by an invisible weight. “Or the welfare of an unborn child?”
The Logic of Humility
Drawing from this discussion of humility, one can see that we are not so different from our patients, which may seem obvious but is too often not embraced. We are all limited; that is the natural order of things.
Wearing My White Coat to the Protest
To be clear, for black medical students, supporting Black Lives Matter and other health equality and social justice initiatives is not a matter of a professional oath. It is a matter of life or death, close or distant — that of a loved one or of a stranger of the same hue and shared struggles.
Who Went to Med School with Northam? How Inertia in the Face of Racism Continues to Hold Medicine Back
When I first read that the Northam picture came from a medical school yearbook, I thought about whoever might have been his Black classmates at the time.
But He Was Fine Just This Morning
Soon, we were jolted to attention by an overhead announcement, “Attention, code blue. Six south. Attention. Code blue. Six south.”
Reflections from Anatomy: A Letter to Myself
If gross anatomy has taught me any topics, they are the sheer beauty and capability of the human body.
If Mary Oliver Were a Medical Student
Recently I have let myself consider how wonderful of a physician Mary Oliver would have been, and how wonderful a medical school classmate.
One Call Day of Many to Come
A half hour passed by before I heard the first trauma announcement overhead. The pager buzzed at the same time and somewhat startled me. I grabbed the on-call phone, pager and shears and quickly walked to the emergency department (ED).
Black Clouds
I had just started my third year, and I had already witnessed six patients die. I had never been called a black cloud before this, but it immediately stuck and seemed fitting.
Contributing Writer
University of Louisville School of Medicine
Alyssa Brown grew up in Chattanooga, TN. She went to Centre College for a B.S. in Biology and minor in History. She fell in love with surgery after seeing her mentor perform an anoplasty during the first year of medical school. In July, she finished her third year of medical school and wandered off the beaten path to get a PhD, before finishing her MD. She is receiving her MD degree from University of Louisville School of Medicine, and her PhD in Biomedical Engineering and Physiology at Mayo Clinic School of Biomedical Sciences. She is currently working on research projects involving pediatric ulcer disease, diaphragm sarcopenia, and benign breast disease. She currently works as part of the AWS Blog Subcommittee and AWS Instagram Subcommittee. When she is not being a black cloud, you will probably find her in the pediatric surgery OR, baking sweets and pastries that she saw on “Great British Bake-Off”, or off on an adventure. You can find her on Instagram @alyssabrown1013 and Twitter @Alyssa_B_MDPhD