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Steven Lange Steven Lange (13 Posts)

Medical Student Editor and in-Training Staff Member

Albany Medical College

Steven attends Albany Medical College as a student of the Class of 2017. Raised in Queens, New York, he earned a BA in English with a minor in Biology from Binghamton University in May 2013. Some of his interests include poetry, martial arts, traveling, and continental philosophy. He is currently aspiring to become a radiologist.




Is Medical Humanism a Humanism?

Published by Steven Lange

It is 1 p.m. on a Wednesday, and 250 medical students are filing into the lecture hall to listen to a lecture on health care and society. The chatter is not one of excitement, but of disconcertment. Many students complain that their time would be better spent studying hematology. These are not uncaring students who disavow the needs of the disabled, but a generation that demonstrates a palpable reaction to the way that medicine is taught. We may be quick to fault them for their alarming aversion to a discussion on ethics, but we must also consider: is ethics meant to be force-fed?

A Matter of Life and Death: Review of “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande

Published by Brent Schnipke

Few doctors in the modern era have established themselves so securely as both doctor and writer as to be easily recognized in both circles; this is perhaps because of the difficult and time-demanding nature of both careers. One notable exception is Dr. Atul Gawande, a renowned general surgeon in Boston, MA, who also happens to be a widely published and well-known author of several books. In his most recent book, “Being Mortal,” it is clear that he has grown, not only as a writer, but as a doctor and a human being as well – which, after all, is what this book is all about.

Presence

Published by Austin Wesevich

One of my housemates and I decided early on in my time in Malawi that we needed a code word that would mean, “Austin, stop worrying about money and schedules. Just enjoy the experience and let go.” We decided that “chocolate chips” would be our secret phrase for capturing this sentiment. That way, regardless of the social situation, my housemate could remind me to let go of control and just be.

Stephan

Published by Annie Robinson

How can doctors-in-training take advantage of the distinct liberty they have to bond the patient Stephan, a fourth-year medical student in Cincinnati when interviewed and now an ophthalmology resident, reflects on how the art of connecting deeply with patients is not prioritized — but this can be remedied. He tells a story about a patient he met on his internal medicine rotation that illustrates how medical students are in a unique position to cultivate relationships in health care.

Out With the Old, In With the New: Happy New Year from the Editors-in-Chief Emeriti

Published by Ajay Major, MD, MBA

Happy New Year! We hope you all had an enjoyable holiday with friends and family as we say goodbye to the dusty, long hours of 2015 and welcome the shiny, new year of 2016. As we begin our fourth year of existence, we would like to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to all of you — our loyal readers and writers who provide lifeblood to the corpus that is in-Training.

When to Say “No”: Yes, It Gets Messy

Published by Erin Ayala

Four years. I had gone four years without crying in a faculty member’s or an advisor’s office. And there I was, sobbing all over myself, as I tried to explain the situation. A couple of days prior, I received a terse email from the training director, saying I needed to come in to meet with her. She was not happy with my most recent feat as a doctoral student.

#ActionsSpeakLouder: Medical Students Hold National Protests for Racial Justice

Published by Melissa Palma

Today is International Human Rights Day and the one-year anniversary of last year’s national White Coat Die-In to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The coordinated die-in protests drew national attention highlighting racism as a public health issue. Across the nation today, silent protests at medical schools in New York, Philadelphia, Houston and San Francisco call on medical schools and academic medical centers to move beyond mission statements and slogans in their efforts to promote racial justice.

To Medical Student Activists on the Anniversary of the White Coat Die-In

Published by Jennifer Tsai

One year ago, on December 10, 2014, over 3,000 medical students participated in the National White Coat Die-In. We knelt to the ground, rested our backs on concrete and tile, looked up at the ceiling and contemplated what it meant to be a citizen. We embraced a deafening silence pregnant with the implications of erasure. Our bodies, cloaked in the privilege of a white coat, painted a complicated image of advocacy and appropriation.

#MuslimsSaveLives: An Open Letter to Health Care Leadership

Published by Sriharsha Gowtham

Our American democracy was founded on the promise of freedom of religion, a conviction that invites immigrants from all over the world and enables our country to grow and prosper. Our health care system is strong because we celebrate that diversity — understanding diverse perspectives and cultural practices is fundamental to providing the highest quality of care. Today, hatred and xenophobia have been thrust into our daily lives in a way that degrades our common humanity and impairs our ability to work together.

Sriharsha Gowtham (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Sriharsha Gowtham is a third-year medical student at SUNY Upstate, with a BA in Neuroscience from Columbia University. Born in India and raised in New Jersey, he enjoys political discourse and speaking to whoever is willing to listen. He serves as a fellow at Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People Campaign and looking for more causes to support.