Tears For Company
She had her head bowed over her sleeping newborn, and her perfect plaits of braids were blanketing her shoulders, cascading calmly despite the insurmountable turmoil clearly manifesting on her face.
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Contributing Writer
Meharry Medical College
Aliah L. Fonteh is a fourth-year medical student at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, class of 2023. In 2017, she graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences. In 2019, she graduated from Liberty University with her Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences. She is a National Health Service Corps Scholar and has received a variety of other research, leadership, service, and teaching related awards in her journey so far. The accolade she is most proud of is being nominated by her peers for the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). She enjoys engaging in mentorship, service to global and local communities, and research opportunities in her free time. After graduating medical school, Aliah would like to pursue a career in OB/GYN.
Sensing The Emergency Department
“Three, two, one … lift,” the circulating nurse directs as I raise the patient’s feet from the trauma table onto the recovery bed, gushing with the giddiness of getting to use my hands in a medical setting for the first time.
The Art of Mastering Oral Case Presentations: A Third Year Medical Student’s Perspective
The following infographic is the result of my goal to create a resource, backed by literature, from the perspective of a medical student to help other students become fluent in the “language” of oral case presentations at the start of any clerkship rotation.
To Grieve Appropriately
What does it mean to “grieve appropriately?” / To silently cry / as to not break the fragility in the air.
Breaking the Curse: Communication in Health Care Teams
During my pediatric rotation, a little girl was brought to the ED the day her family was set to leave for vacation. Her physical exam and imaging confirmed a ruptured appendix that would require surgery and almost a week of IV antibiotics, meaning our patient would miss her family’s forthcoming vacation.
Meditations on Mortality
One of the most powerful paradoxes of medical education is that we learn how to heal the living by dissecting the dead. Our cadavers house the beauty and intricacies of human creation, the distinctiveness yet commonality of each human body and the finality of decline.
Time Left: 89 Minutes, 38 Seconds
My Grandmother never once told me how / she feels about dying.
Dancing Through Imposter Syndrome
Dance has always been a medium for me to express my emotions. It makes me feel alive and helps me process my experiences, including that with imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome has been described as feelings of self-doubt, especially in high achieving people
On Being a Patient
It was the first day of my inpatient internal medicine rotation and I felt as excited as ever to be in the hospital, participating in rounds. “How’s your day going?” I asked automatically in a cheery tone as I entered my first patient’s room.
A Framework for Student-Led Legislative Advocacy in Undergraduate Medical Education
There are two main types of advocacy: community-based advocacy — which consists of direct provision of services to marginalized populations — and political advocacy — which involves crafting legislation that affects a large group of people.
Just a Medical Student
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m just a med student. The rest of the team will be here shortly, they’ll explain everything to you.” We wait in silence.
Air Hunger
His diseased lungs / stiff like dry clay / function like gills out of the water.
Contributing Writer
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Tulsi Patel is a second year medical student in the MD/MPH program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She graduated from Columbia University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in neuroscience and behavior. She loves listening to podcasts, visiting art museums, reading poetry, hiking, and running outdoors. Tulsi is excited to explore pediatrics and internal medicine while centering health equity by applying her public health degree, narrative medicine, and humanism in medicine.