From the Wards

Maxwell Wilberding (2 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Max is a third year medical student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL class of 2025. In 2017, he graduated from The Ohio State University with Bachelor's degrees in biomedical sciences and creative writing. He enjoys rebuilding cars and motorcycles, board games, and disappointing golf outings. In the future, he hopes to discover his career field and embrace it as a physician-author.




A Little Magic

Published by Maxwell Wilberding

“Patient is a 34-year-old male with a 9-month history of rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease who is currently being treated with mycophenolate and rituximab. He remains on high-flow nasal cannula with oxygen saturations of 84-87% overnight. Transplant team signed off as the patient did not qualify for transplant. He reports feeling well this morning and that he learned a great new magic trick with a disappearing card.” Two weeks into my internal medicine rotation, I …

A Longing for Belonging

Published by Malak Ibrahim

As patients moved in and out of the modest office for their appointments, their duffel bags and luggage in tow containing all their personal belongings, the day unfolded in typical fashion. Yet, within the confines of this psychiatry office catering exclusively to the local unhoused population, “normal” took on a unique meaning. The narratives of childhood neglect, abuse, drug addiction and homelessness recounted by these patients never ceased to startle me as a third-year medical …

Moments of Vulnerability

Published by Heena Mansuri

At the start of clinical rotations, we are urged by preceptors to immerse ourselves in the experience, advocate for our patients and strive to understand them better than the rest of the team. I could not, however, shake an underlying thought: Why would any patient divulge their most intimate details to someone so inexperienced? After all, I was just a medical student. Part I “Please go speak to the patient in room three, she is …

Can you water my plants?

Published by Sai Kottapalli

“Could you water my plants?” I asked my roommate when I was out of town. They say it takes a village to raise a child, make it through medical school, to do anything worth knowing. When I started medical school, I had a village: parents, friends, family, a partner and my plants. By my third year, it was just me. Nothing tragic happened; differences drove us apart. I went from calling my parents twice a …

10 Seconds

Published by Ana Jimenez, M.D.

It was Valentine’s Day morning with about thirty minutes until rounds when I noticed Madeline, one of our medical students, approaching. I took my eyes off the WOW to greet her, and she shakily said that the nurse had just told her that a patient was pulseless. Without registering the nature of the information she just shared, I told her to tell our senior and stayed in place to finish drawing the chemistry fishbone on …

End of Life Care with a Fairy Tale Twist

Published by merlin perez navarro

As the hands of the large clock on the wall turn to 8 a.m, a wandering medical student strolls through the intricate hallways of the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Her eyesight shifted to various places in the unit as she struggled to find the so-called “fishbowl,” an office space where residents station themselves to work. After walking past the various rooms a few times, she was finally able to meet …

A Simple Encounter

Published by Roberto Ortega

A light knock at your hospital room door and my introduction: “I am a first year MD-PhD student. Thank you.” You smile and wave me in. Hidden around the corner, your guest stands up from their bedside chair to leave your hospital room, though I ask if you would like them to stay. Their face, their eyes, and their mouth shine a striking gratefulness in my direction: as if, through the ever-present weight of my …

Beyond Words: Empathy and Understanding in Medicine

Published by Mona Roshan

During my Family Medicine clerkship in medical school, I worked with a free mobile primary care clinic dedicated to serving uninsured patients. Parked outside a church in a large city, the clinic was a large blue bus standing in stark contrast to the gray asphalt parking lot around it. It was often surrounded by families and people of all ages. The same parking lot hosted a food bank every other week, too. Here was a …

Because I Said So

Published by Casey Hamlet

On the fifteenth day that Marietta had not eaten, the psychiatry team knew they could no longer take care of her. With each day, her body grew weaker, her blood pressure softened, and her heart beat faster to keep her alive. By the time the medicine team was consulted, her heart was laboring at 130 beats per minute. The psychiatrists could not get her to eat. Nor could her elderly mother shuffling in each morning, …

The Difficulties of Healing

Published by Samantha Tano

Opening the heavy glass door, the immediate rush of cold air hit my face and cooled me off after walking in the hot beaming sun. I said hello to the office manager and made my way to the back office I’ve become all too familiar with these past two weeks. Just as I pulled my breakfast out and began to organize my notes, the first patient had arrived. Frantically, I grabbed my stethoscope and rushed …

A Harsh Reality

Published by Victor Gomez

The transition from the classroom to the hospital was an incredible experience. After spending endless days behind a bright screen, I felt an overwhelming sense of excitement to finally apply my medical knowledge and delve into the world of patient care. My first rotation was in Internal Medicine at a small, local hospital. At first, this setting intimidated me but with time, I gradually grew comfortable interviewing patients, reviewing medical records and interpreting notes from …

The Art of Silence

Published by Agrata Mishra

No matter how much I learn, some things cannot be taught. There was no prepared script and no checklist to follow when my father tersely told me, “your uncle in India passed.” Five solemn words and a pregnant silence. His eyes, rung with the blue of cataracts, did not shed a tear. Instead, they were fixed on an empty corner of our worn sectional couch. My lack of words stretched across the silence. I could …

Agrata Mishra (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Agrata is a medical student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, Florida, Class of 2025. In 2021, she graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science in biomedical sciences and a minor in psychology. She enjoys reading books, painting, and trying out new coffee shops in her free time. After graduating medical school, Agrata would like to pursue a career in psychiatry.