When the Brain Hits Your Eyes: Searching for a Revelation
Wednesday morning, October 10, 2018. I was standing in an operating room, 2,500 km away from my home and my medical school, trying to recall the five layers of the scalp.
From the Wards
Contributing Writer
University of Thessaly
Georgios is an international medical student in Greece where medical school and college are combined into a six-year program. George is in his fifth year of medical school and is in the class of 2020. He attends the University of Thessaly, Medical School of Larissa, Greece. He enjoys American pool, basketball, astronomy, and movies. After medical school, he aims to become a neurosurgeon and wants to combine the clinical aspect of medicine with basic research in neuroplasticity.
Let Me Go
I had not yet guided a ‘goals of care’ discussion. This is the discussion that entails understanding a patient’s wishes regarding end of life care, and it is often in the context of determining what advanced medical interventions the patient might want. That day, my short white coat felt shorter, like it was yelling out to everyone I encountered that I had no idea what I was doing.
An Encounter Cut Short: A Lifelong Lesson
I was starting my surgery rotation, the second rotation of my third year, on the colorectal service. It was my first 24-hour on-call shift, which meant that my team would be responsible for multiple surgical services overnight.
Gimme Shelter
I hate to say that there is something exciting about getting called in to the hospital in the middle of the night. Logically, I know that means something bad is happening to someone else, but it makes my heart beat a little faster and my adrenaline surge.
My First Lesson from the Wards
I just finished my two month surgery rotation, and as a third year medical student new to the wards, I had a steep learning curve. One of the things I learned the hard way, causing me to nearly cry during rounds, was how to properly present a patient’s history and physical examination findings.
The Plant
Every time we’d ask the physical therapists to take him on a walk to get better oriented with his surroundings and see some sunlight, Mr. G. would refuse. He was a stubborn man.
Patient Care Improves When Patients Care
I will never forget the patient who shocked my preconceived notions about health care.
The “Difficult Patient”
They asked me how that encounter had gone, and I could feel my cheeks turn bright red. I was embarrassed that I was not able to connect with my patient.
Experiencing Health Care Disparities in a County Hospital
My medical education has been a long journey to this point — a journey filled with many obstacles and detours resulting in moments of self-reflection and personal growth. One of the most important detours on my journey led to me being relocated to Riverside University Health System (RUHS) for a longitudinal care assignment.
Inside the Body, Inside the Mind: What Surgery Taught Me About Psychiatry
Perhaps the single most awkward conversation that a third-year medical student can have with an attending physician is the one that begins with the attending asking, “So, what medical specialty are you interested in going into?”
Transplant
I know that being a third-year medical student is like being a transplanted kidney. One starts the day in one body. School is composed of lecture halls and written exams. However, the world has shifted by the end of the day, and shockingly, one’s old body is not present.
I Need a Cigarette
“If I don’t get a cigarette right now, I’m going to punch someone,” he said. “Okay, I understand. One second.”
Contributing Writer
Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University
Chelsea Cosner is an M.D. candidate for the class of 2019 at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University. Chelsea graduated the University of Miami in 2015 with a B.S. in neuroscience and minors in chemistry, history and English. Chelsea is a writer and Miami native who enjoys crafting and learning new things in her spare time. She believes in advocacy and activism through medicine.