Being Seen
I work with four other medical students at the family medicine clinic. I am the only female medical student — our attending is also male.
From the Wards
Contributing Writer
Florida International University
Arya is a third year medical student at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and plans to pursue a career in psychiatry. She loves to travel, experience new cultures, and is constantly trying to gain a global perspective of medicine. In her day to day free time, she enjoys working out and exploring Miami.
Lost and Found in Medical Training
Many people told me that my third year of medical school would be both the most rewarding and the most difficult. That I would choose my future specialty and discover my specific path in medicine — a task which, as I began the year, seemed both exciting and daunting. Little did I know that during my third year of medical school, I would learn just as much about myself as I would about patient care and the practice of medicine.
His Lens
His hands were shaking as they gently peeled open a tattered envelope. I leaned forward, attempting to understand what he was trying to show us, then gasped.
Until You Make It
When my family saw me painstakingly hand-placing individual sprinkles on the apices of buttercream rosettes at age 15, I justified this obsessive behavior by telling them, “I’m just practicing precision for the day when I get to inject into people’s faces.”
Souvenirs
Mr. G was a patient I met while on the surgical oncology service. He was in his early 50s, a loving husband and the father of two children. He was the middle sibling with two brothers. He also battled metastatic cancer.
The Ethical Dilemma of Following Your Instincts
During the last week of my clinical rotation in family medicine, my attending advised me and the accompanying medical student that going forward, the health providers of the clinic must limit their scope of care for patients who present for annual examinations.
The Long Road to Healing
This period of healing set Lori on a long road that was paved with pain. She lived in chronic pain from the fistula. While her physicians delicately weighed her safety with pain relief, she learned to balance both patience and uncertainty.
Cousin Monopoly
Logan’s healing was in his death. Mine was in a game of Monopoly.
To Learn in a Pandemic
As a high school volunteer in my local hospital’s oncology unit, I remember the sinking feeling in my stomach every time I saw the bright “Contact Precautions” sign on the door. I would begrudgingly don a flimsy plastic gown, fix a tight surgical mask around my ears, snap on a pair of gloves and proceed into the patient’s room.
Angel: Choosing to Be Vulnerable
It is morning outside, the sun barely kissing the horizon. The curtains have been drawn in an attempt to force any lick of light from the room. But one slim shard cuts through the drapes, illuminating John’s face.
A Reflection on Third Year
Like many medical students, I was vastly underprepared for the emotional turmoil that the nature of the third year of medical school can create.
An Unexpected Apology
Over the next few days, workup revealed she was experiencing paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, a manifestation of her occult cancer. In a matter of three days, a patient who had come in for seemingly benign constipation was told she had metastatic lung cancer.
Contributing Writer
Florida State University College of Medicine
Hayden is a fourth-year medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine, class of 2023. She graduated from Florida State University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and received her Masters of Science in Medical Sciences from the University of South Florida in 2017. She enjoys lifting weights, hiking, paddle boarding and gardening in her free time. Hayden aims to pursue a career in neurosurgery.