When We Listen
It was a Wednesday morning. The air was crisp. The sun graced us with brilliance. I made my way to the emergency room where I was working for a two-week period on the cardiology consult service.
From the Wards
Contributing Writer
McGill University
Sondos Zayed is a medical student at McGill University who relishes at every opportunity for personal and professional growth, knowing full well that her patients will be her most influential teachers.
To The Four-Year-Old Who Lost Her Mother To The Bomb
I don’t really know why I stayed with you. All I know is that I could not leave.
White Coat Hypertension
The day before I was asked to give this speech, sometime mid-May, I was speaking with a first year student. At the time, I was two weeks shy of completing my third year of medical school — the year of school that you spend the most time in the hospital.
What is Hospice, Really?
To physicians, hospice frequently symbolizes defeat. Referring a patient to hospice care can feel like admitting that disease has defeated years of training. In medical school, we are trained that the role of the doctor is to fight the disease and find the cure.
“Everybody Stop”: Between Life and Death in the Trauma Bay
At 7:21 p.m., I arrive at the hospital for the first overnight shift of my medical career. It’s not a great start — the bus was late, and I didn’t sleep nearly enough this afternoon in preparation for the night ahead.
Soliloquy in a Yellow Gown
Yellow does not mean sunshine, nor lemons. / Definitely not daffodils, nor sharp, new Number 2’s. / Yellow means sick. Dirty. Dangerous.
The Line Between Life and Death Isn’t a Line at All
Tears hold onto the ledges of her eyes. As the physician and I approach, a quivering begins. It emerges at the jaw, a flutter running across her lips, only to drop onto her shoulders and envelop her hands.
403
During the team huddle I was assigned to Room 403, Bed 1. “There is a lot you can learn from this patient. You should see him.” I got the one liner and was off.
Magic
“Dan the magic man,” Q replied. Q rummaged through his jacket pocket and pulled out a quarter. A childish smile brought the color back to his face as he attempted to make the coin disappear into thin air and then pull it out from behind my ear.
Metal Heart
I slide through the door swung open by the janitor. It closes with a metallic shudder.
They Said, “Third Year Is Better,” But It Wasn’t Nearly Good Enough
Everyone says that medical school gets better, especially during third year. The traditional four-year curriculum covers the basic sciences in the classroom for the first two years. Then suddenly, third year plunges us into clinical rotations in the hospital, where we’ve all dreamed of working for so long.
Safety Plan: Using Protocols to Determine Custody
On the first day of my neonatology elective I met Aaron, a one-day-old infant born to a mother with a history of intravenous drug abuse. The mother was reportedly attending a methadone clinic during her pregnancy to address her opioid addiction, but her urine drug screen was positive for fentanyl.
Writer-in-Training
Emory University School of Medicine
Sarayu is a fourth year medical student at Emory University School of Medicine. She double majored in Chemistry and Environmental Sciences and minored in Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When she's not doing med school related things, she loves exploring the food, music and comedy scenes of Atlanta.