From the Wards

Caleb Grote (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer Emeritus

University of Kansas Medical Center

I am a MD/PhD student that recently graduated from the University of Kansas Medical Center. My PhD research was focused on the role of sensory neuron insulin signaling in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. I matched into orthopedic surgery at my home institution.




My First Ethical Dilemma

Published by Caleb Grote

It was Friday of the seventh week of my family medicine clerkship. I was tired. Tired from the day and, honestly, tired from the clerkship. I was ready for a change of pace. The next patient was Mr. S., a 30-year-old male, here for an establish care visit. I did not recognize the name. I reviewed his chart before the encounter, two visits in the system, both to the ER for cocaine-induced angina. I stereotyped him immediately. Not that this was right, but I did. I think everyone does.

Bedside Ethics: The Story of Jane and John

Published by Sean Sanker

The circumstances under which Jane and I met were less than ideal. That day, I had already seen a family of maggots making a happy living in someone’s foot and been chastised by my attending for failing to recognize the imprecision of my visual acuity in assessing a patient’s ascites — how else could I do so without a measuring tape in my pocket and daily charts of his abdominal circumference?

Pansies, Rosemary and Rue

Published by Erin Baumgartner

Truthfully, I pick her name off the new patient list because it belongs to a woman, and several of our male patients have already come upstairs flagged for aggression. It is too early in the morning, and late in the week, and I haven’t yet learned that female patients can be just as unpredictable as the men. I am in a hurry this morning, and I make the mistake of not skimming through her chart before I go in to see her. I don’t know any more than the barebones: her name and her chief complaint upon admission.

Christopher Deans Christopher Deans (17 Posts)

Medical Student Editor

University of Nebraska College of Medicine

The product of small town Nebraska and many evenings enjoying good reads, Chris Deans currently resides in Omaha, NE where he attends the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degrees in Biological Sciences and Philosophy from University of Nebraska at Kearney after also spending time at the University of Northern Colorado. A child at heart, Chris enjoys late night frozen yogurt dates with his wife, long hikes in the Rockies, and camp fire shenanigans with friends.