Editor Emeritus: Former Medical Student Editor (2012-2013) and Former Resident Editor (2013-2014)
University of Arizona College of Medicine
After completing medical school at University of Arizona College of Medicine in 2013, I've moved on to residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Kaiser Permanente -- Los Angeles Medical Center. I'm passionate about preserving women's reproductive choices, ensuring access to health care for all Americans, and facilitating scientific discovery in medicine. Also, I hate writing, which is unfortunate because I've got some things to say. (If this whole being a doctor thing falls through, I plan to camp outside The Onion headquarters until someone hires me.)
I guess you could call me a late bloomer. I certainly wasn’t one of those people who had known since receiving their Fisher Price doctor bag at age five that they would one day grow up to be a pediatrician. And when I started medical school four years ago, I still didn’t have the slightest clue what type of physician I would ultimately become. In making my third year schedule, I became acutely aware of …
I was on my internal medicine clerkship on an inpatient general medicine service at a major academic medical center. It was another long day and our team, from the interns to the attending, was running low on energy. As we entered late afternoon, we received a page for the transfer of a new patient to our service. As the intern read aloud “CMO” — comfort measures only–the team breathed out a sigh of relief and …
From the first day of medical school orientation, we have been advised to maintain a life outside of the walls of the hospital and to continue our own hobbies and interests. This often feels overwhelming among the endless classes, exams, clerkships and applications, not to mention extracurricular activities. We all want to be a model medical student, battling our desires to be a good friend, husband, wife and person. I find medicine to be an …
It was just a week into our third-year rotations and my class was eagerly awaiting our Step 1 scores while adjusting to the beginnings of our clinical responsibilities. When the day came that our scores were to be released, I received a phone call from my aunt who told me that my Pappou (grandfather), who was in Greece on his yearly summer trip, had collapsed on his veranda and was en route to a local …
It’s that time of the year again. For second-years, USMLE Step 1 is around the corner. For third-years, it’s Step 2. For fourth-years, their future careers are just months away. At times, the pressure of medical school looms and the daily challenges that students face become disheartening. That’s why I like to be reminded of short stories of people who did not necessarily go through medical school, but were faced with many hardships. Some were …
It was 3 a.m. in the emergency room. I had the ultrasound probe in my hand and was searching for a 50-something-year-old man’s bladder. He had not been able to urinate for over 10 hours and was in terrible pain. I figured his bladder had to be the size of a basketball by now. I stared intently at the black and white fuzzy screen, trying to interpret the landmarks. I did not see the large …
Editor’s note: This article was originally published here by contributing writer Paul Thomas. This morning, I had the good fortune of practicing medicine in a homeless shelter with Street Medicine Detroit (SMD). SMD is a student-run organization at Wayne State University School of Medicine that ventures out into the community and provides compassionate medical care to the underserved and homeless of Detroit. Because of the cold weather in Michigan, our “street run” took place inside a church just off …
Since that fateful day when I read the words ‘Congratulations, you have been accepted…’, I consider my medical education to be my ticket into the world of international development. With the tools I obtain through my medical degree, I dream of setting up medical clinics in remote jungles and responding to need following natural disasters. Prior to medical school, I served at a rural Salvation Army medical clinic in Ghana, where I was the lone …
Not everyone has the pleasure, or should I say honor, of being a part of the miracle that is life; even fewer get to say that they witness and influence that miracle every day. As a medical student, I have been privy to a whole new world of opportunities that have opened my eyes to how fragile life truly is and how much of a difference one person can make to affect the life (or …
Scene I: 7:30 a.m. in the OR at the VA [Elderly gentleman with too many comorbidities to be induced into sleep. He is given local anesthesia and lies draped on the operating table. General surgery is suctioning a fluctuant mass from his upper left thorax. Case has been opened.] Patient behind curtain: Oh, God. Oh, God! Errrgggggh! Anesthesiologist: We’re just gonna give you some more medicine. Chief Resident: It’s right around your broken rib. There …
I’m sitting by the window in a hospital room with my eight-year-old sidekick who is being treated for rhabdomysarcoma, here for chemotherapy. Sidekicks is a student-led initiative at UMass Medical School that matches medical students with pediatric oncology patients in order to build long-term, non-medical relationships. He is watching his favorite cartoons and so he is unresponsive to my attempts at engagement. My own five-year anniversary of being in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma just passed …
22 June Jambo! Leaving today. A bit apprehensive considering how busy I have been and how unprepared I feel. 13 July: Day 1 I’d be lying if I told you I imagined my first day to be anything like this. Everything leading up to today made me think that this externship was an opportunity to see some very interesting cases, while conducting my hypertension research in a modern, Swiss training facility in rural Tanzania. …
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Wayne State University School of Medicine
John is a Class of 2014 medical student. He is actively involved and spearheaded projects within groups focused on international medicine and public health. He hopes to continue conducting research and implementing population-specific interventions to educate and remove barriers to self-efficacy in his professional career.
