From the Wards

Jonathan Koptyev (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Jonathan is a fourth-year medical student at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ, class of 2023. In 2017, he graduated from Columbia College with a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic studies. He enjoys singing, playing chess, and spending time with his wife and two daughters. After graduating medical school, Jonathan hopes to pursue a career in dermatology.




More Than Skin Deep: A Lesson From an Unusual Rash

Published by Jonathan Koptyev

It was my third day on my home dermatology elective, and I boldly volunteered to see a patient by myself. As a third-year medical student strongly considering dermatology for my future career, I had studied for weeks for this rotation, hoping to make an impression as a confident, knowledgeable and reliable doctor-in-training. Usually, medical students shadow for two weeks before seeing patients on their own, but I was eager to be more independent. This was my chance to demonstrate everything I was working toward.

Small Differences in the Face of Death

Published by Daniel Orlan

Every medical student has felt apprehensive about facing death at some point, right? Maybe you have experienced someone dying before, or maybe it is something you have never seen and only rarely contemplated. Regardless, there is a subtle tension lurking during your first two years of pre-clinical studies, during which disease and death are intellectualized and abstract. Then clerkships start.

An Overstuffed Backpack

Published by Rachel Shatanof

It was a Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. and I was rushing to the hospital for pre-rounds. I was on my neurology rotation, and my pockets were heavy and stuffed with tools. My preceptor had texted me the room numbers of the patients I was to visit that morning. I had three patients to see in the hour before rounds — the first two patients I had been following every day this week and a third patient was a new admit from overnight.

Progression of dandelion painting

Reflections On Resilience

Published by Amal Cheema

In early spring, amid the earlier quarantines, I watched dandelions grow outside my window. At first, subtly and hidden among the blades of grass. Then budding, bursting yellow amid green galaxies. These tiny suns danced in April’s wind and their scent carried morning’s dew and earth-like warmth into midday, until the smells of grills and barbecues took stage.

Kareem Zuhdi Kareem Zuhdi (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Morsani College of Medicine

Kareem Zuhdi is a first year medical student passionate about narrative medicine, quality improvement and mental and physical well-being. Studying to get his MD at the Morsani College of Medicine, he also works on the side as a volunteer crisis counselor for a suicide and crisis hotline as well as on the Lancet’s Child and Adolescent Health International Youth Advisory Panel. In his free time, Kareem loves kayaking, playing tennis and exploring new restaurants.