Contributing Writer
Temple University School of Medicine
I am a Class of 2017 medical student and second year mommy. I'm still working on juggling med school, MBA courses, marriage, and raising a rowdy 2 year old boy. In my free time (not a real thing), I enjoy sharing my experiences and newly earned wisdom with others.
Few joys in my life compare to that moment in November of 2011 when I opened that fateful letter granting me a spot in medical school. As I hopped for joy, I had no idea that I was celebrating with the person who would provide me with immeasurable joy for the rest of my life — the kind of joy that does not lend itself to metaphor, literary nuance or even the best descriptive talents. …
As I was standing in my apartment building’s laundry room scrubbing away at a stubborn coffee stain, I kept up a steady stream of curses at my white coat. In the seven weeks since I’d first donned it, my coat had apparently decided that it preferred to be any color but white. A Tide-to-Go pen is now a permanent fixture in my pocket, and it’s used almost as often as the actual pens. It’s odd …
As a tour guide on interview days for my school, the most frequent question I am asked is: “What’s it like to be married — or to pursue a relationship — while in medical school?” This question is understandable. More than a year ago, I was asking the same question to medical students I met during my interview days, apprehensive about how school would affect or change my relationship with my husband. It is a …
The pathologist is doling out defective baby hearts from a dripping plastic tub. A few drops splash onto the student next to me. The pathologist claims it is just water. Water, and dead baby heart juice, that is. All of these baby hearts have congenital defects, and the ones we hold now each have a ventricular septal defect, a big hole in the middle of their heart that killed them. We have been allotted fifteen …
Jack Frost, what is your center? It seems a little simple – even childish – coming from a character-driven, family-friendly animation, but this line struck a reflective chord within me. Much like the Guardians in the children’s movie “Jack Frost” who protect the innocence and happiness of children, physicians protect and heal people who are helpless and in need. While the end purpose of a good physician – to effectively and compassionately care for their …
I stared at Her remains, all of the little bits and pieces. It was the last day of gross anatomy and I wanted the moment to feel important. I wanted Her to know what it had meant. The sacrifice. As we zipped up the Tyvek bag, I wanted Her to hear angelic voices and heavenly bells. It was what She deserved; it was what they all deserved. To hear John Taverner when we placed her …
It was just supposed to be a temporary job. At least that was what I envisioned when I started my position as a standardized patient at Albany Medical College. Four months earlier, I graduated a semester early from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama. When I applied to be an standardized patient (SP), I was searching for a way to take my acting career to the next level. …
Ms. Romero is an otherwise healthy medical student who was transferred to the MICU with acute liver failure; isoniazid toxicity. Crystal had a positive PPD screening, negative chest x-ray and started therapy for potential LTBI. After seven weeks the patient felt fatigued, anorexic, jaundiced, RUQ abdominal pain, and was found to have elevated LFT’s & INR. She was originally admitted to INOVA for observation, but was transferred to Medstar Georgetown University Hospital MICU and worked …
42 months. 1260 days. That is how much education is squeezed into the 45 months following that exciting first day when we were full of eagerness and had our white coats donned on us for the first time. There are two winter breaks and two spring breaks that offer much needed respite and shelter from the continuous downpour of medical knowledge being entrusted to us over these 45 months. Two winter breaks, two spring breaks, …
“The patient, today, is Stephen,” revealed Mister the patient, his lips curled up in a mischievous smile. He was already wearing a hospital gown when I entered the physical exam room with two of my classmates. “But it’s not the name that’s written on the schedule. I’ve got Luke here,” my classmate noticed. When I heard Mister laughing that cheerfully, I knew that this clinical skills session would be different. Really different. It was not …
Medical students, as I’m sure we all know, are a very strange bunch. Some of us are more comfortable talking about cellular protein markers and tumors than our feelings, myself included at times. Just because we have to memorize all five generations of cephalosporins and all the bacteria that can cause pneumonia — on top of everything that can go wrong elsewhere in the body — doesn’t mean we can’t be the best partners to …
Author’s note: Every spring, the University of Louisville School of Medicine holds a Convocation of Thanks to honor those who donated their bodies for our gross anatomy lab and to express our appreciation to their families. Students are invited to perform in a variety of ways: via music, singing, or reading pieces to express their gratitude. The following is my submission for this year’s Convocation. In the four years prior to medical school, I served as a …
Medical Student Editor and Columnist
University of Louisville School of Medicine
Allison graduated from Indiana University in 2009 with a BS in Biochemistry. She then pursued a MA degree in Bioethics and Medical Humanities from the University of Louisville, graduating in 2011. She is a second year MD candidate at the UofL School of Medicine while also pursuing the global health distinction track. Her interests include pediatric ethics, neonatology, global health, and medical humanities. When not studying, she enjoys traveling, hiking, writing, and spending time with her husband and infant daughter.
Cheerios and Stethoscopes
All about starting and raising a family while being a physician-in-training.
