Contributing Writer
UC Riverside School of Medicine
Archana Reddy is a first-year medical student at UC Riverside School of Medicine. She graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and a B.S. in Biology from UC Los Angeles in 2016. Her professional interests include pediatric medicine, health disparities, community medicine, and global health. She enjoys cooking/baking, yoga, and traveling in her free time.
Given that we are in a profession that aims to prevent harm, treat ailments and promote healthy living, the concept of an ideal body seems to be embedded in our work. The problem with the idea of normalcy, however, is that it is an ill-defined and very subjective idea that varies among each individual.
They say to become truly educated is to begin to realize how little you really know. I used to not understand this — it seemed the more I learned, the more I knew. How could it be different? This changed in medical school. It was only then that I began to feel more and more ignorant with each passing day of my education.
The first time I saw a vertebra in medical school was not in anatomy lab. It was on a Thursday afternoon on the playground at Rolling Bends, a low-income housing community in West Atlanta. The smooth, white bony processes poked through the woodchips alongside broken glass and cigarette butts, almost, but not quite, unnoticeable.
Enthusiastic. Proud. Motivated. I smile sheepishly as I approach the coastal town of Pondicherry, nestled in tropical South India.
As I lifted my head away from my work, I realized that I was being watched. On the other side of the window was a group of five young women, mouths agape and eyes wide open. They were students, up and coming radiology technicians, brought here to observe. Their instructor was hoping to desensitize them to the harsh reality of death and prepare them for the day that they would venture here alone with mobile x-ray machines.
The library opens at 8 a.m. As usual, I overestimated my commute and arrived almost 15 minutes early. This became an everyday occurrence for not just me but for another library inhabitant like myself, That one guy. As I approached the library’s closed double-doors, I saw that one guy waiting.
As a medical student, I have big shoes to fill. I feel that void in my foot-space at all times. These shoes are expensive, and they are monstrously huge. We’re talking circus clown, Shaquille O’Neal, Andre the Giant shoes.
One week after I took Step 1, I found myself frustrated with my mother. The reason? Not completely clear.
Just a few minutes into my drive I made a right turn and my car suddenly lost control. It was snowing the entire day and I realized the road was covered in ice.
As medical students, we spend endless hours stuck in a library, with tons of books and piles of notes that we try to get into our heads … It is only logical that it is challenging to maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine while aiming for academic excellence.
I don’t want to admit that medical school is tough for me. I want to be a natural at this. I want to devour my schoolwork and never satisfy my thirst for more.
It was a Friday afternoon in the middle of October during my second year of medical school. I, along with my classmates, was preparing to complete our formal graded “check-off” for intubation.
Managing Editor Emeritus (2018-2019)
Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine
Lydia Boyette is excited to be a managing editor for in-Training Magazine. In May 2019, she graduated cum laude with a Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine and summa cum laude with a Master of Business Administration. Lydia matched via the NRMP into anesthesiology residency at the University of Central Florida.
Throughout medical school, Lydia wrote stories about her experiences learning clinical skills and has had her work published by PubMed, KevinMD, and StatPearls, LLC.
Additionally, Lydia has spent a significant amount of time working for community health centers in rural areas. She served as a student physician ambassador for her medical school and previously held the position of editor-in-chief for the local community health clinic's newsletter.
In 2015, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in healthcare management and a minor in general science from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. She also served as an English composition tutor and editor. While completing her undergraduate degree, Lydia was inducted into several honor societies including Phi Kappa Phi, Delta Mu Delta, Pre-Med Allied Health, and Who's Who Among Students Class of 2015.
