Drinking Grapefruit Juice
I didn’t know / many can’t / sip coral pulpy bitter / juice from narrow glasses.
Writers-in-Training
Contributing Writer
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Maggie is a third year medical student at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, IL class of 2022. In 2017, she graduated from University of Pittsburgh with Bachelors of Science & Arts in English and biology. She enjoys creative cooking, bike rides, and hammock naps in her free time. After graduating medical school, Maggie would like to pursue a career in Emergency Medicine.
The Anatomy Lesson
There were seven of us standing around the table as the attending surgeon debrided the infected fascia. The vascular surgeon came in the room and barked at us to identify the structures before us. “What’s that artery?” he interrogated us. “I’ll give you a hint,” he said, “there’s a deep and a superficial.” We named the sural nerve and iliotibialis band and the great saphenous vein. As we clamored around the table, I suddenly thought of the Rembrandt painting: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
You’re Not a Bold, Knowledgeable Medical Student — You’re Just White
I knew I moved through these spaces easily for many reasons, but being White is a big one that needs to be said out loud. And when you look and feel more comfortable in a space, it is easier to perform “well,” or to sound confident. This is directly related to what academic medicine characterizes as “objective” evaluations of students, and there is data to support this.
So-So
“I still feel the same,” she says / after three weeks of ECT. / Monday / Wednesday / Friday —
My First Stitch
“Could you please hand Eric the needle driver?” As the scrub tech loaded up that blessed golden tool, I knew that I had just ascended within the realm of surgery.
Riddle
It does not grace your ears, / but you can hear it. / It does not touch your skin, / but you feel its pull. / It can’t be seen or read / but nonetheless, it guides you.
Restrained
I proposed a deal to my fellow student on our surgery rotation. “You can have all the other cases today if I get the laryngectomy.”
Having Your Pathology and Eating It Too
Just as our vernacular has embraced the language of food to describe people, so too has the medical community used such language to describe disease.
Two Summers Abroad
I never expected to have such a similar experience of being immersed in a new language while remaining in the US exactly five years after my summer in France. But the hospital is truly a world of its own, complete with its own vocabulary.
Should You Get an Apple Watch for Your Heart? (Part 2 of 2)
In part one of this two-part series, we explored the history of direct-to-consumer ECG technology and its utility. Here we present a product comparison and research validating direct-to-consumer ECGs.
Continuing Medical Education on Trans Health: Addressing the HUD’s Proposed Rule (Part 2 of 2)
Homelessness is a prominent concern among LGBT+ people, particularly the transgender community. Nearly one-third of the respondents who completed the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey reported homelessness at some point in their lives, with even higher rates (74%) among individuals whose families had rejected them.
Continuing Medical Education on Trans Health: US Trans Health (Part 1 of 2)
The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality demonstrates the U.S. transgender community’s need for mental health services and unique barriers to care.
Writer-in-Training
University of South Carolina School of Medicine - Columbia
Lexi Dickson is a second year medical student at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia, South Carolina class of 2022. In 2018, she graduated from the University of South Carolina Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology. She enjoys trying new restaurants, dancing, and traveling in her free time. Lexi is undecided on what specialty she would like to pursue after graduating medical school, but is interested in emergency medicine.