Tag: death and dying

Melissa Huddleston Melissa Huddleston (10 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine


Melissa Huddleston is a fourth-year medical student at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso, Texas class of 2023. In 2016, she graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science in informatics and a secondary major in classics. In 2018, she graduated from Baylor University with a Master of Public Health in community health education. She enjoys hiking, jumping rope, and reading. After graduating from medical school, Melissa would like to pursue a career in pediatrics.




First Day

After our first week on clinical rotations, my third-year medical student colleagues laughed about the silly and awkward things that made their first days hard. Someone was shunned for bumping into the sterile field during their first operation. Someone else couldn’t figure out the scrub machines and was stuck mismatching for the day.

Small Differences in the Face of Death

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.

Daniel Orlan Daniel Orlan (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine


Daniel is a third year medical student at Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, Florida class of 2023. In 2017, he graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in psychology. He also is a licensed EMT in Florida. He enjoys watching sports, trying new foods, and exploring nature. After graduating medical school, Daniel would like to pursue a career in emergency medicine and eventually health policy.