Contributing Writer Emeritus
University of Vermont College of Medicine
Peter Wingfield is in the Class of 2015 at the University of Vermont College of Medicine after more than two decades as an actor in the UK, Europe and North America.
Though I am currently a second year student at University of Vermont, I actually started medical school back in the ’80s in an ancient and venerable school in England, granted the royal seal by Henry VIII. Even just twenty-five or so years ago, the nurses still wore uniforms not significantly different from that worn by Florence Nightingale herself, and they kept their heads bowed and eyes demurely averted on ward rounds. I remember that there …
Scene I: 7:30 a.m. in the OR at the VA [Elderly gentleman with too many comorbidities to be induced into sleep. He is given local anesthesia and lies draped on the operating table. General surgery is suctioning a fluctuant mass from his upper left thorax. Case has been opened.] Patient behind curtain: Oh, God. Oh, God! Errrgggggh! Anesthesiologist: We’re just gonna give you some more medicine. Chief Resident: It’s right around your broken rib. There …
I’m sitting by the window in a hospital room with my eight-year-old sidekick who is being treated for rhabdomysarcoma, here for chemotherapy. Sidekicks is a student-led initiative at UMass Medical School that matches medical students with pediatric oncology patients in order to build long-term, non-medical relationships. He is watching his favorite cartoons and so he is unresponsive to my attempts at engagement. My own five-year anniversary of being in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma just passed …
In histology, we are taught that ‘structure dictates function.’ It is a simply stated phrase that tells medical students to think about how the structure of a tissue determines what its role is in the human body. Does it secrete substances? Is it involved in mechanical abrasive stress? Does it have a large layer of muscle? Of collagen? Many ducts? Extensive folding of the epithelium? These questions, answered entirely by staring at a slide of …
When he visited UAB last year, Abraham Verghese opened his talk with the statement that if one no longer read fiction, the brain would die. His strong words offered reassurance that at least some medical professionals value literature. Further, the statement suggested that he makes time for it and would allot time for it for others. Indeed, at Stanford, he spends his afternoons brainstorming within a thinking room instead of a laboratory. Verghese’s declaration also …
I wrote this reflection several months ago when I was working at a health nonprofit serving the Vietnamese community in San Jose, California. Though at first glance it may not relate directly to medicine, a lot of the things I was ruminating on apply to our work as future docs. Plus, this publication is sort of new, so I thought I’d stretch the scope of what is considered “relevant” or “appropriate,” both on in-Training and in medicine …
Yes, medical students have limited technical skills. Yes, they have limited knowledge. But despite these limitations, a medical student can comfort the patient as no other individual can. Many people base their success on what they have accomplished in work, school or family life. However, people rarely achieve this success without developing strong team-working skills. Achieving success on a team enables a person to acquire new skills and work on existing skills. In no other …
I met a patient at preop for an elective sigmoid resection for a malignant mass in her colon. She had no previous surgical history. Unfortunately the patient was widowed and lived alone and had some understandable concerns about her recovery. She seemed anxious and a bit nervous about the procedure. I introduced myself before the surgery and tried to the best of my current ability to answer any questions she had. As we spoke, I …
The night flow team had picked up a woman in her late 60s with a history of diverticulosis presenting to the ED with bleeding from the rectum. She was scheduled for colonoscopy the next day and orders were placed for NPO (nothing by mouth) after midnight and GoLytely (bowel cleanser) to be finished within three hours before midnight. As a third year medical student, I picked up this patient the morning of her colonoscopy. She …
We have all been told that there’s no shame in asking for help. Yet asking for help is a hard thing to do for many of us. Shame is a funny thing; it is defined by a fear we have of what others think of us, but yet may come from a fear we have in ourselves, in acknowledging things about ourselves, or a fear in what we actually think of ourselves.
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Indiana University School of Medicine
Jennifer Evan is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in liberal studies and a minor in chemistry. Having interests in a range of subjects, she enjoys participating in a variety of fields and experiences, from art and music, to writing and research. Her professional interests include international medicine and culture, while her academic passion is neurological studies. She is a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine Class of 2016.
