As a Phoenix
Dead eschars are excised. / Skin grafts grow like flowers / Repotted for new life.
Tag: humanism in medicine
Contributing Writer
UT Houston/McGovern Medical School
James is a third year medical student at UT Houston/McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX. In 2019, he graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in biomedical engineering and a certificate in Core Texts & Ideas. He enjoys running, video games, and exploring coffee shops and museums in his free time. After graduating medical school, James would like to pursue a career in pediatrics or child psychiatry.
Anatomy in an Alien World
The pungent odor of formaldehyde permeates through the room and I can smell it through my mask and face shield. I am leaning over the body I am dissecting, trying to identify structures as the instructor appears before our tank, armed with a grading pen and a barrage of questions.
Grandpapa’s Gift
Grandpapa had a gift for storytelling. / Sitting on the two-legged stools at the end of the Hutong,
At Least I Was Before I Got Here
When we approached his room, Craig was wedged in the doorway, sitting on his walker angled towards the nurse’s station. It was the first time I had set foot in a hospital as a medical student; the task was to simply chat with a patient for about forty minutes. “Craig?” one of the nurses called out. “Yep! I am Craig, at least I was before I got in here!” he replied. Something about the enthusiasm in his voice appealed to me, so I sat down next to him and struck up a conversation.
Relapsing-Remitting Vignettes: Learning About Multiple Sclerosis
One of the most impactful influences on my decision to become a doctor was meeting a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS). I was 19 years old and a hospital volunteer in Michigan. As I was replacing gloves, gowns and towels in my department, I entered the room of an elderly Eastern-European woman.
The Myth of the “Difficult” Patient: A Lesson in Empathy
Soon after I began my clinical rotations in medical school, I started to see it. It was subtle. At first, I didn’t even notice it. It usually happens during hand-over, when the night team fills in the day team on overnight events, including any new admissions.
Behind the Bars of the Health Care System: Mental and Physical Health Disparities in America’s Prisons
In this article, I hope to examine some causes of this discrepancy, compare and contrast the various prison systems across different countries, understand the shortcomings of America’s prison system in addressing these issues and shed light on how prison systems can provide better health care services.
Connecting With My cOMMunity
While I maneuvered through my first block of medical school, I felt emboldened by how well my undergraduate studies and extracurriculars prepared me for the transition. With that being said, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) snuck in on its Trojan horse and presented me with a very unexpected challenge.
My Journey Through Psychiatry
At the start of my psychiatry rotation, I was most apprehensive about performing the “bread and butter” exam of the specialty: the psychiatric interview. I was not afraid of forgetting which questions to ask, but rather how to ask said questions.
New Therapist On The Block
She sat on her bed in a bright magenta shirt covered in glittery animals, with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her green eyes were trained on the muted television broadcasting Disney cartoons, and her bed was strewn with coloring books and crayons. This scene looked quite different from the other overdoses we had been consulted on. Still, our attending calmly walked up to her bedside, introduced our bustling team and asked the universal question,
Nineteen
Nineteen. Oh the joy of being 19 years old. Can you remember back that far? Reminisce on the butterflies you felt as you waited for your date to pick you up for your very first college party.
Cold Feet
There is a fine line between medicine and mortality: give too much and it can kill someone; give too little and even that could kill someone. We show up to the hospital with the intent to save lives, and anything that deviates from that goal is seen as a failure of the system, or, at times, of ourselves. However, over time, we come to learn that there is an in-between where we are at once trying to preserve life, all the while embracing the idea of human mortality.
Contributing Writer
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Joan is a final year medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH (Class of 2022). In 2013, she graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience. In 2016, she received her second degree from Duke—a Master of Science in biomedical sciences. She enjoys traveling, exploring nature, and capturing candid photos of loved ones in her free time. After graduating medical school, Joan would like to pursue a career in emergency medicine.
