Contributing Writer
Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Florence is a fourth-year medical student at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Parker, Colorado class of 2023. In 2018, she graduated from University of Denver with a Bachelor of Science in biology with minors in chemistry and medical physics. She enjoys practicing Muay Thai, playing board games with friends, painting and taking her dog out for hikes in her free time.
Medicine is beautiful and interesting, but it can also be challenging in many ways. As medical students, we are expected to work hard, test well, be professional and likeable. These expectations throughout medical school can foster emotions like guilt, stress and the feeling of never being enough.
As we progressed through our other coursework simultaneously, this course seemed to synthesize it all, impressing upon us the weighty responsibility of becoming a future health provider. This piece, entitled “The Practice of My Art,” is a collage of illustrations I drew throughout the year reflecting on different courses, organ systems, or learning experiences from my first year of medical school.
This painting, utilizing oil and acrylic paints, was made in the midst of studying for my ongoing classes and boards. There have been a couple diseases that have stuck with me throughout my studies. One of them is type 1 achalasia from the GI block I did recently.
When I originally came to the United States for medical school, I was very nervous. I knew no one in Minnesota and was separated from my family by a greater than six hour flight to another country.
As she closed the door behind her, the palliative care geriatrician whom I (Meghan) was shadowing turned and said, “Remember, there are no difficult patients – just difficult situations.” We walked to our next patient, Mrs. C, who was suffering from congestive heart failure. All cures had been exhausted and she was tired of being at the hospital but was scared to enter hospice care. The doctor clasped hands with Mrs. C and explained that starting hospice did not mean giving up – it meant living life on her own terms in the time that was left. After these discussions, Mrs. C appeared more at ease and decided to pursue hospice care at her home.
Dr. John Abramson served as a family physician for 22 years, and was voted “best doctor” numerous times. He is a Harvard Medical School faculty member, where he currently teaches health care policy. He transitioned to litigation as a consultant for the FBI and Department of Justice and served in many trials against big pharmaceutical companies.
My interest in radiology began, as it does for many, with the thrill of coming to a solution based on imaging and some sparse words on a patient’s chief complaint. Reading radiologic scans is like learning a language — a code composed of axial and coronal views, enhancing and nonenhancing areas and anatomical landmarks. When you dive into the millimeter slices of a contrast CT and the defect snaps to your attention, you are hooked.
Trends come and go, some faster than others. Similarly to fads in fashion, getting admitted to medical school requires the observation of trends. What trends can you leverage as a student switching careers into medicine?
Studies have shown that physicians with exposure and background in the humanities are more empathetic, ethical, expressive and even healthier. Recently, medical school curricula across the country have begun to emphasize communication, teamwork, problem solving and humanistic care, as the dichotomous view of the sciences as a separate entity from art and literature is becoming obsolete.
What happens after a nurse has gained valuable experience at the bedside and fine-tuned this skillset? Many find themselves exploring the idea of returning to school for an advanced degree, which is typically a master’s degree or doctorate in nursing. On the other hand, some choose to take a path less traveled — from nurse to physician.
If I don’t text back / Please don’t think it’s you / It’s the abundance of info / That I must go through
In today’s landscape of rapid innovation, medical providers need to quickly adapt in order to thrive in an ever-changing field. Better yet, we need to be equipped to lead and guide the innovations so that we are not just “reactors” to change, but rather the drivers of progress in health care.
Contributing Writer
Medical College of Wisconsin
Gopika SenthilKumar is a third year MD-PhD student at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering. Her research is focused on understanding mechanisms of human microvascular dysfunction, and she is funded by the American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.
