Contributing Writer
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Ryan is a Class of 2020 MD/PhD student at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He graduated in May 2012 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in molecular biology. He enjoys thinking and writing about health care policy, and is also an avid tennis player, instructor, coach, umpire, and fan.
Organ shortage is a serious problem in the United States. About 20,000 organ transplants occur every year in the U.S., and 116,689 Americans are currently on a waiting list for an organ, with kidneys being the most needed. The obesity epidemic is contributing to the shortage; a quarter of prospective donors are too obese to donate their kidneys. People typically wait 3-5 years for an organ, and thousands die every year (an average of 18 …
While watching one of my favorite television medical shows recently, I came across a line — uttered fast and so obviously not meant to draw attention — yet it had the opposite effect. I heard one of the attendings tell a resident or student, “Continue if you’d like.” I think my fixation is a bit more understandable if I set the scene: There was a trauma in the ER. A patient was carted in on a …
Once a month during my second year of graduate school, I attended the Ethics Committee Meetings of the University of Michigan Health System and listened to fascinating discussions about the ethical dilemmas and consults requested by various members of the healthcare staff. A member of the committee presented a case, and a discussion followed to reach a potential solution for the case at hand or for future similar cases. One such case comes to mind: …
As that white coat flutters down the corridors of the ward, clinic, or examination room, a feeling of hope emerges. The white coat, a ubiquitous symbol, has become synonymous with all the precepts that a doctor stands for. Trust, hope, and strength are all ideals that doctors strive to personify in their actions with not only patients, but also with their colleagues. By striving to actualize these precepts as a physician, one will lead a …
When describing a case of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), one needs look no further than Sue Jackson. Diagnosed in 2002, her symptoms (muscle pain, exhaustion, sleeplessness) are not unusual and her description of life with CFS could be straight out of medical literature. However, Sue also has the unique position of being the mother of two children with chronic fatigue syndrome. In her award-winning CFS blog, Sue chronicles her family’s battles with CFS, Lyme disease, school boards, and physicians alongside their collective triumphs.
Paternalism and medicine have a storied past that is difficult to grasp in the abstract. For me, the values of autonomy and beneficence were cemented on the day I ran my second marathon. After the first one, I remember being asked what the hardest part of the race was. “Every mile was harder than the last,” I replied. After that day I felt like I was in the best shape of my life, dampened only by having fallen nine minutes short of my goal. Resilient, I recovered for a week, trained for three and then raced again in the Indianapolis Monument Marathon.
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
John Dougherty is a medical student at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.
