Contributing Writer
University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
Brittany D.K. Gratreak is a second year MD/PhD student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson. She began college at Portland Community College, then graduated from Portland State University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in biology. She is an active leader in women's medical professional groups and dedicated to creating mentorship opportunities for fellow first-generation and low income (FGLI) premedical students. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, strategy games, and creating art. After graduating medical school, Britt wants to revolutionize the care of patients with traumatic brain injury through neurology and neuroscience.
I applied to medical school twice. In retrospect, I was unsuccessful the first time for a few reasons: my timing was terrible, I had too much humility about my achievements and I didn’t ask for enough opinions about my application from people who were rooting for me. My trauma was also too raw and recent to write in a way for strangers to understand.
Tanner always planned on becoming a physician, but found himself with a gap year before medical school. During this time, he began teaching different levels of students and soon realized how much he enjoyed tailoring concepts to fit the needs of his varied audience. He told me about his first failed lesson in anatomy, when he learned the hard way that kindergartners can get rowdy and don’t quite know their colors yet.
Friends on social media are changing their names into weird spellings or middle names, which can only mean one thing: another cycle of medical school and residency applications.
Happy New Year from all of us at in-Training! We are proud to share our 12 most-read articles of 2019.
You lose / your pen with / the red and blue and black ink
She put down her drink, the corners of her mouth dropped slightly. “Oh, so a Caribbean medical school. What happened? You couldn’t get into a U.S. school?”
I want my residents and attending physicians to be aware of the elements that have so far shaped my medical school experience–a certain racial awareness, if you will–and to be as enthusiastic about teaching me as I am about learning from them.
Whenever my friends or family ask, “How’s medical school?” I have a simple, scripted response … But this response relays a fraction of what medical school has been like.
When you leave medical school and go to your residency, what you realize is it’s a lot more than OnlineMedEd. No kidding — pelvic anatomy is a 20-minute video. Turns out there’s more to know than that. If you’re going to become a gynecologist who does surgery, you’re going to learn a hell of a lot more than I teach there.
The in-Training Editors-in-Chief, Nihaal Mehta and Amelia Mackarey, talked to Dr. Dustyn Williams and Jamie Fitch, co-founders of OnlineMedEd, one of the most widely-used educational resources by medical students around the world.
Reminiscing on the Etta James hit “At Last,” that’s exactly how I felt when Steven J. Stack, MD, president of the American Medical Association, finally addressed the epidemic of gun violence in our nation. Finally he hit the nail on the head, and called the situation what it really was: a public health crisis.
Stamina waning / Along with my patience / For the number of patients / Presenting with an emesis of symptoms
Writer-in-Training
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Hello! My name is Damien and I'm a student at the University of South Florida's College of Medicine. I was born and raised on the island of Antigua, and have been writing poetry and fiction for years. I hope you enjoy my work!
