Columnist Emeritus and in-Training Staff Member
Loma Linda University Medical Center
A Taste Of Your Own Medicine is a column that gives you a taste of medicine. It focuses on important and interesting topics relating to medicine and being a medical student.
Valentina is a general surgery resident at Loma Linda University Medical Center. She graduated from University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.
Advances in technology have not only dramatically changed health care, but have also changed the way we learn medicine. Gone are the days of carrying clunky textbooks. You can also put away your six different highlighters. Why? Because technology has become your new best friend. Having a smartphone—or better, a tablet—on hand has become an especially useful tool for navigating your studies. Here is a guide to some of the apps that I have found …
I went to a couple of talks this week that emphasized the importance of protein. While osteoporosis is a well-known public health problem, sarcopenia, or the loss of muscle mass, is less well-understood by both doctors and the general public. Prevention of sarcopenia is perhaps one reason why people who stand or move around at work may be healthier as they age than people who sit all day (like med students). In terms of the …
You know you have a problem when you can’t fall asleep at night. That’s where I was nearing at the end of anatomy in my first year of medical school. I couldn’t sleep because I was terrified of what the next day held. My sympathetic nervous system was on full alert, ready to handle the next day. The only thing between the next day and me was a night of sleep that seemed harder and …
Third-year rotations come with a mix of emotions. It’s exciting to get out of the classroom and onto the floors where all the action is, but at the same time reality can set in with every patient that you see. The patient that you see with the acute lymphoblastic leukemia which you had read about extensively in Pathoma is now in your hematology-oncology clinic getting chemotherapy, surrounded by family members who are giving her support …
So you got into med school, congratulations! You have had your inauguration week and your white coat ceremony where you took an oath to do no harm and abide by the rules and save human lives and make gold out of poop! You watched a video of previous graduation ceremonies, proof that all the struggle is going to pay off and you are going to be a real doctor and change the world. You have …
[ca_audio url=” http://in-training.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/11-___Flawless-Feat.-Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie.mp3″ width=”500″ height=”27″ css_class=”codeart-google-mp3-player” autoplay=”false”] I grew up in a culture where boys are favored over girls. Most of the time, it’s something subtle like saying, “let’s hope it’s a son!” when a friend is expecting a child. With the one-child policy and a system where the availability of education is not as readily accessible to everyone, it’s easy to prefer a man to carry on the family name and the family honor. …
This winter, take time to relax with family and friends. For first years, you’re ready to breathe after a slew of examinations. For second years, you have Step 1 on your mind but aren’t fully committed to studying—unless you’re a gunner. For third years, you’re exhausted from the wards and it’s time for a break. For fourth years, you’re interviewing around the country and you can’t wait to sleep in your own bed for a …
Perhaps it was the combination of her being a mother and a pediatrician that made this pearl in particular one of my mother’s most frequently uttered—sometimes with a stern motherly tone, and other times in a teasing, singsong way. It’s a saying that she heard quite a bit while growing up in Kerala, India, and it became one that she not only took to heart, but ultimately defined her very life by. I must admit …
As a member of the Medical Scholars Program at UIUC for the last 4.5 years, I have been pursuing a doctorate in the hard sciences while simultaneously completing the first-year medical school curriculum. This may seem like a daunting task (and the majority of the time, it is!) and pursuing a career in medicine under any circumstances is very challenging. In addition to the demands of medical coursework, there are always familial and personal relationships, hobbies, …
Last night, I saw a few patients at our student-run free clinic that takes place on Wednesday nights. Every time I get a little bit better at one thing, something else just gets harder. For instance, I’ve figured out how to fill a syringe and deliver an injection at the proper 90-degree angle, but then I realize that I did none of the hard work to coo at and calm down the screaming toddler receiving …
Moving across the country to attend medical school left me without a fridge that was magically full of Russian salads, homemade breads and grilled goodies. This magic was never much of a rainbow. It was domineered by the deep purplish-red of cooked beets. Despite their sweet and hearty favor, I didn’t want my kitchen, cloths and fingers to turn into a heavy and semi-permanent shade of faded purple. I began to grocery shop like a …
We’ve always been on a healthy eating craze and want to send the message that eating healthy does not mean eating boring and expensive foods. We’re all about eating tasty foods that are easy to make, especially when time is so tight. A classmate of ours recently talked about buying frozen taquitos for a get-together because they were easy finger foods that most people enjoy. Taquitos are a great party food item but we wanted …
Columnist Emeritus
Albany Medical College
Hey guys, I'm Haritha Sishtla, a Class of 2015 medical student at Albany Medical College. I went to undergrad not too far away at Union College and majored in biology and economics. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk and share my experiences, and that I spend a lot of time taking pictures and Instagramming and/or PicStitching them. I also spend a lot of time on Pinterest, which may cut into my study time...
eom. [existing outside medical school]
As medical students, we often find ourselves attending countless hours of lecture, studying late at night in the library, and eating junk from the hospital cafeteria. We forget that there is a life outside of the bubble that is medical school! Read our column to take a break from the work and exist outside of medical school.
