Reflections from Anatomy: A Letter to Myself
If gross anatomy has taught me any topics, they are the sheer beauty and capability of the human body.
Tag: MS1
Writer-in-Training
Tufts University School of Medicine
Avneet Soin is a member of the Class of 2021 at Tufts University School of Medicine. She graduated from Tufts University with a degree in Biopsychology, and is a proud double Jumbo. When she's not studying, she enjoys finding new cafes with great latte art, going to concerts, and reading.
Gluteus Maximus
Deeper than its captivating shape / lies a greater purpose.
A Letter to My Pre-Medical School Self
After our first year of coursework, our LC mentors asked us to write a confidential letter to our “2016 self,” or ourselves at the time just before we began medical school. Right away, I recalled that at that time, I was a nervous wreck.
A First-Year Flashback
Second year? Could that be? It felt wrong. It threw off my whole identity. “I’m just a first-year,” had been my motto for the past twelve months.
A Slap in the Face Might Just Be Exactly What You Need
Medical school hit me, and I mean it hit me hard. I would describe it as a boulder rolling down a hill straight towards me, multiplied by ten, and that is how scared and unprepared I was for my first few weeks of medical school.
It’s Okay
It’s okay to feel in the cadaver lab. It’s what your first patient wanted for you.
The Dreaded Exam
The medical school recruiters and academic advisers had conveniently forgotten this detail during my educational overview when I originally signed up to be a physician.
Medical School (in Numbers)
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.
Abnormal is the New Normal
Given that we are in a profession that aims to prevent harm, treat ailments and promote healthy living, the concept of an ideal body seems to be embedded in our work. The problem with the idea of normalcy, however, is that it is an ill-defined and very subjective idea that varies among each individual.
Becoming Doctor Superman: On the Journey of Trying to Know It All
They say to become truly educated is to begin to realize how little you really know. I used to not understand this — it seemed the more I learned, the more I knew. How could it be different? This changed in medical school. It was only then that I began to feel more and more ignorant with each passing day of my education.
Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones
The first time I saw a vertebra in medical school was not in anatomy lab. It was on a Thursday afternoon on the playground at Rolling Bends, a low-income housing community in West Atlanta. The smooth, white bony processes poked through the woodchips alongside broken glass and cigarette butts, almost, but not quite, unnoticeable.
A Hardened Heart: Lessons from the Autopsy Room
As I lifted my head away from my work, I realized that I was being watched. On the other side of the window was a group of five young women, mouths agape and eyes wide open. They were students, up and coming radiology technicians, brought here to observe. Their instructor was hoping to desensitize them to the harsh reality of death and prepare them for the day that they would venture here alone with mobile x-ray machines.
Contributing Writer
Medical University of South Carolina
Taylor is a third year medical student at the Medical University of South Carolina. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of South Carolina and is a proud gamecock. Her plans are to pursue a career in general surgery and to one day provide surgical care to patients in the rural southeastern United States. Her passions include rural healthcare, medical history, and humanism in the practice of medicine.