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.
My most recent rotation on internal medicine emphasized the importance of working on a team, which is an integral part of residency. The team not only consists of you, the residents and the attending, but it also includes nurses, social workers, the pharmacist and other consulting teams. Ideally, team members should interact with each other in a professional and respectful manner. It’s even better if the team gets along and enjoys each other’s company. This …
It was just a week into our third-year rotations and my class was eagerly awaiting our Step 1 scores while adjusting to the beginnings of our clinical responsibilities. When the day came that our scores were to be released, I received a phone call from my aunt who told me that my Pappou (grandfather), who was in Greece on his yearly summer trip, had collapsed on his veranda and was en route to a local …
When most people think of the labor and delivery department (L&D), they probably have thoughts of babies, laughter, tears of joy, happiness, and pink and blue onesies. My experience on L&D was quite different. A woman who was 26 weeks pregnant walked into the hospital at 10 p.m. on a Monday night, claiming that her water broke. But how could that be? She was only 26 weeks along. It was determined that she had preterm …
Awkward. is a witty TV show about the awkwardness of being a teenager and surviving high school. Sometimes I feel like the awkwardness of being a medical student and surviving medical school is worthy of a TV show. Medical school is particularly awkward when starting third-year clerkships. Depending on how prepared you are for the wards, you may not know where to go, what to do, or what to say. Some students will dive in …
Since that fateful day when I read the words ‘Congratulations, you have been accepted…’, I consider my medical education to be my ticket into the world of international development. With the tools I obtain through my medical degree, I dream of setting up medical clinics in remote jungles and responding to need following natural disasters. Prior to medical school, I served at a rural Salvation Army medical clinic in Ghana, where I was the lone …
Not everyone has the pleasure, or should I say honor, of being a part of the miracle that is life; even fewer get to say that they witness and influence that miracle every day. As a medical student, I have been privy to a whole new world of opportunities that have opened my eyes to how fragile life truly is and how much of a difference one person can make to affect the life (or …
Scene I: 7:30 a.m. in the OR at the VA [Elderly gentleman with too many comorbidities to be induced into sleep. He is given local anesthesia and lies draped on the operating table. General surgery is suctioning a fluctuant mass from his upper left thorax. Case has been opened.] Patient behind curtain: Oh, God. Oh, God! Errrgggggh! Anesthesiologist: We’re just gonna give you some more medicine. Chief Resident: It’s right around your broken rib. There …
I’m sitting by the window in a hospital room with my eight-year-old sidekick who is being treated for rhabdomysarcoma, here for chemotherapy. Sidekicks is a student-led initiative at UMass Medical School that matches medical students with pediatric oncology patients in order to build long-term, non-medical relationships. He is watching his favorite cartoons and so he is unresponsive to my attempts at engagement. My own five-year anniversary of being in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma just passed …
Since the beginning of medical school, I have always been astonished at the fact that my preceptors often had no idea what was going on with their patients. Many times, they resorted to prescribing Tylenol, simply telling their patients to come back if the condition became worse. Gastric ulcer? Tylenol. Terrible headache? Tylenol. Joint aches? Tylenol. Period cramps? Tylenol. Of course, they were family doctors with years and years of experience, but it came to …
Third years — this one’s for you. You’re already a few months into the year, and probably getting the hang of things by now. As you wade through the ocean of scut, progress notes, and evaluations, it can be easy to lose sight of the potential bias in your perspective. However, if you remain mindful of your perspective, you may be a better judge of your specialty interests while simultaneously getting more enjoyment out of your …
A patient with a past medical history of hypertension and IV drug use (IVDU) presents to the ED. He reports a one month history of neck pain. He denies any trauma. He also reports having upper extremity weakness for two weeks. He denies any previous episodes like this. He denies any fevers or chills. He reports an IV drug history for a number of years and reports that his last heroin injection was two days …
Last weekend, I had an opportunity to participate at a community clinic in conducting physical examinations that includes a thorough male genital check for inguinal herniations. It was an organized event which occurs yearly “to promote the well-being of high school and college student athletes by providing comprehensive physical screenings, free of charge, to all students participating in interscholastic athletics or allied activities” with the help of healthcare student volunteers (medical, dental, nursing, or physician …
Columnist and Editor Emeritus: Former Medical Student Editor (2012-2015)
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
Jimmy is residing in Phoenix, Arizona. He received his undergraduate degrees from California State University of Long Beach. Actively involved in research, his interests include internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and medical humanities.
Jimmy also volunteers at local community events and non-profit clinics in the Phoenix, Arizona and Orange County, California areas.
Web: jimmytamhuypham.com
