Tag: narrative medicine

Amber Allen (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

University of Texas Southwestern

Amber Allen is a fourth year medical student at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas Class of 2021. In the fall of 2016 she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science and Art in biology with a Bridging Disciplines certificate in children and society. In 2020 she graduated from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston with a Master of Public Health and a focus in epidemiology. She enjoys all genres of dance, traveling, and spending time with her two schnauzer puppies, Kado and Willow. After graduating from medical school, Amber would like to pursue a career in full-spectrum family medicine.

Narrative in Cirque

Published by Amber Allen

When I was 17, I went to the gynecologist for a Pap smear because my mom said, “Once you have sex you have to get one.” It felt like punishment, but it was also the only way I had a chance of getting birth control. I went to three different doctors and exam after exam, they kept saying I could have cancer. I did a ‘colpo’ — whatever that is. After that, they did three different procedures on me, three, all to take pieces of my cervix. I don’t remember what they were called or what even happened. All I remember is the pain.

#Top12of2020: in-Training 2020 Year in Review

Published by in-Training, the online peer-reviewed publication for medical students

Thank you for your contributions and your readership over the past year. It has certainly been a difficult one, and we are exceedingly grateful that you all used in-Training as a platform to share your reflections, opinions, and solutions. Run by medical students and for medical students, your ongoing support is what makes us a premier online peer-reviewed publication. We look forward to seeing your contributions in 2021, and we’re excited to see where the year takes us (hopefully some place better!).

Strength

Published by Imran Sehgal

She was a woman in her early twenties accompanied by her husband. She was a first-time expecting mother at 19 weeks gestation with twins. They had received regular prenatal care and had been doing everything as the doctor had instructed to ensure a healthy pregnancy. She made this appointment because she felt something was off, her motherly instincts already keen.

Buddy

Published by John Carlo Pasco

You were my first patient on my first inpatient rotation as a third-year medical student, which meant that I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I was mostly concerned with trying not to faint during presentations on morning rounds. I stared at your bowl of Cheerios, the cereal beginning to turn the skim milk a pale yellow. Your brow furrowed in annoyance behind your thick glasses.

Restrained

Published by Madeline Fryer

I proposed a deal to my fellow student on our surgery rotation. “You can have all the other cases today if I get the laryngectomy.”

But The Laborers Are Few

Published by Tryphina Mikhail

My agitation grew as I realized I needed to do something. I was a medical student training to be a doctor after all, right? Wasn’t I supposed to help alleviate the burdens of others?

Insight from a Then Cancer Survivor, Now a Medical Student

Published by Neda Amirmokhtari

When I was told I had a mass in my chest, I was shocked. Like most people who are told that they have cancer, I was blindsided. But it was even more shocking because I had been going to multiple doctors over a period of six months complaining of pain in my chest, right arm, and right shoulder.

Obstacles Facing Residents Aging Out of the New York Capital Region Foster Care System

Published by Gregory Hsu

Children raised in foster homes tend to have a high morbidity. They have developed a similar prevalence of serious physical and mental problems comparable to those of other disadvantaged children populations.

The Patient In Room Four

Published by Chika Nwosu

I prepared myself to discuss lab results and dietary counseling. But then my eyes stumbled upon the words on my screen that seemed to be staring back at me: ‘Lung cancer, metastatic to the bone.’

Lasting Stories

Published by Joseph Joo

I believe in the power of storytelling. As an avid sports fan, I am no stranger to the captivating narrative of athletes.

On Breathing

Published by Charles Surette

To keep breathing does not mean to go at it alone or to put up a brave front even when it feels as if the world is collapsing. To keep breathing is to always push towards the goal even when it’s hard and even when it doesn’t feel worth because it will be in the end.

Of the Mindful Clinician

Published by Ogaga Urhie

The opportunity to be immersed in learning the stories behind the health of patients is one of the things that drew me to medicine, and, indeed, it still intrigues me. More importantly, I was (and still am) intrigued by the opportunity and challenge of using the multiple streams of information patients present with to make functional improvements in their lives.

Ogaga Urhie (5 Posts)

Contributing Writer

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Ogaga is a third year medical student at West Virginia University (WVU). He intends to pursue a residency in neurosurgery and to integrate clinical research into his practice. To this end, he earned a Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Science with an emphasis in neurosurgery. In 2015, Ogaga graduated from WVU with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in economics. He has been interested in the arts and humanities since high school and came to appreciate the poignant stories various forms of artwork tell during his undergrad career. He enjoys observing all forms of art and actively writes poetry influenced by his love of Victorian literature. He realized that patients and clinicians may have their own stories to tell and that the arts and humanities can help all stakeholders better connect with stories of healthcare. In this light, he designed a project with the goal of using narrative medicine to improve patients' qualities of life.