The Patient In Room Four
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.’
Tag: patient story
Contributing Writer
Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Chika Nwosu is a fourth year medical student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, FL, class of 2020. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, then attended New York University for a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program. She is passionate about Women's Health and is currently advocating for the fight against Human Trafficking, and hopes to continue with it after graduating. When she does have free time, she enjoys dancing, painting and spending time with family and friends.
Let Me Go
I had not yet guided a ‘goals of care’ discussion. This is the discussion that entails understanding a patient’s wishes regarding end of life care, and it is often in the context of determining what advanced medical interventions the patient might want. That day, my short white coat felt shorter, like it was yelling out to everyone I encountered that I had no idea what I was doing.
Gimme Shelter
I hate to say that there is something exciting about getting called in to the hospital in the middle of the night. Logically, I know that means something bad is happening to someone else, but it makes my heart beat a little faster and my adrenaline surge.
The Plant
Every time we’d ask the physical therapists to take him on a walk to get better oriented with his surroundings and see some sunlight, Mr. G. would refuse. He was a stubborn man.
Patient Care Improves When Patients Care
I will never forget the patient who shocked my preconceived notions about health care.
The “Difficult Patient”
They asked me how that encounter had gone, and I could feel my cheeks turn bright red. I was embarrassed that I was not able to connect with my patient.
Experiencing Health Care Disparities in a County Hospital
My medical education has been a long journey to this point — a journey filled with many obstacles and detours resulting in moments of self-reflection and personal growth. One of the most important detours on my journey led to me being relocated to Riverside University Health System (RUHS) for a longitudinal care assignment.
Inside the Body, Inside the Mind: What Surgery Taught Me About Psychiatry
Perhaps the single most awkward conversation that a third-year medical student can have with an attending physician is the one that begins with the attending asking, “So, what medical specialty are you interested in going into?”
On Breathing
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.
Extraterrestrial
I used to daydream that my first patient as a medical student would be a happy, reasonably healthy elderly woman.
But He Was Fine Just This Morning
Soon, we were jolted to attention by an overhead announcement, “Attention, code blue. Six south. Attention. Code blue. Six south.”
Doll’s Eyes
I always thought the goal of medicine was to cure an illness. But, the memory of this little boy continues to remind me what it is like to see the eyes of someone without a future or hope.
Contributing Writer
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Aaron Pollock is a first-generation college student that landed his spot in medical school through the work of his hands in over three different occupations before 18 years old. I am just a simple guy, with a simple dream of becoming a surgeon.