Contributing Writer Emeritus
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
My education includes a BS in biology from Whitworth University, a MPH from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and an MD from East Tennessee State University. In addition to family medicine, my interests include Christian apologetics and French, British, and American literature.
(My search for a lingua franca.) What I love about medicine is that it is, in one sense, just another culture. It is a world of operational definitions. The ability to accurately describe an injury or procedure may be likened to gaining proficiency in a language. I remember learning French and pushing myself in order to express myself — to communicate. The desire to share ideas was so great that I had to learn; not just …
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 …
“What am I supposed to eat?! How do I make the pain go away?!” An exasperated 41-year-old man with Crohn’s disease spoke to me in confidence upon his second hospital admission in two weeks for flare-ups of his inflammatory bowel disease. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease nearly 10 years ago and, up to this point, the only form of treatment he had been given was a single prophylactic pill that he took daily to …
A little humor goes a long way with a lot of patients. The degree to which a positive attitude—on their part and ours—can help them get through a difficult time in their lives never ceases to amaze me. One patient came to us with massive lower extremity swelling and an EF of 15 percent. He was an inpatient for over a month and had a Foley catheter for more than three weeks. He had an …
It was 6:58 a.m. and it was my first day in the hospital as a third-year medical student. I was excited. I had my short white coat on and my pockets were full of little gems recommended by those more experienced than myself. As I found my team I saw the second-day-interns nervously preparing for rounds. I hoped my excitement was not too obvious. I could not believe I was about to round on real …
Author’s note: This is a fictional account based on true facts. Ten years ago D. came to New York from war-torn Congo. I know nothing about how she navigated the international bureaucracy to get asylum and how she then moved here, alone and sick and not knowing much English. I know that in her past she was “a businesswoman” and traveled all over Africa buying and selling things. She even went to South Africa, she …
During my internal medicine rotation, I learned many things about medicine, and many things about patient care, and they are not always one in the same. By far the most influential piece of knowledge I will take away from this clerkship is the importance of clear verbal and written patient instructions and education, as well as the benefits of keeping patient care in a network of physicians.
I met a patient at preop for an elective sigmoid resection for a malignant mass in her colon. She had no previous surgical history. Unfortunately the patient was widowed and lived alone and had some understandable concerns about her recovery. She seemed anxious and a bit nervous about the procedure. I introduced myself before the surgery and tried to the best of my current ability to answer any questions she had. As we spoke, I …
The night flow team had picked up a woman in her late 60s with a history of diverticulosis presenting to the ED with bleeding from the rectum. She was scheduled for colonoscopy the next day and orders were placed for NPO (nothing by mouth) after midnight and GoLytely (bowel cleanser) to be finished within three hours before midnight. As a third year medical student, I picked up this patient the morning of her colonoscopy. She …
Every life is full of firsts. First steps. First words. First kiss. First love. First (and ideally only) marriage. For physicians in training, there is one other first that quite possibly ranks ahead of those other life milestones: the first real patient. Sure we’ve practiced on each other, on paid actors, and even on lifelike robot mannequins along the way, but at some point every medical student starts rotations. Rotations equal the first taste of …
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Deke Barron is a Class of 2014 medical student at Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. He has a master's in biomedical sciences from William Carey University and a bachelor's in cellular, molecular, and systems biology from Berea College.
He likes pretty much any sport and long walks on a beach (no, not really). Deke's medical interests include family medicine and sports medicine, as well as rural medicine. Deke is very excited to join the in-Training team, and he would like to thank his great friend Brittney O'Grady (http://foodieuncensored.blogspot.com) for inspiring him to start writing again.
