Contributing Writer
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Marlise is a fourth year medical student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. Prior to medical school, she graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a master's degree in public affairs, with a focus on health policy. She also worked for several years on federal and state public policy. She enjoys podcasts, long stroller walks with her daughter and husband, and watching the "Great British Bake-Off" after a long day on the wards. She hopes to pursue a career in internal medicine and public policy.
When contemplating a career in medicine as either a nurse practitioner (NP), physician assistant (PA) or physician, I entered unwittingly into a landmine of opinions tainted with undertones of interprofessional resentment.
For most medical students, the third year of medical school is their introduction to life in the hospital. This results not only in exciting learning opportunities, but also emotional tolls — grief, fear, anxiety, exhaustion — that can lead to serious problems including burnout, depression, and anxiety.
Egg shell coat: / Tread softly, / Quietly. / To not crack the illusion / Of knowledge, / Bold aspirations.
As medical students, we have the unique experience of jumping from service to service or specialty to specialty. The good students will embrace the opportunity to be constantly challenged to evolve in their thinking and their doing. However, often times, the experience of one week here, two weeks there, four weeks somewhere else can be a bit awkward.
I would like to begin this article with a question: Do the name and ethnicity of a doctor affect your decision when choosing a physician? America has always been a melting pot with diverse cultures and ethnicity. The medical field is a melting pot in its own right with its own politics, conflicts, racial disparities and the like. When I was starting medical school, my mother suggested that I should change my Chinese first name …
The patient was a woman in her mid-twenties recently diagnosed with lupus. She was clearly anxious about her prognosis and treatment. The rheumatologist I was shadowing that day entered the room, made some casual conversation intermingled with medical questions, and proceeded with the physical exam. She was attentive to the patient’s needs and accommodating with her questions. The rheumatologist’s confidence, compassion and ability to sooth the patient’s worries made a lasting impression on me. During …
In histology, we are taught that ‘structure dictates function.’ It is a simply stated phrase that tells medical students to think about how the structure of a tissue determines what its role is in the human body. Does it secrete substances? Is it involved in mechanical abrasive stress? Does it have a large layer of muscle? Of collagen? Many ducts? Extensive folding of the epithelium? These questions, answered entirely by staring at a slide of …
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Indiana University School of Medicine
Jennifer Evan is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in liberal studies and a minor in chemistry. Having interests in a range of subjects, she enjoys participating in a variety of fields and experiences, from art and music, to writing and research. Her professional interests include international medicine and culture, while her academic passion is neurological studies. She is a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine Class of 2016.
