Tag: reflection

Johnny Dang Johnny Dang (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

John Sealy School of Medicine at University of Texas Medical Branch


Johnny is a medical student at the John Sealy School of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, Class of 2026. In 2022, he graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts in degree in biochemistry and cell biology. He enjoys running, baking, and visiting coffee shops in his free time. In the future, Johnny would like to pursue a career in Anesthesiology.




Filial Piety

In his 2019 Netflix Special, comedian Ronnie Chieng made some of the most astute (and hilarious) observations on a long held Asian American model minority stereotype. In a short three minute segment, Ronnie delivered over the top impressions of Asian parents’ carnal thirst for ‘money and prestige’ that’s only quenched by having a doctor in the family.  He moved on to quickly highlight the insidious irony of the very same parental figures being just as …

My Most Important Lesson from Medical School

Upon reflection, my actions and feelings in caring for this patient reveal how truly afraid I was to be wrong; not necessarily about the diagnosis, but rather about whether the patient would be okay. Maybe coming in daily and opening her chart for good news was just me hoping that my initial impression was still right instead of coming to terms with the fact I was very wrong.

Catching Threads at the End of Preclinical

I hope my classmates, communities, and I all dance far more often with health than sickness. I pray that soon the last hospital bed holds the last patient with COVID. I hope justice and truth prevail. I hope we hold onto what we carry: the love of friends and family, a resilience tried and true, bravery unbridled and faith that we will persevere among the challenges life affords. I hope that after long days of caring for others, we care for ourselves and call a friend, a loved one, a therapist — and remember how far we’ve come. We have been patients, and we will be patients, even as we care for patients.

Amal Cheema Amal Cheema (4 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Geisel School of Medicine


Amal is a writer and medical student at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, class of 2024. She graduated from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and political science in 2017. Prior to medical school, she pursued a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and a post-baccalaureate in biomedical ethics. Outside of class, you can usually find her writing, reading, baking, or adventuring in the outdoors.