Contributing Writer
Medical College of Wisconsin
Abdullah is a medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI, Class of 2027. In 2022, he graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Neuroscience, and a minor in Arabic. In his free time, he enjoys espresso, long blacks, and red eyes. After graduating from medical school, Abdullah plans to pursue a surgical career dedicated to head and neck cancer.
As the summer countdown began, there was both a sense of thrill — excitement to learn from and be around someone I admired — and a weight of expectation, both from myself and from those I’d be working with. These emotions are familiar to most embarking on the journey of medicine, where the promise of growth comes hand in hand with the pressure to rise to the occasion. I honestly hoped it would be filled …
As you search your closet / For your scrub cap, / Stethoscope, / And pants,
My first time in the operating room (OR) was when I was a junior in college. I was beaming under my mask, so excited to shadow and observe my first surgery ever, a riveting and exotic procedure: a planned and standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A friendly circulating nurse that I had been chatting with asked me, “Sabrina, what’s your glove size?”
This is a story for those who struggle in finding their specialty. Sometimes it takes time to figure out your place in medicine. We may not always find it on our first try, but the journey in its pursuit is what influences us into becoming the kind of physicians we are meant to be.
Despite ongoing efforts and changing perspectives, gender equity in surgical specialties has not yet been achieved and is not simply a problem of the past. Only in addressing deep-seated gender roles and actively creating opportunities for the representation of women and gender-diverse persons in surgery can surgeons in Canada accurately reflect the populations they serve.
Bleary-eyed, / Surgical cap awry, / I follow in a single file line.
Imagine inserting your broken arm into a metallic, sleeve-like device, then sparks fly, machines clang and voila! You have gotten yourself a nice, fixed arm in a shiny new cast. It is more and more common to see scenes like this on display in recent sci-fi productions. These flashy Hollywood gadgets may seem far-fetched, but surgeons have been conducting robotic-assisted procedures for over thirty years.
Take him to the ICU, / Now. / Trauma, Level 1, coming from just outside of triage.
A hospital bed rolled in. It was Marvin. His last walk. On rounds we would say, “Twenty-two-year-old with gunshot wound to the head. Waiting for organ donation.”
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.”
Superficial to deep, deep to superficial, / 90 degrees, in and out, / Not too deep, filled with doubt.
A terminology guide to help you become more comfortable and familiar with the operating room. Hopefully this enhances the practical side of your experience!
Medical Student Editor and Contributing Writer
Indiana University School of Medicine
Michael is a third-year medical student at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana, class of 2021. Formerly, he served as an Army Aviation Officer (UH-60 Blackhawk Pilot) in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York where he earned a Bachelor of Science in economics. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, basketball, endurance athletics, and reading. After he graduates from medical school, Michael would like to practice within the Veterans Health Administration.
