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.
“Medicine is a team sport,” said one of many administrators who spoke to my class during medical school orientation. This utterance rang true to me, as I have always believed that medicine relies on people working together in a cooperative and respectful manner. Yet, what I never imagined is just how challenging it is to work in a group when you are the most passive person in a room. I came into medical school shy and feeling a little out of place.
One of the biggest challenges medical students face is finding their voice: with their medical team, with the hospital staff, with patients, and with their chosen specialty. As a medical student, you want to be proactive, to advocate for the patient, and to learn the best management techniques. But ‘proactive’ for one physician can easily be ‘annoying’ for another physician. Likewise, what can be viewed as ‘lack of initiative’ by one physician is ‘eager to …
Location: Surgery inpatient floor Time: 6:00 a.m. Surgery morning rounds began: “Ms. A, your MRI shows you have colorectal cancer, so we plan to take you to the OR for surgery tomorrow. Alright, see you later,” said my surgery attending, who rushed out of Ms. A’s room right after he abruptly dropped this shocking news. Inside the room, Ms. A, a fragile, bony 75-year-old lady, was laying on her bed with her eyes full of …
My most recent rotation on internal medicine emphasized the importance of working on a team, which is an integral part of residency. The team not only consists of you, the residents and the attending, but it also includes nurses, social workers, the pharmacist and other consulting teams. Ideally, team members should interact with each other in a professional and respectful manner. It’s even better if the team gets along and enjoys each other’s company. This …
Working with other individuals toward a common goal has long been the hallmark of maturity both on individual and societal levels. While this simple activity may present as a seemingly innocuous and fundamental skill required of any future healthcare provider, it has a remarkable ability to cause extreme difficulty and frustration for a majority of medical students. The cause of this aggravation stems from a variety of factors inherent of new medical students. Some medical …
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, the youngest of seven children. Educated at home while working in the family restaurants from the age of five. Graduated high school at the age of fifteen and completed a BS in nursing from the University of South Carolina Upstate at the age of nineteen. Field experience includes one year in EMS as an EMT as well as two years of RN experience in cardiac telemetry, CVICU and CV step-down units. Enjoys spending time with his wife, any athletic endeavor and writing.
