Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Medical students need guides to help them navigate the hospital

Anonymous
Education
July 19, 2016
Share
Tweet
Share

Hi there,

Allow me to introduce myself.

I’m you.

I’m you 20 years ago, or 45 years ago if you were in the Class of ’72. I’m you one month ago if you were in the Class of 2016. I spilled coffee down my shirt, my hair is kind of a mess, and there are dark circles under my eyes from long hours spent studying.

Sound familiar?

Great. Then you’re in the right place. The final exam is about to start. Actually, you’re already late, and you’re in the wrong room. Oh, and did you know that you’re not wearing pants and haven’t been attending class all year?

I bet you still have dreams like that. And if you haven’t had one of those in a while, perhaps you will after reading this. You’re welcome. Once a med student, always a med student.

I’m about to start my third year, and just between us, I’m terrified.  Med student to med student: The hospital is weird, don’t you think? Sometimes when I walk through it, I feel as though I have arrived on a strange island inhabited by the most peculiar creatures. It helps to narrate my observations of hospital island life in my best David Attenborough voice: “Here we have a bright green-clad surgical resident. Temperamental beings, we note the dismal facial expressions at the sound of the beeping black box they keep secured to their waist.”

Fun, isn’t it?

Needless to say, I haven’t quite gotten my sea legs yet. My voice shakes as I present patients to less than patient attendings. My knees buckle at the sight of blood. (That’s not going to be a problem, is it?) Even when I manage to leave the hospital, the memories of the day don’t fade but rather play on a continuous loop in my mind (as I write this, it’s 2:15 a.m.).

Also, everyone in the hospital seems to know a language I don’t speak. Plummer-Vinson syndrome, herpetic whitlow, defervescence (that’s the sound Alka-Seltzer makes, right?). And sometimes it’s not even words: AMA, BIBA, BRBPR, +LOC, s/p MVC.

My classmates and I need a guide, someone to make sense of this place, someone who’s been to this strange land and is familiar with its rituals and customs (and smells).

How about you? You with the long white coat. Your hair is kind of a mess, and you have dark circles under your eyes from long nights taking care of sick people or worrying about them as you fall asleep. Oh, and I think you spilled your coffee.

Yes, you’ll do just fine.

The author is an anonymous medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The word "provider" should be politically incorrect

July 19, 2016 Kevin 11
…
Next

How pathologists help detect women's cancers early

July 19, 2016 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Medical school

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The word "provider" should be politically incorrect
Next Post >
How pathologists help detect women's cancers early

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Anonymous

  • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

    Anonymous
  • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

    Anonymous
  • Why young doctors in South Korea feel broken before they even begin

    Anonymous

Related Posts

  • How medical education fails minority students

    Shenyece Ferguson
  • Advice for first-year medical students

    Jamie Katuna
  • Physicians and medical students: Unlearn helplessness

    Jamie Katuna
  • Polarizing medical students do not foster discussion and education

    Anonymous
  • An open letter to graduating medical students

    Lilian White
  • Advice for graduating medical students

    R. Lynn Barnett

More in Education

  • Why clinical research is a powerful path for unmatched IMGs

    Dr. Khutaija Noor
  • Dear July intern: It’s normal to feel clueless—here’s what matters

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

    Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA
  • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

    Vaishali Jha
  • Residency match tips: Building mentorship, research, and community

    Simran Kaur, MD and Eva Shelton, MD
  • How I learned to stop worrying and love AI

    Rajeev Dutta
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Medical students need guides to help them navigate the hospital
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...