There is no glory in defense. Fans don’t notice it. The most perfectly-executed defensive play results in a non-event; that is, the other team doesn’t score. Then everyone forgets about it, and the game moves on. But there is an…
There is no glory in defense. Fans don’t notice it. The most perfectly-executed defensive play results in a non-event; that is, the other team doesn’t score. Then everyone forgets about it, and the game moves on.
But there is an art to defense. It is reactionary in nature: You must read the offense and anticipate what’s coming. You have to study the opposing players one-by-one, so you know their strengths and …
I was a four-year-old kid when I was about to begin my first day of school. I was born and raised 20 kilometers away from the big city in a small rural area with minimal essential amenities — schools, roads,…
I was a four-year-old kid when I was about to begin my first day of school. I was born and raised 20 kilometers away from the big city in a small rural area with minimal essential amenities — schools, roads, and hospitals. Like all other kids, it was a momentous occasion for me to start my first day of school, and I remember how exciting it was.
“Why are you in seminary?” As a "non-traditional applicant," I was asked this question on every medical school interview four years ago. I’ve come to learn that seminary training engenders stereotypes and mythopoeia. My mentors knew this, and advised me…
“Why are you in seminary?”
As a “non-traditional applicant,” I was asked this question on every medical school interview four years ago.
I’ve come to learn that seminary training engenders stereotypes and mythopoeia. My mentors knew this, and advised me to have examples ready related to the importance of being trained in fields that both study the human condition and provide the skill set necessary to critically assess paradigms.
As I sit here today, I think about the future and how life will be ten years from now. There seems to be an illusion that when you finish your residency and you start to be an attending that your…
As I sit here today, I think about the future and how life will be ten years from now. There seems to be an illusion that when you finish your residency and you start to be an attending that your life magically becomes better and that you have a lot higher quality of living. However, what I have found going through this process is that the dream may not be …
In medical school, the lessons and stories have a unifying theme that connects the threads of humanity. In medicine, I could find these stories, the feelings of loss and fear and hope and love. In the face of illness, suffering,…
In medical school, the lessons and stories have a unifying theme that connects the threads of humanity. In medicine, I could find these stories, the feelings of loss and fear and hope and love. In the face of illness, suffering, and death, we often see the unvarnished sides of the human condition — the more raw sides of our nature hidden behind the decorum of everyday living, behind the curations …
I had the honor and privilege of rotating for three weeks on the transplant service where I experienced a lot of great medicine, surgery and the ethics that intertwines them. One late night on service I had the opportunity to…
I had the honor and privilege of rotating for three weeks on the transplant service where I experienced a lot of great medicine, surgery and the ethics that intertwines them. One late night on service I had the opportunity to travel to a different hospital and help the team harvest a liver and kidneys from a donor. Never had I seen anything more amazing than what I witnessed that night …
I’m about two-thirds of the way through my 3rd year of medical school, and I have hit my wall. I have become so fed up with the set up of medical school. I think a decent amount of this comes…
I’m about two-thirds of the way through my 3rd year of medical school, and I have hit my wall. I have become so fed up with the set up of medical school. I think a decent amount of this comes from the fact I am on my 6th week of an eight-week surgery clerkship (an area of medicine that I literally have zero interest in). I’m tired of waking up …
The contrast between the first two years and last two years of medical school are unparalleled to any other graduate field of study. You progress through a period of relentless studying through case-based, team-based, and lecture-based curriculums for two years…
The contrast between the first two years and last two years of medical school are unparalleled to any other graduate field of study. You progress through a period of relentless studying through case-based, team-based, and lecture-based curriculums for two years with very little, if any, patient interaction. Afterwards, the script flips and you’re staring nervously at your first patient trying to channel interpersonal skills that sat on the backburner during …
Medical school rotations afforded me incredible opportunities to bolster not only my knowledge base but also my patient-related skills. The following information has helped me provide better patient care; hopefully, it can be of some benefit to you as well.…
Medical school rotations afforded me incredible opportunities to bolster not only my knowledge base but also my patient-related skills. The following information has helped me provide better patient care; hopefully, it can be of some benefit to you as well.
1. Safety and no violence are not synonymous
During one of my outpatient rotations, I was interviewing a teenager who had come in for a routine annual checkup. Ten minutes into the …
Somehow, I made it to my 4th year of medical school before I saw my first code blue. I had no experience in emergency medicine before medical school, and my chosen specialty is about as far from critical care as…
Somehow, I made it to my 4th year of medical school before I saw my first code blue.
I had no experience in emergency medicine before medical school, and my chosen specialty is about as far from critical care as you can get. It wasn’t until my rotation in the emergency department that I got the chance to absorb what it means to care for an emergently sick patient.
When my classmates and I returned to Boston to continue our first year of medical school early last month, we returned to a very different type, of course, called “Essentials of the Profession.” In it, we explored health policy, social…
When my classmates and I returned to Boston to continue our first year of medical school early last month, we returned to a very different type, of course, called “Essentials of the Profession.” In it, we explored health policy, social medicine, ethics, and other topics outside the realm of traditional physiology and disease but just as important to our roles as physicians. In the health policy class, we learned about …
Physicians face a host of challenges in practice, but the one that looms largest is often this — they don't know everything. It would be tempting to think that they do. As patients, we want them to. We want our…
Physicians face a host of challenges in practice, but the one that looms largest is often this — they don’t know everything.
It would be tempting to think that they do. As patients, we want them to. We want our doctors to tell us that they know what’s wrong and how to fix it. Medical mysteries are fun on television, but in our real lives, they’re profoundly unsettling and can have …
Besides the usual suspects of money, religion, and politics, there is nothing more uncomfortable to discuss than the biggest reality of all: death. You would think that the medical community — a community bathed in this unfortunate reality — would…
Besides the usual suspects of money, religion, and politics, there is nothing more uncomfortable to discuss than the biggest reality of all: death. You would think that the medical community — a community bathed in this unfortunate reality — would be more willing to engage in vital discussions regarding the end of life. However, this is seldom the case.
During the neurology portion of our medical curriculum, a panel of lecturers …
During the first week of medical school classes, we visited the anatomy lab. As far as I can remember, I had extremely mixed feelings on that day. I felt the thrill of taking my first baby steps towards my medical…
During the first week of medical school classes, we visited the anatomy lab. As far as I can remember, I had extremely mixed feelings on that day. I felt the thrill of taking my first baby steps towards my medical journey blending with a certain feeling of fear. Was I afraid of the pure existence of cadavers in that gloomy, long and hall-like room? Or was it the fear of embarking …
As part of my medical school’s inter-professional learning, I shadowed a hospital chaplain this afternoon. While physicians principally attend to the physical healing of patients, chaplains also fulfill an important role in health care: meeting the spiritual needs of patients.…
As part of my medical school’s inter-professional learning, I shadowed a hospital chaplain this afternoon. While physicians principally attend to the physical healing of patients, chaplains also fulfill an important role in health care: meeting the spiritual needs of patients. When faced with disease, patients often grapple with deeper questions about their illness beyond just what the diagnosis and treatment plans are.
Immediately upon arriving at the hospital, there was a …
Performance appraisals are an integral part of an organization's assessment of employee and trainee standing. Management and human resource literature is full of analysis and debate regarding how to best rate subordinates. Regardless of evaluation system utilized, some of the…
Performance appraisals are an integral part of an organization’s assessment of employee and trainee standing. Management and human resource literature is full of analysis and debate regarding how to best rate subordinates. Regardless of evaluation system utilized, some of the common goals of individual appraisals are to monitor progress, identify areas for growth, set goals, guide development, provide and elicit feedback through open communication, and document issues that may require …
Remarkable improvements in advanced life-saving therapies have brought chronic disease management to the forefront of American health care. Today, we see more patients that have complicated conditions. Often, these patients are admitted to the hospital with acute symptoms related to…
Remarkable improvements in advanced life-saving therapies have brought chronic disease management to the forefront of American health care. Today, we see more patients that have complicated conditions. Often, these patients are admitted to the hospital with acute symptoms related to chronically managed conditions such as heart failure, lung diseases or cancer.
These patients can end up in the intensive care units and require critical care such as ventilators, dialysis and other …
When I started medical school over four and a half years ago (I took a research year), I knew that primary care was my passion. I actually had a dream beyond medicine to be a liaison of sorts between the…
When I started medical school over four and a half years ago (I took a research year), I knew that primary care was my passion. I actually had a dream beyond medicine to be a liaison of sorts between the ivory tower of medicine and the community. Once I stepped onto the scene of my medical school, things started to change. My goals stayed the same, but I started to …
As a medical student, I have big shoes to fill. I feel that void in my foot-space at all times. These shoes are expensive, and they are monstrously huge. We’re talking circus-clown, Shaquille O’Neal, Andre the Giant shoes. I feel…
As a medical student, I have big shoes to fill. I feel that void in my foot-space at all times. These shoes are expensive, and they are monstrously huge. We’re talking circus-clown, Shaquille O’Neal, Andre the Giant shoes. I feel awkward in these size 24s. I’m stumbling and scuffing them, but I’m not even close to calling it quits. These shoes are staying on. I am trying as hard as …
“I can’t do this anymore,” Mary* said to me after morning rounds. As third-year medical students, this could have been in reference to a number of things: 5 a.m. rounds, practice sutures, 14-hour days, the list goes on. Though I…
“I can’t do this anymore,” Mary* said to me after morning rounds.
As third-year medical students, this could have been in reference to a number of things: 5 a.m. rounds, practice sutures, 14-hour days, the list goes on. Though I later learned Mary was simply referring to living.
An article recently published by JAMA showed depression or depressive symptoms among medical students was as high as 27.2 percent and …
