"Ultimately, I am convinced that in my future lies not simply a profession performed ably, but a vocation performed lovingly and devotedly." Soon, after the coming pomp and circumstance fade into fond memories and well-framed photographs, I will be in…
“Ultimately, I am convinced that in my future lies not simply a profession performed ably, but a vocation performed lovingly and devotedly.”
Soon, after the coming pomp and circumstance fade into fond memories and well-framed photographs, I will be in the hospital. Soon, I will have my own patients in the clinic. With these occasions, life will be what I hoped it once would be some years ago – being a …
Recently, I began to think of death as a friend. My grandfather was hospitalized on Mother’s Day, and by the time my parents called me on Monday morning they couldn’t tell me anything more than, “He’s in the ICU with…
Recently, I began to think of death as a friend. My grandfather was hospitalized on Mother’s Day, and by the time my parents called me on Monday morning they couldn’t tell me anything more than, “He’s in the ICU with multiple seizures. They’re taking him off ventilation tomorrow.” Reaching for the knowledge I’ve spent all year chipping away at textbooks to acquire, I asked about neurologic exams, autonomic drugs and …
I remember opening that email. The overwhelming weight of nervous emotion that collapsed into a wave of ecstasy as I read, then re-read, then read again those words: “Congratulations. You have been accepted.” That moment marked the end of so…
I remember opening that email. The overwhelming weight of nervous emotion that collapsed into a wave of ecstasy as I read, then re-read, then read again those words: “Congratulations. You have been accepted.”
That moment marked the end of so much. The destination had been reached. The long nights of studying made worthwhile, the pre-requisites taken and survived. Trying to compile an accurate reflection of one’s life wading through resumes, CVs, …
Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. -Aristotle I groaned. "Don't make me operate with him again! I assisted him…
Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp.
-Aristotle
I groaned. “Don’t make me operate with him again! I assisted him in surgery just last week!”
I was low man on the totem pole and there was no point arguing. All of the residents and fellows kept track of the rotation and I knew …
I argue with my father a lot. He works as an intensivist at a community hospital in Indianapolis while I am about to graduate from a highly academic internal medicine program in Chicago. Needless to say, we have very different…
I argue with my father a lot. He works as an intensivist at a community hospital in Indianapolis while I am about to graduate from a highly academic internal medicine program in Chicago. Needless to say, we have very different perspectives.
He sometimes expresses views similar to those written in an article, “When I Was a Resident: How Duty Hour Rules Are Creating a Lost Generation of Physicians.” I started residency the …
He was my first patient -- ever. I had seen only a few patients before at my school’s student-run clinics, but never had I conducted a full visit. He was my first patient since starting the second semester of my…
He was my first patient — ever. I had seen only a few patients before at my school’s student-run clinics, but never had I conducted a full visit. He was my first patient since starting the second semester of my first year, which meant more independence on my part (theoretically), and that, for the first time, I would be holding the office visit from beginning to end. Without guidance. Of …
When I graduated from my residency, far from my current professional home, I wanted to write a book called How Not to Get Yelled At in the Operating Room. Or How to Clear the Fear from Your OR. I had…
When I graduated from my residency, far from my current professional home, I wanted to write a book called How Not to Get Yelled At in the Operating Room. Or How to Clear the Fear from Your OR.
I had these titles in mind because I struggled so much during my intern year. It was a tough year, full of intense patient care and sleep deprivation, but the challenge that I most wanted help …
I recently served as a preceptor for first year students at our Hofstra-North Shore LIJ School of Medicine who were doing one of their RIA (reflection, integration and assessment) sessions. The students do these sessions every 12 weeks, and are…
I recently served as a preceptor for first year students at our Hofstra-North Shore LIJ School of Medicine who were doing one of their RIA (reflection, integration and assessment) sessions. The students do these sessions every 12 weeks, and are generally scheduled with the same preceptor over time. It may be routine for the students, but I found it absolutely remarkable.
Each student is responsible for doing a complete history and …
Change causes distress for most people. In medicine we have a hierarchy that disdains most change. Medical students, residents, attending physicians all seemingly reject change. Practicing physicians dislike change. Yet change occurs and is necessary. I learned a great deal…
Change causes distress for most people. In medicine we have a hierarchy that disdains most change. Medical students, residents, attending physicians all seemingly reject change. Practicing physicians dislike change. Yet change occurs and is necessary. I learned a great deal about change from my mother. This anecdote may help put change into perspective.
Many years ago, we lived in a 3 bedroom house. In the evening we all sat in the …
Dear Dr. Wible, This will be my last email to you because I am giving up on my dream of being a doctor. I’ve contacted so many colleges and medical schools hoping to find one that would help me become…
This letter was received and edited for clarity by Pamela Wible, MD.
Dear Dr. Wible,
This will be my last email to you because I am giving up on my dream of being a doctor.
I’ve contacted so many colleges and medical schools hoping to find one that would help me become a doctor for my tribe. Today, I finally got a response from the …
KevinMD.com recently published the article "It’s time to make the Match disappear" written by medical student Amy Ho. I firmly agree with her that the current match system is wildly inefficient and needs fixing. However, she is throwing the baby…
KevinMD.com recently published the article “It’s time to make the Match disappear” written by medical student Amy Ho. I firmly agree with her that the current match system is wildly inefficient and needs fixing. However, she is throwing the baby out with the bath water in abandoning the algorithm which yields an extremely effective system.
Firstly, when one examines her data, which in itself is correct, one also …
Many friends from my original medical school class will graduate and officially become doctors in just a few weeks. I can’t believe I’ll be at that point in only a year, and I’m incredibly proud of my soon-to-be-doctor friends. This…
Many friends from my original medical school class will graduate and officially become doctors in just a few weeks. I can’t believe I’ll be at that point in only a year, and I’m incredibly proud of my soon-to-be-doctor friends. This time of year there’s always a lot of talk surrounding graduation, and in light of that I have a …
Don’t wear the white coat; it scares the kids. Most children stare at me with that wide-eyed look. Thinking from their perspective, the six-foot something curly headed giant with big round glasses probably appears very strange to the little human…
Don’t wear the white coat; it scares the kids.
Most children stare at me with that wide-eyed look. Thinking from their perspective, the six-foot something curly headed giant with big round glasses probably appears very strange to the little human that barely scrapes my knee. They do not cry. They just stare. I smile, and they gape. Parents laugh as I grin sheepishly. Towering over the patients, I likely appear more …
My family has always expressed that they’re proud of what I’m doing -- the funny thing is, they go on to say that they’re unsure of exactly what I do. My parents know I’m studying medicine and that this means…
My family has always expressed that they’re proud of what I’m doing — the funny thing is, they go on to say that they’re unsure of exactly what I do.
My parents know I’m studying medicine and that this means I’ll be a doctor. What they don’t get is where in the process I am, what specializing means or what I’m talking about most of the time when I share stories …
“Are you more or less cynical than when you started residency?” This was the question my program director asked our senior internal medicine residents at a recent dinner with Dr. Bob Wachter. If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Wachter, he…
“Are you more or less cynical than when you started residency?”
This was the question my program director asked our senior internal medicine residents at a recent dinner with Dr. Bob Wachter. If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Wachter, he is widely acclaimed as the “father of hospital medicine” and a renowned champion of patient safety and quality. His blog, Wachter’s World, is chock full of insightful commentary on the American health …
Before the 1980s, drug testing was uncommon. It was widely viewed as an invasion of privacy and an infringement on fourth amendment rights. Today, a medical student is likely to be drug tested before entering medical school, before clinical rotations,…
Before the 1980s, drug testing was uncommon. It was widely viewed as an invasion of privacy and an infringement on fourth amendment rights. Today, a medical student is likely to be drug tested before entering medical school, before clinical rotations, and/or before residency. If preventing drug use among medical students is the goal of these tests, they have failed miserably. Urinalysis drug tests are ineffective. But more importantly, they are …
An American poet and political activist, Muriel Rukeyser, said the universe is made of stories, not of atoms. I believe her. As a seasoned storywriter and storyteller, I walked gingerly into the adult emergency services for my first shift as…
An American poet and political activist, Muriel Rukeyser, said the universe is made of stories, not of atoms. I believe her.
As a seasoned storywriter and storyteller, I walked gingerly into the adult emergency services for my first shift as a volunteer at a legendary New York City public hospital. I sported a crisply ironed red polo with “emergency department volunteer” embroidered in white stitch.
A newly minted physician, one who has just graduated from medical school, is not yet ready (or licensed) to practice medicine. The next phase in medical training is called residency, a 3 to 5 year span of time during which…
A newly minted physician, one who has just graduated from medical school, is not yet ready (or licensed) to practice medicine. The next phase in medical training is called residency, a 3 to 5 year span of time during which the new doctor is given teaching, supervision, and increasingly allowed to function independently in his or her chosen specialty.
Since 2003 residents have been limited to working 80 hours per week, averaged over …
“You will have 15 minutes to take a full medical history,” the moderator says in a plain, mechanical voice. We stand at our assigned exam room doors ready to embark on a mission that will be recorded, reviewed, and graded…
“You will have 15 minutes to take a full medical history,” the moderator says in a plain, mechanical voice. We stand at our assigned exam room doors ready to embark on a mission that will be recorded, reviewed, and graded as part of an OSCE (objective structured clinical examination).
“You may begin!”
I knock, enter, and make a b-line to the soap dispenser — check. I take the history in record time …
Congratulations, student doctor, you studied hard and scored well on your exams -- not only on your MCAT but in your organic chemistry classes as well. You mastered anatomy as well as pharmacology, neurology and more “ologies” than you care…
Congratulations, student doctor, you studied hard and scored well on your exams — not only on your MCAT but in your organic chemistry classes as well. You mastered anatomy as well as pharmacology, neurology and more “ologies” than you care to remember. Now it is time to get hands-on learning experience, without being able to hide in the library while preparing for your clerkship shelf exams or showcasing your talents …
