Damane Zehra is a radiation oncology resident in Pakistan.
I have never been outside my hospital since I joined two months ago.
As the only doctor in the oncology department, I cannot take the time to roam around the hospital. My duty hours are filled with chemotherapy treatments and the continuous monitoring of sick patients.
The hospital where I work is affiliated with a private medical college. On Saturdays and Sundays, the students have a holiday. It was a Saturday, and …
I was working in my oncology ward as usual when I received a call from the medical ICU to evaluate a patient. The patient was a young male who had been admitted a few days earlier with severe respiratory distress. His workup raised suspicion of a possible malignancy (cancer). This was the information provided to me by the doctor in the ICU.
When I entered the ICU, I met a young …
As a child, I was an introvert. Due to various circumstances, I didn’t have the opportunity to play any sports.
On many days, I see young children playing football or cricket in the large cricket park in front of my home. Various trainers from different sports clubs bring their teams of girls and boys to play football. They do stretches and warm-up runs, and I watch them from a distance.
I stop …
When I was unemployed, I applied for countless positions. For months, I have been waiting for a call letter regarding a test or an interview. Now that I have accepted a job at a hospital located far away, I receive call letters in the mail almost every day. This makes me uncomfortable because I know that, being new in my position, I cannot take time off for any test or …
“What did you have for breakfast today?”
This phrase is a crucial part of my morning rounds.
While interacting with the patient, the greeting is very important. I believe doctors who approach the bedside without introducing themselves and who immediately ask about the patient’s active complaint tend to come across as less compassionate (whatever their actual intentions might be). This can hinder the development of the bond necessary for obtaining a complete …
I am currently working as a senior registrar in the oncology unit of a trust hospital. We admit both oncology and hematology patients in the same ward, meaning we care for patients with solid tumors as well as those with blood cancers. Our hospital has only one oncology ward, which has ten beds. Since it is a trust hospital, most treatments are provided completely free of charge. I love working …
One of my friends from school studied with me in 9th grade. She was exceptionally pretty, the kind of beauty that stood out. She was the only daughter and had a younger brother. She got married at a relatively young age and had one son. After her marriage, she moved to another city. She lived in a joint family and had many responsibilities, managing a lot of issues on her …
I absolutely hate prescribing medication to children.
I am quite worried when someone asks for my opinion on a sick child. I have some experience treating children during my internship and residency, yet I am pretty uncomfortable.
However, living in a lower middle-income country, where the average man already lives a difficult life due to high health care costs and limited income, health expenditure significantly impacts monthly finances. That is why people …
Social media is an incredible tool for staying connected with loved ones and the world. But sometimes, I wonder, are we truly connected? Or is this connection merely an illusion?
I was addicted to social media. I believe this addiction began in 2012, during my first year of medical school. That’s when I asked my father to install an internet connection, claiming it was just for study purposes. It’s a common …
A few days ago, a teacher of mine who taught me Urdu in school contacted me after years. I remember her well; she was a very kind lady who cared for me a lot. I was one of her favorite students. At that time, she was married and had a daughter who was a toddler.
During a phone call, she told me that she had been experiencing a high-grade …
I have felt anxious for most of my life.
Born into a poor family, my main goal has always been to become independent enough to support myself without needing to ask anyone for money to meet my basic necessities.
I witnessed my father frequently asking others for help whenever he faced significant challenges that his limited salary could not cover. For instance, he would reach out to people when it came time …
I had two bunnies over a year ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a proper environment for them, just a large cage in the courtyard. During the day, they would roam freely, and I would lock them in the cage at night for their safety.
They were very dear to me. I talked to them, cuddled them, and let them eat whatever I ate. They loved eating from my hands. …
I’m only sharing this story today to illustrate something about myself and my perspective on love: being expressive with it.
I am not discussing only romantic love here. I’m talking about the affection we have for so many individuals around us, including our parents, siblings, friends, teachers, coworkers, neighbors, pets, and even strangers.
Sometimes we fall in love with a random person’s actions, something they say, the way …
ADVERTISEMENT
M has always been very close to me. She joined our hospital’s oncology department over ten years ago as a radiation technologist. Currently, she works as a medical physicist in our department and is the only female physicist in our hospital.
Her presence here is not due to luck or extraordinary circumstances; she has dedicated immense effort to her career. While many of her peers in the same position remain in …
I was leaving the mall after purchasing a gift for a friend. Her birthday was the next day, and after spending hours searching for the perfect present, I finally bought an expensive wallet that I was sure she would love.
It was a chilly evening, and as soon as I left the mall, I immediately felt the real intensity of the cold. The heating system inside the mall had masked the …
A 90-year-old gentleman has been admitted to our ward under the care of a neurologist. He was diagnosed with an ischemic stroke after experiencing weakness in his left upper limb and slurred speech. His mental status is fluctuating, and the stroke has impacted his memory. However, it has not affected his ability to walk and move around.
He and his wife had been living independently for the past 20 years. They …
My mother has always been very close to me. I was her eldest daughter, born in an unfamiliar city where she had relocated as a newlywed bride. She didn’t have any family or friends in this unfamiliar city. I was practically her only friend.
My mother began sharing her problems with me when I was very young. Sometimes I think she shared too much. She also told me intimate details about …
Trigger warning: sexual abuse, violence against women, and rape.
(Dr. Moumita Debnath, a 31-year-old female resident doctor from Kolkata, India, was discovered dead in a seminar hall at R.G. Kar Medical College on August 9, 2024. Her death was verified as the result of a violent sexual assault and murder. All this occurred while she was sleeping alone at night, on call. The autopsy indicated significant damage caused by severe physical …
It was a Sunday, and the day was bright and sunny. I was the only doctor on duty in the emergency room that day. On Sundays, our hospital typically has only a few staff members present, as most are off for the holiday except for those who are on call.
Interestingly, there were only two patients in the ward that day. All the other patients had been discharged. For the first …
My mom won’t be home that weekend
Since it was a Sunday, I told my dad that I needed to wake up early for work, so he should wake me up in the morning.
My mom and dad have very different approaches to waking up their children.
My mom’s approach is more aggressive. She shouts at the top of her lungs, turns on the light, and snatches the quilt from us. Sometimes, she …
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
