In July 2020, we became essential workers. We threw on our scrubs, put our stethoscopes around our necks, and walked to work for our first day as pediatricians.
Six months later, I have had a moment to reflect on what it has meant to be “essential.” I have come to realize that the simple act of learning from and taking care of our patients has been essential. “Being essential” has looked …
Being “essential” has been overwhelming
Three months into my intern year, I was asked, “Tell us your name, where you went to medical school, and one thing you have learned about yourself during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
For an icebreaker, the question caught me off guard.
Moments later, the answer emerged almost as if I had summoned it myself – unassuming and unapologetic.
“I learned where the light is.”
This answer was also far more poetic and esoteric than the …
A physician learns where the light is
On a beautiful spring morning, I found myself in an outpatient OB clinic, ready to begin the last rotation of my third year of medical school. My attending physician greeted me and patiently (but quickly) showed me the ropes. I spent the better part of the day using a doppler to detect fetal heart sounds, measuring fundal heights, reading ultrasounds, and learning how to do pelvic exams on my incredibly …
Want resilience? Look to your patients.
I met Mr. B during my week on the endocrine service of my internal medicine rotation. My attending told me we were being consulted for this patient’s high sugars and a foot ulcer, and asked me to take the history.
I walked into Mr. B’s room and was immediately struck by its stench. Mr. B had undergone a resection of his bladder tumor the day before and as a result was …
The hidden curriculum of medical school can be overwhelming and unforgiving
“You’re going to fall in love with her,” the nurse warned me, as I stood outside my eleven-year-old patient’s room ready to wake her up for surgery pre-rounds at 5:30 a.m.
I offered back a tired smile and knocked on the door timidly. “Naomi?” I whispered.
To my surprise, I was greeted with a chirpy “Good morning!” and entered the room to find a bright-eyed eleven-year-old sitting up in her bed with …
How a young girl helped me find the light in pediatrics
I spent my first two years of medical school collecting stories. I journaled about my thoughts in the anatomy lab. I wrote about what it was like to learn how to interview and examine patients, about the immense honor and privilege I felt just being able to don a white coat with a stethoscope around my neck. I wrote about the patients that touched my heart – the patient with …
One of the biggest lessons medical school can teach you
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