Do you remember what you dreamed of becoming as an adult? I do, and I recall my father telling me I could be anything I wanted to be. My dreams were shattered as soon as I stepped into a prison…
Do you remember what you dreamed of becoming as an adult? I do, and I recall my father telling me I could be anything I wanted to be. My dreams were shattered as soon as I stepped into a prison and I am still trying to pick up the pieces of my self-worth.
“Wait, you’re a doctor?” “Nah, man he ain’t a doctor; he looks too much like us.” I am …
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune is the kind of book that paints you into an entirely new, fantastical world, and you may find yourself wishing you never left. Our humble protagonist, Linus Baker, is an…
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune is the kind of book that paints you into an entirely new, fantastical world, and you may find yourself wishing you never left. Our humble protagonist, Linus Baker, is an employee of DICOMY (Department in Charge of Magical Youth) who spends his days evaluating orphanages that house, teach, and often abuse magical children in a land where extreme prejudice against …
Recently, FIGS – a design-driven medical apparel company – published its latest video advertisement: a young woman in bubblegum pink scrubs struts into view, shaking her FIGS-clad hips for the camera while holding a Medical Terminology for Dummies textbook upside-down.…
Recently, FIGS – a design-driven medical apparel company – published its latest video advertisement: a young woman in bubblegum pink scrubs struts into view, shaking her FIGS-clad hips for the camera while holding a Medical Terminology for Dummies textbook upside-down. Forget practicing medicine; this woman isn’t fit to drive. The camera pans, emphatically, towards her badge, which reads DO – short for doctor of osteopathic medicine. Ahhh, the viewer is …
What has medical school been like in the age of Zoom? Before I was a student doctor, I was an undergraduate student pining after the halls of medicine and the truthfully looking forwards to the rigors of medical school. Upon…
What has medical school been like in the age of Zoom? Before I was a student doctor, I was an undergraduate student pining after the halls of medicine and the truthfully looking forwards to the rigors of medical school. Upon acceptance to medical school at the University of California, San Diego, I celebrated via Zoom with family. Orientation week was a hybrid model of Zoom and on-campus socially distanced activities. …
"An email arrived inviting med students to join the State of Georgia’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The MRC is an organization of doctors, nurses, PAs, EMTs, and med students who are the first medical boots on the ground for disasters…
“An email arrived inviting med students to join the State of Georgia’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The MRC is an organization of doctors, nurses, PAs, EMTs, and med students who are the first medical boots on the ground for disasters in Georgia. They establish mobile hospitals and provide medical care. With extra time in isolation, I signed up and shortly received …
I’ve done a lot of interviews on my road to becoming a cardiology fellow. Here are a few topics that people don’t talk about enough. Speed dating I think of interviews like speed dating. Everyone puts on their “first date.”…
I’ve done a lot of interviews on my road to becoming a cardiology fellow. Here are a few topics that people don’t talk about enough.
Speed dating
I think of interviews like speed dating. Everyone puts on their “first date.” Everyone behaves their best; therefore, you can’t trust everything people say. Your job is to really listen to what people are saying, how they’re saying it, when they pause, when they fish …
The hallways were dark, and the door had a passcode that I didn’t know. What I knew was that I was nervous about entering the team room on my first day of internal medicine, my first rotation of the third…
The hallways were dark, and the door had a passcode that I didn’t know. What I knew was that I was nervous about entering the team room on my first day of internal medicine, my first rotation of the third year of medical school. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to realize that my main teachers, those I would spend the most time with, would be the residents, who were fun …
Racism is a pandemic that has long existed before COVID-19. As a fourth-year medical student, I have been rotating in the hospitals and recently finished my sub-internship. Whether on the wards or in outpatient clinics, a recurring phrase would hover…
Racism is a pandemic that has long existed before COVID-19.
As a fourth-year medical student, I have been rotating in the hospitals and recently finished my sub-internship. Whether on the wards or in outpatient clinics, a recurring phrase would hover from one provider to the next, depending on how busy their week was: “black cloud” and “white cloud.”
In the medical world, the former has often been used to describe trainees or …
By my second rotation of the third year, I could not help but feel like a superfluous, if not inconsequential, cog in the medical machine. Yes, we are learners and need to see patients in order to become adequate health…
By my second rotation of the third year, I could not help but feel like a superfluous, if not inconsequential, cog in the medical machine. Yes, we are learners and need to see patients in order to become adequate health care providers – but on a busy labor and delivery (L&D) floor, it was easy to become entrenched in the notion that our efforts have little impact on patient care. …
I love to mountain bike. The thrill of watching trees zip by and of “sending it” through rock gardens is intoxicating, and this thrill is accompanied by a feeling of accomplishment unlike any other I’ve experienced. However, two of my…
I love to mountain bike. The thrill of watching trees zip by and of “sending it” through rock gardens is intoxicating, and this thrill is accompanied by a feeling of accomplishment unlike any other I’ve experienced. However, two of my good friends are professional mountain bike guides, and for a long time, I did not love biking with them – I was unable to bike as fast as they could, …
"There is no single culprit responsible for this shift in medical education. However, two, in particular, should be noted. The first is the culture of defensive medicine, or more bluntly, CYA (cover-your-ass) medicine. This culture has been insidiously infusing itself…
“There is no single culprit responsible for this shift in medical education. However, two, in particular, should be noted. The first is the culture of defensive medicine, or more bluntly, CYA (cover-your-ass) medicine. This culture has been insidiously infusing itself within the modern health care system for decades. The fear of being sued for malpractice is ever-present. Undoubtedly, this has led …
The summer of 2020 is easily one that I would rather forget but has been one that, I believe, will be etched in my memory for a very long time. After a brief vacation to visit my maternal relatives in…
The summer of 2020 is easily one that I would rather forget but has been one that, I believe, will be etched in my memory for a very long time.
After a brief vacation to visit my maternal relatives in India during last winter break, I welcomed 2020 with some good news: I had been selected for a clinical research internship on an aging population study at the National Institute of …
I've just completed traveling around the country for residency interviews, so I've been thinking a lot about what it means to ask and answer personal questions. In my desired specialty of dermatology, a typical interview day consists of short, intense…
I’ve just completed traveling around the country for residencyinterviews, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to ask and answer personal questions.
In my desired specialty of dermatology, a typical interview day consists of short, intense bursts of eight to 12 interviews lasting around 10 minutes each, akin to speed dating. Because dermatology is a small specialty, a large portion of the department tends to …
I am a third-year medical student at what I believe to be the most diverse medical school in the country. Every year our entering class is made up of at least 20 percent of students who identify as underrepresented in…
I am a third-year medical student at what I believe to be the most diverse medical school in the country. Every year our entering class is made up of at least 20 percent of students who identify as underrepresented in medicine. Beyond that, we make it very clear that if fighting against health and social inequities is not a thread of the very fabric of who you are, this may …
Dear Class of 2024, You are embarking on a career in medicine during one of the most pivotal times in our nation’s history. Each of you has an intimate experience with COVID-19, whether through first-hand contact with the disease or…
Dear Class of 2024,
You are embarking on a career in medicine during one of the most pivotal times in our nation’s history. Each of you has an intimate experience with COVID-19, whether through first-hand contact with the disease or through the efforts to minimize its spread. And over the course of the next four years, your understanding of this coronavirus will only deepen.
The venerable institutions you are attending have put …
The social unrest that has erupted in the wake of the George Floyd murder has prompted many U.S. professional organizations, including those dedicated to medical education, to make changes to advance racial and socioeconomic equity. Right now, a fierce debate…
The social unrest that has erupted in the wake of the George Floyd murder has prompted many U.S. professional organizations, including those dedicated to medical education, to make changes to advance racial and socioeconomic equity. Right now, a fierce debate rages among medical students over how the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA) nominates and inducts fourth-year medical students. An example of this debate is reflected in the new …
"As a medical student, you find potential patients everywhere. Whether you’re on an airplane or on a romantic dinner date, we’ve all heard those famous words, 'Is there a doctor in the house?!' Here are some of my favorite 'patient'…
“As a medical student, you find potential patients everywhere. Whether you’re on an airplane or on a romantic dinner date, we’ve all heard those famous words, ‘Is there a doctor in the house?!’ Here are some of my favorite ‘patient’ encounters.
The best friend curbside. I was playing ball with my boys – that’s right FIFA on the PlayStation – when my …
Each year, medical students across the country prepare to start the long-anticipated core clinical rotations. Suddenly, we’re thrust into a world of constant adaptation and evaluation, with many highs and many lows. As I finish up the year and new…
Each year, medical students across the country prepare to start the long-anticipated core clinical rotations. Suddenly, we’re thrust into a world of constant adaptation and evaluation, with many highs and many lows.
As I finish up the year and new students get ready to start, I’ve been asked time and time again for my advice. I decided to aggregate my key takeaways from the year, and what I wish I had …
”I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” — Maya Angelou Before starting my dive into medicine, almost four years ago, I was an avid violinist, pianist, disc golfer, and novice chef. Each…
”I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”
— Maya Angelou
Before starting my dive into medicine, almost four years ago, I was an avid violinist, pianist, disc golfer, and novice chef. Each of these activities felt comfortable and familiar–like “home.” But when I began medical school, I somewhat wistfully set them aside to focus on becoming a doctor.
An excerpt from Diary of a Medical Student. As a medical student, you find potential patients everywhere. Whether you’re on an airplane or on a romantic dinner date, we’ve all heard those famous words, “Is there a doctor in the…
As a medical student, you find potential patients everywhere. Whether you’re on an airplane or on a romantic dinner date, we’ve all heard those famous words, “Is there a doctor in the house?!” Here are some of my favorite “patient” encounters.
The best friend curbside. I was playing ball with my boys – that’s right FIFA on the PlayStation – …
