To most physicians my illness is a routine incident in their rounds, while for me it’s the crisis of my life. I would feel better if I had a doctor who at least perceived this incongruity.
– Anatole Broyard
For medical students to treat illnesses of all kinds, we must first fill our brains with thousands of facts, everything from anatomy, to physiology, to microbiology, and biochemistry. We essentially become robots, pounding …
I am sorry that you are in the hospital. You are feeling ill. The noises are loud, people are walking in and out of rooms, and you aren’t sure of what to expect. You are probably nervous. This whole situation is a disturbance to your life. You would rather be at home — I can understand that. Few people want to …
Physician burnout has been previously described as heartbreaking, and this may be an understatement. The growing complexities of health care delivery, intricacies of documentation practices as required by Meaningful Use, and difficulties inherent to billing and reimbursement are only a few of the issues faced by residents and attending clinicians these days.
Unfortunately, these topics are still not formally taught in American medical schools.
I was glad she never asked if I had done this before.
My first nasogastric tube was placed on an elderly woman with chronic liver disease. As her illness worsened, it gradually turned her skin yellow, her abdomen swollen, and her mind foggy. One day, we realized that she was at too high a choking risk to swallow her medications herself. She would need a plastic tube to do it for …
At the outset of this process of becoming a doctor, a friend and mentor of mine, a professor emeritus of medicine known as a mentor who cares deeply about his students and for his New England style dinner parties, sat me down to explain the gist of medical school.
The first two years, he explained — bowtie notwithstanding — are the equivalent of studying a language from textbooks. You must first …
It’s been a long day, and you just want to decompress. My boyfriend tells me about his day. I get to hear about the insane amount of reading he has to do for graduate school, or about the occasional annoying customer he’s had to deal with at his part-time job as a bank teller. When it’s my turn to decompress, I usually gripe about a patient or two from the …
On Thursday January 15, over one hundred Stanford Medical School graduate and medical students gathered to commemorate MLK day and remember the lives of Mike Brown and Eric Garner. On a white board that proclaimed “Black Lives Matter,” attendees wrote their thoughts. On the board, I wrote “Keep the conversation going,” and in that effort I’d like to examine one …
“Hefur þú lært um Staphylococcus aureus?” I almost don’t recognize the bacteria name because my grandmother pronounces it differently in Icelandic.
“Já–” I’m about to translate my microbiology flashcard for her when she interrupts, her hands busy kneading the cookie dough and her eyes on my little sister near the oven.
That’s the bacteria that almost killed her eleven years ago, she tells me. I can hear her words building up. This …
For many years, I taught a sizable chunk of our local medical school’s second-year pathology course. I was always energized by the students’ enthusiasm and desire to learn more about medicine. On the other hand, I remembered feeling their same frustrations regarding the lack of fundamental practice skills included in today’s medical school curriculum.
In fact, at our university, a group of students started a business in medicine interest group, where …
It’s the beginning of February and this year’s residency interviews are wrapping up.
It is widely known, even encouraged, that medical students change their social media profile names or deactivate their accounts while applying and interviewing for medical residencies. David becomes AviD, Jessica is now Jes Sica, and Sarah morphs into Miss S; students are leery of admissions committees stumbling upon their accounts, changing their profile names to something that would …
“Katie, If you go into surgery, you’re going to miss patients.” It was three in the morning in the ED; the resident was feeling the strain of a 24-hour trauma call, and I was loving it. I had spent the past half hour with a lovely, older woman whose foot had gone through the floor of her vehicle in a crash. We chatted about where she had been traveling, and …
I showed up that morning on the inpatient service as a part of my elective. Surprisingly, I found three other medical students present: 1 third year, 2 second years.
The fourth year of medical school has many perks as I have been told by those senior to me. Once the application process gets underway, I have been advised to live every day as though it were my last. Personally, I liked …
Last year, I had the opportunity to attend the American Medical Association’s interim meeting in Dallas, one of the two annual conferences held by the organization. I went to the meeting to present at a research symposium, but I stuck around for a few extra days because I was curious about the inner workings of organized medicine. As someone interested in health care systems and the delivery of medical care, …
I recently dug up a copy of the personal statement I wrote when I was applying for residency. I’ve said before that I think these personal statements aren’t worth much. But somehow, I now feel compelled to prove it by ripping apart my own personal statement.
So here we go:
It was the same situation that I had been in dozens of times.
Well, not really. I mean, I was only a third-year …
Dr. Richard Gunderman published an article that shared the story of Melissa Chen, a 35-year-old radiology resident in her final year at the University of Texas San Antonio. While her road to medical school was somewhat unconventional (it is great story, I highly suggest reading it), Chen is not your typical medical school student — one whom has persistently endured a rather standard, run-of-the-mill path through graduate school and …
In a recent article posted on this site, the author (a radiologist) waxed rhapsodic about a young medical student that was convinced to pursue primary care. When the author asked the student about the economic downsides to primary care, he responded by saying, “I’m not in it for the money … What matters to me isn’t the money — it’s making a difference in my patients’ lives.”
Every third-year has heard it: “When I was in your position, I was taking 24-hour calls every other night. If my resident was there, I was there …”
We’re regaled about the glory days, without shelf exams, without phlebotomists, and — by God — without those work-hour restrictions. The days when medical students wouldn’t dare ask their residents for help, or residents their chiefs, or chiefs their attendings, and so on. …
Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. Black America’s favorite physician is under fire. Multiple allegations have surfaced and re-surfaced accusing Bill Cosby of various insidious perpetrations. This blog is not intended to persecute or defend Mr. Cosby, but rather to highlight something to minority physicians that can be easily overlooked.
Ask any black male physician under age 40 to name five black doctors who inspired …
We recently had a session hosted by the medical education staff at our school where we were encouraged to share any difficult situations encountered in clerkship (submitted anonymously beforehand if that was preferred) and discussed them as a class. Issues regarding ageism, sexism and racism were brought up and addressed with the group. While I have not encountered any of the …
As a faculty member, I’ve encountered many medical students excelling inside and outside of the classroom. Students can be recognized for their contributions through scholarships, awards, and grants. Whenever I can, I try to direct students to these opportunities. It’s been a great joy for me to help students win scholarships, and here’s what I’ve learned from award recipients.
1. Your ability to develop strong relationships with faculty mentors is crucial …
