Medical education has long praised the advances in medical science. We cannot deny that scientific advances like antibiotics and new surgical techniques have saved lives. In fact, the first couple years of medical school in the United States focuses on anatomy, physiology, biology, pharmacology, and many other -ologies. In 1890, as medical science was advancing, …Read More
Category: Physician
This changes everything…
During my training as a doctor, I spent several months in the Pediatric Emergency Room. Babies with fever, kids with diarrhea and dehydration, asthmatics with breathing attacks — the common problems were common. The Director of the Pediatric Emergency Department was a thin woman, blonde, and well-organized. She never missed a day of work. The …Read More
Walking Home
As a resident doctor, I remember the intense days with overnight shifts, very little sleep, and emotional roller coasters. Most patients come to the hospital at their lowest. Over time, I just became numb to the endless cycle of new faces with the same problems—chest pain, fever, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, and only sometimes …Read More
Drinking water from a firehose
It’s 9am as I enter the back of the lecture hall. I glance towards my usual seat — left side, off center, four rows back. I pause at the top of the steps. My eyes adjust to the dim of the indoor lights against the dark industrial carpet. From the back of the lecture hall, …Read More
Psych Ward
“Clunk.” The second set of double doors automatically locked behind me with an audible delayed electric thud. I looked up at the clerk at the nursing station. A sudden irrational fear went through my mind, “What if she doesn’t recognize me on the way out?” I’m a medical student, and this is a psyche ward. …Read More
Want to Get Great at Something? Get a Coach
“I learned everything I need to know in medical school.” In one model of education, we learn from experts. They teach us what we need to know. They equip us with the knowledge and the skills to enter the real world. As we are pushed or jump out of the nest, we begin to fly …Read More
Storytelling Benefits Healthcare Workers
“So how is our friend, Anne, today?” Immediately, my mind struggles with anxiety. I run thought the litany of options, “She’s ok.” “I don’t know.” “I can’t answer that question.” “I’m not sure.” …. I return the friendly smile as I ponder the question, and I say jokingly, “I’m not sure. We’ll have to ask …Read More
Stigma & Medicine ~ Nathalia Holt, PhD
“We can’t possibly change medicine until we change opinions.”~ Dr. Nathalia Holt, PhD In 1940, Mary Woodward Lasker married Albert Lasker, a retired advertising executive. This union would change the face of medical research. Together, they launched a campaign to promote medical research. They did not just donate money to researchers. They did not just …Read More
A Doctor’s Touch ~ Abraham Verghese
“The doctor did not even touch me,” a patient complains about a recent visit to an emergency room. The diagnostic tool of the physical examination fades into the background as more modern diagnostic tools take over. In a strange paradox, technology allows the doctor to peer deep inside the body, but at the same time …Read More
Operating Theater
It is a splendor to behold. Hidden in the recessed bowels of the building. Down in the basement. Long halls with windowless rooms. Bright lights. Down here it is always daytime. The operating rooms of the University hospital live in the snaked caverns of the basement. The floors and walls tiled. Industrial cleaners creating a …Read More