Category: Medicine
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Smashing taboos: A how-to?
“Who here has a vagina?” I projected my voice as best as I could from my position up on a table in front of approximately 200 girls in a Ghanaian secondary school. I got wide-eyed looks and a few stifled giggles, but nobody raised their hand. “Huh,” I continued, “that’s interesting. Out of all the…
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What I Carry
On the first day of my clinical rotations, the pockets of my white coat were stuffed. A myriad of pens, papers, a penlight, reflex hammer, several bandages and of course, my beloved stethoscope, overflowed from all compartments. As the weeks, months, and years went on, the physical baggage I lugged around became more sparse, and…
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Last day of school!
Today is my last day of medical school. I’m thrilled, but I have to admit that it feels a little weird. I’ve been in school since I was 4 years old…do I know how NOT to be a student? I mean, yes, I guess I do, but I feel like I don’t have a ton…
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Open your envelopes!
Just a few days ago, I had the privilege of participating in Match Day, the day where I found out where I will train for the next 3 years. If you haven’t followed my previous posts, the long and short of it is that “matching” is a process by which medical student applicants are connected…
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New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment
Today is my last day in New Mexico. Yes, like the state wayyy out in the southwest. Why am I out in New Mexico you ask? I don’t know either. Just kidding, I signed up for a month out here. BUT, sometimes I think to myself, why did I think this was a good idea?…
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Do it for the little ones
Standing in the aisle at Target one January afternoon, I hear a child hacking and sniffling nearby. “Let’s get away from the cesspool before we catch something,” my friend whispers, and I just chuckle. “Yeahh, that’s my future right there.” For those who don’t know, I am in training to be a pediatrician. It’s a…
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Tell me about yourself
6 weeks and 13 interviews later, residency “interview season” was complete. I talked to some wonderful people, heard about some fantastic programs, and set to work on making my rank list. For those of you unfamiliar with the process of becoming a physician, it’s complicated. I applied to MANY pediatric teaching hospitals across the country,…
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If Today Was Your Last Day
I saw someone die today. Code Blue. One minute my patient was alive, sick but not teetering on the edge of death sick, and suddenly her body lay in front of me, lifeless. The code ran for 45 minutes, which in hospital time is an eternity, especially when someone’s life is on the line. The…
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Failure is a Bruise, Not a Tattoo
“I failed out of med school!” I cried to my new therapist. “Okay,” she replied, “I wouldn’t say that. You were put on leave; doesn’t that mean you can go back?” “Well yes…” “Do you want to go back?” “More than anything in the world,” I said, breathing deeply and trying to stop the moisture…
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