Author's posts
When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health
A nation that can map the human genome, transplant a face, and land rovers on Mars somehow cannot guarantee its citizens a timely doctor’s appointment. The official story blames “complex market forces,” “geographic maldistributi…
Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival
Today I graduated from medical school. It should have been one of the happiest days of my life. And in some ways, it was. I earned this moment through sleepless nights, years of sacrifice, and an unshakable drive to serve and heal. I walked across the …
Why young doctors in South Korea feel broken before they even begin
I am a first-year medical student in South Korea. I wrote this essay to share what it feels like to enter a system that demands so much and still receives so little understanding in return. I haven’t even worn a white coat yet, but I already feel…
Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?
In the grand theater of American higher education, where the pursuit of knowledge once bowed to the austere discipline of merit, a troubling drama unfolds. The medical school admissions process, now awash in the murky waters of holistic review, risks b…
Medical students in Korea face expulsion for speaking out
For over a year, we, Korea’s medical students, have lived under the weight of institutional threats What began as a disagreement over health policy escalated into an all-out campaign to silence us. We were told that if we resisted, we would be pu…
Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam
Hypothetically, imagine you complete three years of internal medicine residency; working nights, managing complex cases, making real decisions. Then you’re told: To work in the hospital, in the in-patient setting, you must complete additional yea…
The altar of equity: a cautionary tale from the temple of healing
In a nation where the Hippocratic Oath stands as a sacred covenant, one expects the temple of healing to be a fortress of precision, expertise, and unerring competence. Yet, a recent pilgrimage to an academic hospital in our fair city unveiled a scene …
Breast cancer was never supposed to be part of my story
She was pale, underweight, fifty years old and scared. Mrs. G was a breast cancer patient on the oncology unit whom I met by chance, as she appeared on my patient census list that morning. As I walked into her room, I noticed the fragrant flowers, the …
From the other side of the table: a plea for empathy
Unless you’ve lived it, you can’t fully understand. We’ve all cared for patients with cancer. We’ve delivered hard news, sat beside bedsides, explained scan results, and offered hope when we could. We’ve been the calm in t…
The disease of modern medicine: How a sick system is failing physicians
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti The American medical system is ill, and physicians are among its sickest patients. As a dual-boarded physician, an assistant professor…
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