Category: Education

The hidden curriculum of medical school can be overwhelming and unforgiving

I met Mr. B during my week on the endocrine service of my internal medicine rotation. My attending told me we were being consulted for this patient’s high sugars and a foot ulcer, and asked me to take the history. I walked into Mr. B’s room and was imm…

A medical student’s first code. Here’s what he learned.

Well, today it happened. I participated in my first code. We were in the telemetry unit (the room where they monitor all the patients who have EKG strips) to ask about a different patient of mine only to find that a patient was coding (lost a life-sust…

Remove your blindfold to your patient’s pain

“We pass through the present with our eyes blindfolded … Only later when the cloth is untied can we glance at the past and find out what we have experienced and what meaning it has.” – Milan Kundera Two days ago, during a clinical skills session on lym…

How self-awareness helps with patient interaction

What is self-awareness? A quick Google search says that it is “conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.” In other words, my worldview is different than yours. Hypothetically, I am a Republican, and you are a Dem…

A key tip for premedical students: Ask for help

A simple Google search is all you need to do to gauge the difficulty individuals have with asking for help. “How to ask to shadow someone.” 43.1 million results. “How to ask for a letter of recommendation.” 66 million results. “How to ask for help,” 3….

Respect the duty to care for all patients equitably

In my first year of medical school, I attended a lecture on health disparities that focused on the difference in patient outcomes based on race and socioeconomic status. The lecture cited multiple peer-reviewed studies that extensively demonstrated the…

The medical school personal statement struggle

If you are in the same boat as I and aspiring to become a physician, you are likely in the process of compiling an application for medical school. If you are like me, then one of the most intimidating parts of the application process is the personal st…

Millennials: This is our time in medicine

Let’s talk about that infamous transition to third year. This is a precarious time in your medical school career when your resolve faces its greatest challenge yet. After weeks of self-imposed exile to prepare for Step 1, you finally take that dreaded …

America’s inadequate LGBTQ medical education

As medical students, we are asked to learn in exquisite detail the ins and outs of rare diseases that we may never encounter in clinical practice. Yet the education we receive on caring for a population numbering in the millions is sorely lacking, and …

My first patient taught me a humbling lesson

“How do you say cultural competence in Korean?” “I am always treated with respect in America. So why don’t they care about me here?” My first patient at my community clinic rotation struggled to speak English. But she came prepared, her wor…