“Are you sure you’re supposed to be here?” It was the first day of my subspecialty rotation. I’d left my husband, friends, and my home to spend the next six weeks some 2500 miles away. Like most third-year medical students on th…
Category: Medical school
The medical establishment’s fight for and against diversity
The recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to eliminate race-conscious decision-making from college admissions is being openly challenged by the medical establishment. The American Association of American Medical Colleges (AAM…
Celebrating a family tradition: a recent medical school graduation
Last week, my niece, Maria Piedad Villadiego Carrascal, the only child of my sister, Maria A., graduated from medical school. In doing so, she became the seventh member of the Carrascal family to embrace medicine as a profession. It was an emotional mo…
Navigating mental health challenges in medical education
Medical education is a rigorous journey that demands dedication, resilience, and compassion. However, as medical students, we often find ourselves navigating through the pressures of this journey while silently grappling with our mental health. By shar…
Programs that recruit and retain Black and Latinx students in health care fields are essential to address racial health disparities
“We need more doctors who look like us.” I led a small group discussion with high school students enrolled in the Medical Careers Education and Emergency Preparedness (MedCEEP) ‘s Summer Pipeline Program. Our task was to brainstorm so…
Medical schools’ hidden crisis: the dark truth behind physician burnout
The annual suicide rate of physicians over the past few decades has amounted to about 400 highly trained and competent American physicians per year and is now increasing. That wipes out about one large medical school four-year class each year in our na…
The pursuit of medicine through dyslexia
Sitting in class was always a terrifying experience, not knowing if I was going to be the next one called on to read. My mind would race ahead trying to figure out a strategy on how to get out of it. I would excuse myself from the room or blame a sore …
How doctors prioritize family and career with “physician third”
As I reflect on the concept of work-life “balance,” I realize that trying to integrate clinical and home responsibilities may feel like a juggling act while unicycling on a high wire. Instead, what we need is work-life “stability̶…
Creating an inclusive medical culture
“We want you all to do better,” said the presenter to the medical students, as if only the next generation can enact change … the next time around. This session is one of many aimed at making the culture of medicine more inclusive and…
The surprising link between science and art: lessons from Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei
Though I studied medicine and was never really a science buff, I remain in awe to this day of algebra, calculus, theoretical physics, and quantum mechanics. I am fascinated by the great Greek mathematicians of yore, from Archimedes to Theaetetus, Eucli…
