As a child, I was no stranger to the medical field. In kindergarten, while my classmates brought a pet frog, a family heirloom, or their favorite toy for show-and-tell, I brought a kidney stone the size of a plum. My family unites Eastern and Western m…
He studied at Turin, worked as a chemist until the age of 24, and in 1943 he resisted Nazi occupation of Italy with a group of countrymen. Italian fascists arrested him, turned him over to the Germans, and sent him to Auschwitz in 1944. He arrived on a…
Stacks of flyers ranging from local free dinners to legal services collecting in a box or filing cabinet are familiar scenes in student-run clinics (SRCs). To anyone who has worked in social services, maintaining organization and keeping up-to-date res…
“Doctors are indeed noble for what they do. Their work is undoubtedly physically intense and emotionally taxing. But the notion that they are ‘superhuman’ and ‘different’ from the rest of society is exactly the trap that w…
“I am left wondering what would have happened if I was the patient’s daughter, niece (who she said I reminded her of), or friend. The nurse made a quick judgment based on my physical characteristics, and she was completely incorrect. I am blessed…
I began pursuing a career in medicine with the fervent desire to become a neurosurgeon one day. When someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered neurosurgeon without missing a beat. I chose neurosurgery in high school after falling …
Here I am, 17 years out of my fellowship training, and I’m just getting some of the most important training of my medical career. I continue to believe that my medical school, residency, and fellowship training were all outstanding. However, either I m…
There should be no grades in medical school. Forty-something percent of applicants get accepted to one or more medical schools. To even apply to medical school, one needs to have not only graduated or be on track to graduate college, but also needs to …
The highly anticipated A Promised Land was the first book I could not wait to crack open over my two-week break for the winter holidays. Former President Barack Obama explains in his introduction that this work is the first of two autobiographical acco…
“Each year, medical students across the country prepare to start the long-anticipated core clinical rotations. Suddenly, we’re thrust into a world of constant adaptation and evaluation, with many highs and many lows. As I finish up the year and n…
