The long debate about rationality and conformity in both medicine and religion has been intense on many levels. Some people claim science requires certainty, validity, and reliability; others believe faith and optimism are essential for scientific adva…
With the advent of GPS, the need for self-directed navigation has all but vanished. We find ourselves at the mercy of and indebted to the wisdom of our devices. Occasionally given choices for route preference based on directness, speed limits, or tolls…
Think about the fear and uncertainty that ensues when being involuntarily uprooted from one’s home and community. Now imagine a shy, self-conscious fourteen-year-old girl being told that she has to switch high schools – not once, but twice. You may rea…
“It is time to stop being spectators. We are at a critical turning point in our fight against this disease, and our actions now will determine whether we stay on the sidelines, or put an effective end to the scourge of the disease. If we want to…
“Each morning, I make my way to joy – joy that God has given me the breath of life for another day. The process is never instantaneous though. My alarm is usually blaring for five to 10 minutes continuously before I can get up, but sometimes I’m able t…
This was the first time that I was unsure of how to respond when a patient cried. Usually, as a medical student, compassion and understanding helped make up for obvious gaps in our knowledge. It just comes with the territory. But this time was diffe…
“I initially fell into the dangerous grief and shame spiral. I shoved these feelings of loss deep down and let shame bubble up. How could I legitimize my feelings when people are dying? However, I have been working through the idea that comparati…
Shifting nervously in our seats amongst 180 of our fellow medical school classmates, we focused in on the front of the lecture hall as our deans began their annual orientation address. “Each of you has worked so hard to get here. No one has gotten to t…
The Kaiser Permanente’s Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine opened this summer, and its students will not learn anatomy by dissecting a cadaver. Instead, they will don virtual reality headsets and dissect virtual bodies. The school does have a collecti…
I have found that sleep and the medical profession have an uneasy relationship. Physicians, of course, recommend that patients get at least seven hours of sleep each night. But despite dispensing that advice to others, I don’t think I personally …
