“Death comes for all of us. It is our fate as living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Dealing with the fact of death is unsettling. Yet there is no other way to live.” – Paul Kalanithi, MD Recently, first-year students of the medic…
Category: Medical school
A medical student recognizes the power of the phrase, “I don’t know”
I’ve often been struck by a painting of Maimonides in my medical school. The artwork features him holding pages of a book that say, “Teach thy tongue to say I do not know and thou shalt progress.” That quote resonates with me more each day. As a first-…
It’s important for physicians and medical students to stop and realize how far they’ve come
As I was finishing up with my doctor’s appointment for the required immunizations I needed for medical school, my doctor asked if he could give me some advice for my upcoming journey. Being the clueless pre-medical student I was at the time, I said, “P…
It’s important for physicians and medical students to stop and realize how far they’ve come
As I was finishing up with my doctor’s appointment for the required immunizations I needed for medical school, my doctor asked if he could give me some advice for my upcoming journey. Being the clueless pre-medical student I was at the time, I said, “P…
Medical school ends with a leap of faith
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question I frequently hear from physicians on my clinical rotations. Phrased somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the wording allows me to answer either in jest or in earnest. “An astronaut…
My name is not “Med Student”
“I should explain to you, Socrates, that our friend Cratylus has been arguing about names; he says they are natural and not conventional; […] that there is a truth or correctness in them.” – Plato I once heard that the sound of one’s …
Give your psychiatric patients a reason to trust
I had been diagnosed three days prior, given lithium to stabilize and a benzodiazepine to sleep. I went home. Things did not get better. I had been admitted just that morning after a long, confusing night in the ED. I did not yet understand the severit…
For students with test stress, medical schools leave a void
I’m writing this for my tribe of worriers and self-doubters, people for whom ever-present test stress is inextricable to the med school experience. Sure, every medical student becomes preoccupied fretting over exams to some degree. That’s part of wha…
Why this medical student is pursing a dual MD/JD
I am frequently asked: “Why are you pursuing a dual MD/JD?” Neither profession is a family business; no one in my family is a doctor or a lawyer — but I’ve always dreamt big. I always wanted to get the most possible out of my education. Beg…
What I learned from starting medical school in January
I graduated from an international medical school this past spring. I’m currently in the midst of a preliminary year as an internal medicine resident at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. Next year, I’ll start my dream resi…
