Category: Lifestyle

Categories
General Lifestyle Opinion

Staying Alive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5hP4DIBCEE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILxjxfB4zNk

Have you seen these videos that promote hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)? Unfortunately, they don’t appear to be as popular and catchy as the song they feature.

CPR is a basic life supporting activity that literally saves lives. Even though the majority of the public is familiar with the concept or CPR, most don’t feel confident in executing it when the need arises. This could be because there are not enough first aid courses. However, I think there is another important factor for consideration.

Media and the entertainment industry, especially films and TV shows, portray physicians performing CPR as a miracle. The setting usually includes a gasping patient whose ECG suddenly flat-lines; then the doctors run in, yelling ‘blue code’, and immediately applies defibrillator pads on the patient’s chest. There may be sparks, and the patient is usually shown to give a jolt, often waking up and becoming completely alert and fully recovered.

Following this highly romanticized portrayal of CPR, it’s not a surprise if non-health professionals decide to merely wait for heroic EMTs, paramedics or physicians. In fact, some may view CPR as a seemingly complicated procedure that requires special equipment with the ability to bring a dead person back to life.

I don’t expect medical TV shows to be completely accurate or to portray entirely realistic situations; nevertheless, the repetitiveness of this false portrayal of resuscitation sticks in the minds of viewers. The entertainment industry is not responsible for educating the general public, but even if they don’t portray CPR entirely accurately, they shouldn’t lead their viewers astray. Repetitively being exposed to on-screen resuscitation, people can come to believe that defibrillators are an essential piece of equipment, without which resuscitation isn’t possible and the best approach is to leave it up to health professionals. Furthermore, showing conversion of flat-line ECG into sinus rhythm implies that electricity can restart a human heart. With the amazing automated external defibrillators becoming more widely used, a non-health professional can use them without knowing which rhythms are convertible, but I still believe they need to be aware that flat-line ECG means there is no electric activity in the heart, and that electricity cannot reinstate it; all a defibrillator can do is give a jolt to an irregularly paced heart which will hopefully terminate the irregular rhythm, allowing the natural pacemaker to take over and reinstate sinus rhythm.

The media has a strong influence on all of us. While attempting to amuse the audience and gain financial reward, the media should still impart important and accurate life lessons.  Thanks to TV series and films, I don’t expect anyone would struggle to remember the emergency telephone number. Yet, because of the same media influences, many people would wait for an ambulance and their magical defibrillator instead of starting CPR themselves. Instead of giving false impressions about resuscitation, the media could play a large role in popularizing CPR as a simple, but vital action that can be performed by anyone, anywhere. Even though it is not the point nor purpose of the entertainment industry, this is an important message that can be relayed without requiring producers and actors going out of their way.

Featured image:
cpr mother & child by zen Sutherland

Categories
Clinical Humour Lifestyle

A Guide to the Operating Room for Medical Students Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sterile Field

The summer between MS1 and MS2 I did a research project with an orthopedic surgeon at my school.  Part of the project had me observing in the operating room (OR) a few days a week, watching procedures and helping with any tasks that came up.  This experience was actually my first time being in an OR, and I was pretty nervous leading up to it.  I had heard horror stories about students breaking sterility, knocking over solution bottles, and generally making fools of themselves in front of important people.  While I tried my best not to do anything foolish or embarrassing, it was oftentimes very hard to avoid.  Slowly, I become more confident in the OR, and the blunders came further and further apart.  As a service to all the pre-meds and un-initiated med students, I now present a short list of important things to know before your first OR experience.

  1. Figure out the rules.  Surgeons love rules, and at times it seems as if they have a weird fascination with them.  If you don’t ask then the rules are never really explained to you, and you will be in big trouble when you break one.  Consequently, I think it’s prudent to ask someone what the rules are.  Considering your fear of talking to the surgeon, he or she isn’t the best option.  The resident or intern is probably too sleep-deprived and hopped-up on caffeine to notice you.  Your best bet is to ask one of the circulating nurses or other students who have been on the service for a while.  Believe me, it will save you a lot of trouble later on.
  2. Make sure you’re dressed appropriately.  Make sure everything you’re supposed to wear is on correctly.  Make a mental note of scrubs, cap, mask, and boots.  Aside from actually wearing the right attire, please make sure you are wearing it correctly.  You’re going to feel really stupid when someone points out that your cap is on crooked, or that you forgot to tie half of your mask.  You will also be the butt of many jokes over the next few days when you aren’t there.  In addition to knowing what to wear, it is also important to know what not to wear.  Don’t wear shoes that you actually like, unless you think it’s cool to have fecal matter on your $100 Sperry’s.  Also, leave the personal items and accessories at home.  While that puka shell necklace you made in 10th grade art class may be “totally rad, bro,” it is definitely a sterility hazard and you definitely shouldn’t bring it into the OR.  Also, if you’re still wearing puka shell necklaces in your mid-20s you should probably re-evaluate your life choices.
  3. Know where the sterile field is and how to avoid it.  This rule only applies if you’re not scrubbed in, and the decision of whether or not you get to scrub should have decided before you show up.  Anyway, just remember that the sterile field should be avoided like the plague.  Any blue towel or covering should send off warning signals in your head.  Don’t get close to it, don’t breathe on it, and don’t even really look at it if you don’t have to.  Don’t try to be cute either and inch your way as close as possible, because the scrub nurse will call you out and you will be embarrassed.
  4. Try to look interested even when you’re not.  After the 5th time seeing the same surgery, it’s only human nature to get a little disinterested.  There are only so many times you can be mystified by a hernia repair, and you’ve probably passed that threshold long ago.  It is imperative, however, that you look interested at all times.  Surgeons have an innate ability, almost like boredom-radar, to tell when you are dozing off or doing something else.  These situations usually end up in you getting pimped mercilessly in front of everyone.  To make matters worse, you don’t come off looking like a shining star when your response to the first question is “Huh?”  You can typically avoid these situations by employing certain maneuvers that indicate “interest.”  My go-to method was switching sides of the OR every 20 minutes to get a new “viewing-angle.”  Another tried and tested one is intently looking at the monitors or camera.  Find what method works for you, and stick to it.
  5. If you’re not scrubbed in, find yourself a role.  Surgeons dislike idle people.  There’s nothing worse you can do than to just stand in the same place in the OR doing nothing.  Find a job you can do, and be amazing at it.  Like to record information?  Write down the incision and closing times.  Like to clean?  Become the best darn disinfectant wipe user ever.  Like to retrieve things?  Be the person who looks up and prints all the obscure research papers the surgeon even tangentially mentions during the procedure.  Note:  If you choose the last one, be prepared for incessant pimping later.  Remember folks, nothing is without consequence, so choose your punishment wisely.
  6. Prepare yourself for the spectacle that is a patient waking-up post-op.  This is the part that you never hear about or even see on those dramatized TV shows about surgery.  A patient waking up from anesthesia is most definitely not pleasant.  Prepare yourselves for all sorts of near disasters.  Patients will try to pull out breathing tubes, or roll over onto joints that have just been operated on.  Some will even try to get out of the bed, as they don’t realize where they are for the first few minutes.  People will often kick out their arms and legs, and if they aren’t stabilized someone on the team is bound to get a black eye.  The best thing you can do is to be aware of the possibilities, and find out how the team handles such situations.
  7. Find a place to store food for post-op consumption.  We have finally reached the pinnacle, the crown jewel of my OR guide.  Don’t pay attention to the fact that this rule actually doesn’t correspond to anything taking place in the OR.  After spending countless hours in the OR, the first thing on your mind will be food.  No matter how mundane or exciting the procedure was, human need for nutritional sustenance will take over.  Make sure you have a safe storage spot for food, whether it is in the clinical workroom or in the students’ lounge.  Also, considering that everyone you will be working with (read: vultures) will also be voraciously hungry and will have no problem eating anything lying around, make sure you keep your food in a place only you can find it.  Invest in a locker and a lock if your facilities have them.  You’ll thank me for this advice later.  You’re welcome, by the way.

Featured image:
CPMC Surgery by Artur Bergman

Categories
General Lifestyle Opinion

I Will Not Try To Fix You

Disability—The Oxford dictionary defines disability as “a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities.”

Although some disabled people have medical ailments, the two conditions are not synonymous. While a disabled person might require medical attention, disability is defined by social barriers, not pathophysiology.

It is an umbrella term and includes impairments and activity limitations. Impairment is a problem in the body’s structure or function; activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action.

Disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers.

Those with disabilities have capacities for motor, sensory, and cognitive tasks that differ from the “norm.” Each individual has different qualities and capabilities, but defining this “norm” is practically impossible. Society can create barriers that do not allow an individual to develop to his or her full potential. Likewise, society can remove disabling barriers. A wheelchair user cannot get into a building with steps at the entrance, but a ramp or a lift completely removes that particular barrier. Seated before a ramp, is an individual in a wheelchair disabled?

An individual with Down Syndrome can hold meaningful employment if provided with appropriate support. Down Syndrome itself is not a disability; it is a medical condition. An individual will experience specific barriers that emerge because of the relationship between impairments and societal barriers. The presence or absence of medical conditions can cause one individual to vary from another in terms of motor, sensory, and cognitive function, but an individual is only disabled when appropriate accommodations are not made.

As a societal construct, disability fluctuates in different settings. In a completely adapted home, or with adequate assistance, an individual might have no disability at all; while, in an environment without assistance, this person might become disabled.

Physicians treat medical conditions and, as such, they tend to focus on the “limitations” and “abnormalities” associated with disabled people’s conditions; heart disease, for example, in those with Down syndrome. Disabilities, however, are not medical conditions in and of themselves. The role of a physician is to assess the health of a disabled person, provide treatment for associated symptoms, and anticipate as well as prevent future complications. This can greatly improve a disabled person’s quality of life, and, in some cases, even prolong life. Fixing the disability is not in the doctor’s job description.

How do you, as a medical student, perceive disabled people? Do you feel as if medicine failed them by not being able to “cure” them?

Disability is not tragic; it is tragic that society doesn’t appreciate the abilities of disabled individuals.

Disabled people often report being patronized by medical staff, being described as having “a fate worse than death”, or carrying an “unhealthy gene”, as well as “suffering” from a condition. Consider the power of language. Great advances have been made in both medicine and technology, and even more in the public’s perception and understanding of disability.

Disabled people have more freedom, independence, and equality than they did previously, but there is further work to be done. Rather than making a distinction between disabled or not, physicians should be leaders in embracing diversity and independent living for all of their patients, including disabled people.

Dr. Chris Smith – a disabled associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College, USA – recently spoke about perceptions towards disabled people, stating that “the ultimate test of living in community is found in our willingness to change our minds about one another.”

People with disabilities have the same health needs as non-disabled people – for immunizations, cancer screening etc. They may experience a narrower margin of health, due to both poverty and social exclusion, and also because they may be vulnerable to secondary conditions. Evidence suggests that disabled people face barriers in accessing the health and rehabilitation services they need in many settings.

As future physicians, it is important to view disabled patients equally to all others, whilst acknowledging the barriers they face. When approaching your disabled patients, do not define them by their impairment, do not pity them, do not try to “fix” them; rather, appreciate their abilities, recognize them for their values and behaviors, support them to achieve their aspirations, and, most importantly, listen to them.

Featured image:
disability by Abhijit Bhaduri

Categories
Innovation Lifestyle

Pathographies

“Illness is the night side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.”
– Susan Sontag, Illness as a Metaphor

Words are important. They allow us to meet on a common ground, to share experiences and learn from each other. They can evoke every emotion and open new friendships. They can also be therapeutic, and a way to fill the gap between doctor and patient.

Pathographies, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘the study of the life of an individual or the history of a community with regard to the influence of a particular disease or psychological disorder’, have become more popular over the years (1). Walk into any bookstore and you will eventually come across the healthcare corner: a small stack of books by people who have crossed the abyss into the land of ill health. Such stories speak of hope, love, loss, and despair as patients and their families come to terms with the sudden invasion into their lives. Treading through illness can be an isolating experience, filled with pain and uncertainty.

The Database of Individual Patient Experience is a UK-based charity that runs two websites: healthtalk.org and youthhealthtalk.org. It was created by Dr Ann McPherson, a GP who was diagnosed with breast cancer, but found that she had no one to talk to and share her experiences with. As a result, these websites are filled with patient’s experiences of their illnesses, how they coped, and their family’s reactions. Such websites can open a common ground for those who are suffering, those who are newly diagnosed, and the friends and family who may want to learn about how they can help.

“I am tired of hiding, tired of misspent and knotted energies, tired of the hypocrisy, and tired of acting as though I have something to hide.”
– Kay Redfield Jamison, An Unquiet Mind

How can they help us?

Pathographies are about putting the patient at the heart of healthcare and asking the question: can I truly understand what a person is going through if I have never suffered that ailment myself? By putting experiences into words a bridge is created, allowing those of us who work in healthcare to reach out that bit further. These stories can help us to take a step back from our jargon-filled lives; to not see the routine dialysis, but the precious hours spent with the husband; not the dry numbers of oxygen steadily increasing upon the hospital charts, but the feeling of accomplishment when one is able to take that first breath unaided. Illness is not just a list of problems that need to be crossed off. It is a continuous process filled with dark corners and dead ends.

In an increasingly globalized world, an appreciation of the cultural diversity lying upon our doorsteps is ever more needed. Everyone experiences illness in a different way. The culture we grew up in influences how we look at ailments (3) and the way we handle pain (2). It is through Pathographies that these worlds of illness and health are brought together, creating a narrative that allows us to delve inside the patient’s mind regardless of ethnicity or race. We look beyond the clinical terms, the graphs and the numbers, and not only does this help us to see the patient through a broader lens, it also breaks barriers with the next person we meet. This cultural understanding allows us to look after the ill in the way that they want to be treated – with dignity and compassion. It puts control back in the person’s hands at a time when chaos reigns. Pathographies can help to break the formulaic clinical story. A person is not a machine with a broken part, but an autonomous being with desires and goals, whose need for help cannot always be fit into a category.

All too often we can get caught up in the stereotypes: the smoker with COPD, the teenage overdose, the forty-year-old female with gallstones. We must remember our own biases as we sit in our staffrooms: our own assumptions built from our privileged educations. We no longer live in the world of the authoritative doctor dressed in his white coat. Instead, we let the patient’s words fill the silence.

Instead of opening another lengthy medical textbook, looking up the obscure and the malignant, we can open up a Pathography and step into our patients’ lives. No matter what our role, whether it’s inside healthcare or not, the voice of illness speaks in everyone’s ear and it deserves to be heard.

Further Reading

Illness as a Metaphor, AIDS as a Metaphor by Susan Sontag
An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
C: Because Cowards Get Cancer by John Diamond
Intoxicated by My Illness by Anatole Broyard

References
1. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. 2014. Chronic Illness [Online]. Available at: https://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/Content/consumer_updates/chronic_illness.aspx [Accessed: 28th October 2014]
2. Briggs, E. 2008. Cultural perspectives on pain management. Journal of Perioperative Practice. 18:468-471
3. Wedel, J. 2009. Bridging the Gap between Western and Indigenous Medicine in Eastern Nicaragua. Anthropological Notebooks. 15:49-64

Featured image:
 Speak no evil, hear no evil… by Personal Kaleidoscope

Categories
General Lifestyle

A Medical Student’s New Year’s Resolutions

With the end of 2014 and almost the whole of 2015 upon us, there is no better time to sit and reflect on the past year and to mentally anticipate the year to come. In this free time, I’ve thought a lot about New Year’s resolutions. Now, I’m not referring to resolutions like losing weight, exercising more, or eating healthier meals. I’m referring to resolutions that are specific to the medical student. We, as medical students, live unique lives that require a different set of resolutions than what are typical of most other people.

Here are my top 5 medical student New Year’s Resolutions:

Resolution #1:  Get on a sleep schedule that resembles normal circadian cycling
Medical school really screws up your sleep schedule. Late nights studying coupled with mornings filled with lectures leads to afternoon naps, which leads to sleeping later at night due to the fact that you aren’t tired. This vicious cycle continues throughout medical school, and your suprachiasmatic nucleus is all out of whack. Therefore, the first resolution I propose is to try to sleep at normal hours. Let’s face it, those hours of studying after 11 PM aren’t really that productive anyway. You’re probably better off going to sleep so that you’re rested for the next day’s study marathon.

Resolution #2: Preview material before the lecture
I feel as if this resolution is something everyone has already tried. Personally, I tell myself that I will preview material before every new block. I am even successful for a little while, usually keeping up the trend for the first few days of the course. However, like all things that are too good to be true, this habit usually falls by the wayside after “life” (read: laziness) catches up to me. Therefore, the second resolution is to make a conce rted effort to preview material before the lecture. The chances that this is successful throughout the entirety of the next semester are low, but you should humor yourself for a little while at least.

Resolution #3: Do more outside of school
We know medical school takes most of our time.  We come into medical school all but expecting as much. However, that does not mean you shouldn’t do other things outside of school, for both your physical and mental health. I’m talking about things you do for yourself that have no direct affect on your professional life. If you enjoy cooking, you should cook more. If you enjoy sports, you should play or watch more. If you enjoy any other hobby imaginable, pursue that as well. Pursuing such endeavors may decrease your studying and professional development time, but it will also prevent burnout and increase happiness.

Resolution #4:  Get out into the community
Ok, this one is kind of a continuation of the last one. But, I felt this recommendation was too important to not have its own category. One thing I think many medical students feel is that while they live in a certain place during medical school, they never really come to know that place because they are always studying or at the hospital. We, as students, need to get more in touch with the communities we serve in a non-medical way. Volunteer at local shelters, kitchens, or churches. Talk to the people that live around you. Explore the city’s historic landmarks. Eat at some of the city’s best restaurants. You may not recognize it now, but there is great value in really knowing and appreciating the nuances of where you live.

Resolution #5:  Get Better Every Day
Medical school is an interesting and challenging time in a person’s life. While at times it can be overwhelming, it is important to realize that medical school is a marathon and not a sprint. As such, it is important to focus on getting a little bit better every day. If you get a little better at something every day, you will reach proficiency sooner. This resolution extends not only to your medical life, but to other aspects as well. As long as you get a little bit better every day, no day is wasted.

 

Featured image:
365-001 time flies by Robert Couse-Baker

Categories
Lifestyle Mentorship

Getting the Most out of a Mentoring Relationship

In November, I had a sobering moment with one of my research mentors in medical school. My mentoring relationships had till then been smooth-sailing– throughout my high school and college career, I found that my role models and teachers were readily available and more than willing to play a catalytic role in my learning and growing. Thus, when I began to struggle in my mentoring relationship with Dr. C, I was surprised. Uncertain whether I should approach Dr. C about it, I kept my concerns to myself.

It wasn’t until November that we had a much-needed conversation in Dr. C’s office. I became aware of how a wrong first impression, unclear expectations from the get-go, and several instances of miscommunication had caused our relationship to falter rather than flourish. I am thankful for the way that both Dr. C and I were able to honestly discuss these faults as learning points and have a renewed sense of optimism for our future interactions. Moreover, the experience of falling short in this mentoring relationship has allowed for an incredible amount of reflection and maturing on my end. Through my experiences, I have compiled several lists of tips and pointers that will be helpful not only in your current mentoring relationships, but also in finding new mentors and determining whether a potential role model is right for you. I hope this article will help enhance your interactions with past, current, and future mentors!

 

How to Find a Mentor:  

  1. Sometimes, when we are lucky, mentors are assigned to us (such as in the case with my mentor, Dr. R). These mentors are people who we may or may not click with, but either way, make an effort to be on good terms with them!
  2.  In most cases, networking is key. Interested in primary care? Get involved with the Primary Care interest group, which will have connections to faculty and residents. Go to a Family Medicine conference and meet faculty from other institutions. Be bold in asking potential mentors whether they would be free to meet, reaching out in person or over email.
  3. Ask existing mentors whether they might know someone who could give you advice on an issue or interest you might have. They will often be able to point you towards the right person.

 

Characteristics of a Good Mentor:

  1. Make sure your mentor is someone you admire and can look up to, whether personally, professionally or both.
  2. Don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t just to have connections with a hopeful mentor. The right type of mentor is someone you can be yourself with. This will allow your mentor to tailor advice to you, making their words all the more influential and trustworthy.
  3. A good mentor has enough time to mentor you. If a potential mentor is too busy to answer your emails or acknowledge your concerns, the mentor-mentee relationship will likely fizzle out in the long run.
  4. A good mentor is a great listener. He/she will listen actively and provide thoughtful responses to your questions and concerns.
  5. Your prospective mentor should be willing to actively help you in developing your academic and/or personal life. Ideally, he/she should be excited to help you in both areas.

 

Tips on How to Get the Most out of a Mentoring Relationship:

  1. The best type of mentor cares enough to give you constructive feedback to help you on your journey in medicine. Be humble and listen carefully.
  2. Be clear about your expectations for the relationship from the very beginning. Make sure to discuss with your mentor why you want or need a mentor in a certain area of your life and what you hope they will add to your learning/career in your first meeting. Don’t be afraid to bring up any changes with your mentor in order to make sure that you are both on the same page.
  3. Reach out when you need help—that’s what your mentor is for! Sometimes, you may need to be persistent; you’ll know which of your mentors are better at responding to emails/texts than others.
  4. Be persistent but know how busy your mentor is. Respect his/her time.
  5. Have more than one mentor. Don’t limit yourself as there are various people who can help you grow in different parts of your life.
  6. Be thankful. Mentors want to make a change in their mentees’ lives and nudge them towards successful futures. Make sure you let them know when they are doing a good job! In the same vein, reach out to past mentors every once in a while to send updates and maintain your relationship. You’ll never know when you may need help or advice from past mentors, and it is a wonderful way to show that you still appreciate them.
  7. Lastly, make a note about the characteristics and skills of a good mentor from your current mentoring relationships. One day, you will find yourself in your mentor’s shoes, sitting across from a slightly nervous but eager medical student. A good mentor-mentee relationship will prepare you for that day!

 

I highly recommend the following article and presentation if you are interested in learning more about making the most of a mentoring relationship!

http://dgsomdiversity.ucla.edu/workfiles/lectures/Making%20the%20Most%20of%20Mentors.pdf
https://go.dmacc.edu/witrg/Documents/WITRG_Getting_the_most_out_of_your_mentor.pdf

 

Featured Image:
“One Person’s Mentoring Experience” by Natalie Henrich by NASA APPEL

Categories
Lifestyle Mentorship Reflection

The Importance of Mentorship

One of the most influential and uplifting things that can happen during medical school is finding someone older, wiser, and more mature than you and being blessed with the opportunity to be mentored by that person.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” As the words left my lips, I felt a slight twinge, a burning feeling. Shame. I was one month into medical school and I was already giving up. We were in a 7-week crash-course version of anatomy with lectures, Team Based Learning (TBL) sessions, and dissection in an overwhelming whirl that spun us ever more rapidly as the course progressed.  I wasn’t made to memorize the flexors and extensors of the leg and the nerves and vessels of the pelvis.  My brain wasn’t wired to take in this much information and properly spit it all back out. If this was medicine, I didn’t think it was for me.

There was a moment of silence on the other line. I sniffed and blew my nose. Dr. R finally spoke.

“Stephanie, tell me more about what you’ve been thinking about.”

Over the next half-hour, I shared with Dr. R my frustrations with the rote memorization of anatomy and the feelings of burn-out I was already experiencing, having come straight from college to medical school. She was patient and understanding, encouraging me with her own experiences. She acknowledged my perspective and in her gentle way, validated it. Suddenly, I did not feel so alone. To my surprise, I found myself filling with hope that I could find success in medical school. I wiped away my tears and ventured a small smile as she made me promise to update her in the next few weeks. When I hung up the phone, I glanced at the time— it was nearly 10:00pm. I had texted Dr. R that I hoped to talk to her sometime soon about something urgent, and she had texted me back immediately. I was so grateful that she didn’t hesitate to approach me during my moment of panic and self-doubt.

 If medical school is a marathon, then having a good mentor in medical school is like having a personal coach. He/she is on the sidewalks, cheering you on, letting you know about the hill up ahead, and reminding you of your goals during the long, empty stretches of road. You look over your shoulder and at times notice that your mentor is covered in sweat and dirt and Gatorade too. In fact, your mentor has another race, but he/she is taking time off to watch you run. From sharing about previous mistakes to being an example for how to run a race successfully, your personal coach and mentor becomes a role model throughout your marathon and beyond. 

 

How did I meet Dr. R?  In fact, I was assigned to Dr. R’s mentoring group on the very first day of medical school.  As part of the Colleges program at Johns Hopkins, the mentoring group (known fondly as a “molecule”) is composed of one faculty member and five medical students in the same year.  The faculty member checks in with his/her molecule throughout their four years of medical school and provides guidance, assists with planning, and teaches clinical skills. Dr. R has walked with me through both personal and professional issues—from work-life balance to dealing with poor study habits to encouraging me to embrace my passions.  Moreover, I was absolutely touched that she managed to make it out to my wedding last summer.  In inviting me to shadow her in the hospital to having my molecule over at her house to meet her husband and children, Dr. R has generously opened her life up as an example of how one might pursue a career in medicine.  In doing so, she has become a true life mentor to me.

It is well-known that medical school isn’t easy. Thus, having a guide and avid supporter is invaluable. Mentoring programs are becoming more common nationally, as research has found that having mentorship is an important component of success in academic medicine (Cho et al, 2011). However, the importance of seeking mentorship from the start of medical school isn’t always properly emphasized. Do you currently have an influential mentor? In what ways have he/she supported you? How would you define a “good mentor”?

If you don’t yet have a mentor or your current mentoring relationship isn’t going as you hoped, not to worry! In my next blogpost, I will share some suggestions about how to get started with finding a mentor as well as how to make the most of a mentoring relationship.

 

Coming up…

“How to Approach a Potential Mentor and Get the Most out of a Mentoring Relationship”

Featured image:
Friends by Hartwig HKD

Categories
General Lifestyle

Medical Humanities

Evaluating me, my attending writes,

Sometimes our strengths can also be
our weaknesses
and in OB-GYN, confidence can be taken as
arrogance.

I eat 32 chips ahoy cookies I find
six months after I first opened them
in the back corner of my kitchen cabinet,
behind cans of beans and tuna.
That same day, my neighbor’s daughter texts me
a photo of red bumps under her pubic hairs.
A bag of trash is the only thing in my refrigerator;
no time to take it out and it would have made
my apartment smell like dead people.

The people who die in hospitals—you see it
in their skin—grey and dry—two days before
it happens. My chief tells me to notify the family
but there was no one who cared, so I write it up.
A new patient sleeps in the dead patient’s old bed.
Just as soon as the morgue people leave
the nurse’s assistant changes the sheets and
mops the floors in bleach.

Doctors skip lunch. I do too
to put off the depression that smacks me
when I stop propelling patients from bed,
to diagnostic test, to operating room and
start propelling white bread and meat-mush
from esophagus to anus.

Featured image:
Bed by Alex

Categories
Clinical General Lifestyle MSPress Announcements Narrative Opinion Reflection

“Preserving the Nobility of Medicine” Dr. Robert Alpern, 2014 Commencement Address of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Page 1 copyIn continuation of the Medical Commencement Archive, this Friday we are releasing a new commencement speech. Today’s commencement speech is titled Preserving the Nobility of Medicine. This commencement speech was given by Dr. Robert J. Alpern, a Northwestern University alumnus, to the students of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The esteemed Dr. Alpern is Ensign Professor of Medicine and Dean at Yale University School of Medicine. He also is President of the American Society of Nephrology, as well as a sitting Advisory Council Member of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Dr. Alpern took a moment for students to take a closer look at the value and weight of the two-lettered title: MD. He reflected upon the unique status given to physicians, and the reverence given to doctors from the community and from patients. Yet, at the same time the medical paradigm continues to evolve. Dr. Alpern astutely foresees a future where physicians must adapt to the growing roles in the medical team, changes in bureaucracy, and the changing expectations of patient’s for their treatment. Dr. Alpern also notes that these changes will influence the training and education of physicians. On top of our own desire to stifle the monsoon current of medical information during our education, there are legitimate concerns that the future medical student will receive but an abbreviated biochemistry course, or won’t need to take an MCAT, maybe even spend less time in medical school. Yet, Dr. Alpern urges one thing: to value the pursuit of scholarship. He reminds us that only with a strong foundation may a strong physician be built.

“We observe the patient and draw on our scientific understanding of how the body works and sometimes does not work, to develop a truth that we can implement as an action plan. We must know clinical guidelines and the most up-to-date treatment algorithms, but we must also be ready to identify clinical circumstances in which they do not apply.”

Dr. Alpern eloquently explains that, above all else, the pursuit of knowledge and scholarship is indeed the nobility of medicine. He reminds us to respect this pursuit in lieu of the changes we will see in our futures as physicians, such that “we do not return to the era of trade schools of medicine”. Dr. Alpern further mentions that, in addition to being a scholar, the physician must be compassionate, and that neither trait is mutually exclusive:

“I also want to make the point that an emphasis on science is not the antithesis of compassion, but it is rather the complement of compassion”.

At the end of his speech, Dr. Alpern concludes with this piece of wisdom:

“Do not be intimidated by the evolving healthcare system. Rather, as the next generation of physicians, you will define healthcare, and you must define it well.”

Categories
Clinical General Lifestyle MSPress Announcements

“The Real Challenge: Balance” Dr. Richard D. Krugman, 2014 Commencement Address at the University of Colorado School of Medicine

Page 1This week, Dr. Richard D. Krugman’s 2014 commencement speech at the University of Colorado School of Medicine entitled, “The Real Challenge: Balance” debuts via the Medical Commencement Archive. This piece is my personal favorite within this year’s archive.

Dr. Krugman is a respected educator and leader in the medical field. Dr. Krugman received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine. He went on to complete his residency in Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the University of Colorado, Denver, where he oversees all five hospitals of the university in addition to providing support for deans and faculty. Among many esteemed positions, Dr. Krugman has served as a member of the Institute of Medicine and the board of University of Colorado Hospital. Dr. Krugman is internationally recognized as an authority on child abuse prevention.

Dr. Krugman begins his speech by discussing his desire to hold the title of spouse of the President of the United States.

“I have watched for years as each Presidential spouse came to the White House, starting with Jacqueline Kennedy, and each took as a cause some area of public policy that instantly got attention and, over the next four to eight years had billions of dollars appropriated toward resolving the issue.” He goes on to discuss his future endeavors.

With a humble nature, Dr. Krugman comments on the common nature of forgetting commencement speeches. He focuses his speech on what he believes will be the single most important piece of advice that the novel physicians ought to remember,

“it is probably easier to learn the facts and the technical skills you will need to practice medicine than it is to learn how to balance lives that are relentlessly crammed with the demands of your families and friends, your patients, your supervising residents and attending physicians, your students…”

Take some time to read Dr. Krugman’s recommendations for maintaining balance alongside a career in medicine.

Read Dr. Krugman’s 2014 Commencement Speech at the University of Colorado School of Medicine:  https://www.themspress.org/index.php/commencement/article/view/69