Mrs. D’s Breathing
Medical student Micky Akinrodoye reflects on the importance of advocating for patients by taking into consideration of a myriad of factors influencing their care.
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Medical Student Contributing Writer
Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Micky is a 4th-year medical student who is passionate about holistic wellness and always taking into account the social determinants of health to provide the highest quality of care to patients. He aspires to be an Orthopedic Surgeon.
Prayer in Practice
Medical student Jackson Dean challenges readers to think critically about the variety of forms that prayers come in and the roles they pray at work and in our every day lives.
Dark Sea
Medical student Lindsey Wright explores the stark contrast of love and grief after the loss of her father to cancer and finds solace in poetry and painting.
Hidden Impact: Parental Health Status and the Cost for Children
Medical student Katelyn Girtain writes about her experiences as a child of a disabled mother that contributed to the lack of proper insurance and ultimately the occurrence of preventable health issues. She also explores relevant policies and the lack of literature on the impacts of parental disability/lack of insurance on children.
Mountaintop Medicine
Four years ago, as I clung to my seat on a bus teetering back and forth on a one lane rocky road up the Jamaican hillside, I thought I knew what it meant to be a part of the medical community. I grew up in a family of doctors and nurses and, while none pressured me into the field, I felt drawn to it. All my life I would hear stories about sick patients and …
A Journey to Obstetrics & Gynecology Through Structural Racism in Maternal Outcomes
Medical student Sara Phillips writes a personal reflection, grounded in scholarly literature, that details her exploration of racism as a mechanism for perpetuating disparities in maternal health outcomes. The piece traces discriminatory policies and actions undertaken by physicians and leaders in the field of obstetrics and gynecology to portray a historical origin for contemporary health inequities. Interacting with these grim stories and statistics, she reflects on what it means for her to seek out a career in OB/GYN to confront this prejudicial history and create a more just path forward.
The Hidden Tools in Medicine
Medical student Lekha Reddy discovers the “hidden tools” that physicians use beyond the scope of lab tests, drugs and consults. She marvels at the power of a new hidden tool — reassurance — during a pediatric emergency room visit.
The Ring On My Hand
This creative piece explores the internal dialogue that a gay patient has with himself when his provider fails to use inclusive language and offers a question that probes disclosure.
Resiliency in Medicine: The Patient Experience
Medical student Micky Akinrodoye reflects on his experiences of being a part of the care team for a complicated patient. With the understanding that every patient has a unique story and life experiences, Micky shares his outlook on the type of physician he would like to become in the future.
You Good?
Read more to find out how three seemingly straightforward words, for medical student Charna Kinard, represented a spectrum of emotions, feelings and connotations in the setting of national news regarding policing and the Black Lives Matter movement and how this has shaped her path towards physicianship.
Smoke
Medical student Jake Bardell poetically epitomizes the art of medicine: navigating the nuances that lie beyond the logical and algorithmic thinking expected of doctors.
Mental Incarceration
Future doctor Chidera Okafor contextualizes her struggles with depression, anxiety and apparent surreality with the world around her, while deftly shining the spotlight again on the often overlooked and unaddressed aspect of a physician’s world: self mental health.
Medical Student Contributor
University of Missouri-Kansas City
MS4 | Aspiring Child Psychiatrist | Social Justice | Mentorship | St. Louis baby