Laughter is the Best Medicine
This essay offers a personal reflection on hospice care and celebration of life from the perspective of a medical student addressing her late grandmother.
Columns
Editor-in-Chief
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Ashley is a second-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Religious Studies, Ashley has been passionate about integrating humanistic and diverse perspectives into medical education and clinical research. Notably, Ashley enjoys connecting fellow medical students to research opportunities and especially values showcasing the impressive work of her colleagues.
Planning Ahead
Medical student Jackson Dean reflects on the importance of planning ahead and giving back to one’s community.
Volcanoes and Illegal Immigration: One Guatemalan’s Perilous Journey
Medical student Leonard Wang presents his views on patient advocacy by exploring the role of patient stories, in particular an anecdote from a recent trip to Guatemala during his winter break.
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.
Made in God’s Image
Medical Student Jackson Dean discusses the role of God in medicine by exploring the creation story which suggests human perfection and juxtaposing it with the management of sick patients who may suggest otherwise.
Yellow
Medical student Lindsey Nae Wright discusses the unique and life-altering experience of practicing the physical exam on her dying father. Her experience has turned the happy color yellow into something darker.
Better Than Tomorrow
Medical student Shivani Sundaram underscores the daily struggles and reality faced by those with dementia and memory disorders through a recognizably “normal” conversation.
The Difficult Patient
Medical student Allen Betts explores the often underrated effect of psychosocial determinants and the integral part they play in the influencing health and well-being. Read more to find out how he has come to appreciate the soft skills a physician gleans through patient encounters rather than through books.
Mourning’s Glory
Lindsey Nae Wright reflects on mourning the losses that come with being a medical student.
Dear Patient
Medical student Allen Betts writes a letter to a former patient reflecting on the importance of treating a patient as a person rather than a disease.
Medical Student Contributing Writer, Columnist
Indiana University School of Medicine
Allen is a fourth-year medical student at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Allen plans on pursuing a career in Radiology.
