I Am Here and Alive
Dr. Ervin Anies explores the struggles and emotional turmoil of medical training, ultimately finding acceptance and self-worth.
Tag: empathy
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Ervin (Erv) is beginning his general intern year at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and recently graduated from the Uniformed Services Univerity of the Health Sciences in May 2022. While in medical school, he was the co-director for the on-campus peer-led curriculum aimed to foster conversations about diversity, bias, discrimination, and inclusion in both medicine and the military. His interests include medical education, promoting diversity, and utilizing the arts to augment the healing nature of medicine.
How Literature Transformed an Engineer into a Doctor
Medical student Bassel Salka finds opportunities to improve health care by reading works of humorists, fiction writers, and philosophers.
Yearning for Yesterday
Shivani Sundaram, a third-year medical student, explores the need for humanity and patience in the face of algorithms and checkboxes.
The Medical Student Behind the Mask
Rachel Lawson describes her challenging experiences during her first year of medical school at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and how her experience was profoundly impacted by a vaccination clinic.
An Understanding
Medical student MacKenzie Adams reflects on her experience with a patient who received news that he was dying via an interpreter. She addresses the importance of improving care for non-English speakers.
Pursuing Medicine as a Chinese-American in the Time of COVID-19
Henry Zou, an Asian American fourth-year medical student, reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and finds courage and hope.
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.
Sacred in the Everyday
Tim Niyogusaba, a third-year medical student, meditates on his fulfilling yet fatiguing experiences during clinical rotations.
Chief Complaint: 27-Year-Old Female MS-2 Reports Feeling “Hollow”
Medical student Olivia Dhaliwal reflects on the weight of medical school and her feelings of “hollow”
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.
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.
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.
Resident Contributing Writer
Rutgers- Monmouth Medical Center
Micky is a 3rd-year Orthopedic Resident 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 one day implement his experiences into his practice as an Orthopedic Surgeon.
