An Unanticipated Learning Issue
Emma Stenz’s first time witnessing a patient’s death helped her realize the role of a physician in maintaining emotional composure and acting with nonmaleficence towards the patient, both in life and in death.
Tag: humanity
Medical Student Contributing Writer
McGovern Medical School
Emma is a third-year medical student at McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX who is passionate about exploring the inherent intersection between the humanities and medicine, and is excited to apply these principles to her future career as an ophthalmologist. Other interests of hers include distance running, piano, live music, any and all activities involving the outdoors, and quality time spent with loved ones.
The Ward as Medicine
The Ward as Medicine is about how one’s fellow patients on the psychiatry ward can act as mirrors, teachers and inspirations to a patient. Specifically, it is about a mom who, hospitalized for suicidality stemming from her guilt and anger over how she has mothered her children, gets reconnected with the identity of motherhood while interacting with others on the unit.
Changes
Medical student Saud Rehman has written a collection of poems focusing on the lockdown of March 2020 with artwork to give a visual representation of how he felt. Often times the manifestations of moods unrelated to coursework go overlooked, especially in medicine, and Saud hopes that these provide a representation of the humanity behind students going through difficult times.
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.
I Will Be
Medical student Denisha McCurchin shares one of her final moments in the hospital with her grandmother who had a stroke. She tells the story through the senses of sight and hearing and reflects on the care she wishes her grandmother received as well as the care she endeavors to deliver as a future doctor.
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.
With Words, A Playlist: Finding a Way Back
Ana Jimenez, a fourth-year medical student, describes her encounter with Micah, a coffee-making, DJ-ing, emergency medicine resident.
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”
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.
Healing Words
Medical student Sidney Adenya recollects a particularly momentous patient experience, which exemplified how words can be a strikingly powerful therapeutic tool of a physician. Read more to find out how this helped him reaffirm his passion for medicine through this reflective piece.
Being
As a storyteller, the author vowed to lead with the person’s name in an effort to uplift the subject of the story. This all changed when the author began anatomy lab during medical school.
Medical Student Contributor
Indiana University School of Medicine
I fell into medicine because it bridges the boundless world of science with individual stories of humanity. Having a father from Ecuador and a mother from the states, I came to see the importance of listening and learning from voices different from myself. Over time, I have grown an excitement for art — not merely by creating, but by attempting to discover the art in others and helping others discover the art in themselves. I write to make sense of my own experience and the experience of others. In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing, playing guitar, and thrift shopping. Going into my third year, I am looking to pursue a career in Emergency Medicine.
