Medical Student Contributing Writer
Albany Medical College
Medha has a deep-rooted passion for aiding the underserved, especially the migrant and refugee community. As a future physician, she hopes to use her skills to provide equitable healthcare to those in need.
Medha Palnati describes an encounter she had with a patient who she met at the Backstretch Clinic – a clinic that serves the undocumented workers that care for the horses at the Race Track – as he was having a myocardial infarction. This encounter highlights the conversation Medha had with this patient while waiting for the ambulance to transport him to the hospital, and the solace that they found in each other in that moment.
Rural Health is an important but often overlooked sub-specialty in medicine. This piece gives insight to the intricacies of patient care and transport, rural health policy, and the rich, long-term relationships developed in the lives of current practicing rural health physicians.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An ICU nurse turned medical student reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic’s severe and lasting impact on health care workers and the acute shift to the new normal of expectations in the inpatient setting.
Medical student Micky Akinrodoye reflects on the importance of advocating for patients by taking into consideration of a myriad of factors influencing their care.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Medical Student Contributing Writer
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Lekha Reddy is a member of the Class of 2023 at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is an aspiring emergency medicine physician and is drawn to the humanistic aspects of medicine. She aims to further understand the human condition, seek genuine connections with her patients, and practice mindfulness and constant self-reflection in her pursuit of medicine.
