Tag: patient perspectives

Sriya Donthi Sriya Donthi (2 Posts)

Medical Student Contributing Writer

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

 Sriya Donthi completed her Bachelors of History and Philosophy of Medicine and Biology at Case Western Reserve University, where she is now attending medical school. She has been writing poetry since the age of fifteen and enjoys finding ways in which the creative arts and her interest in medicine can connect. Her medical interests are in obstetrics/gynecology and health literacy education.




Old Pennies and Jelly Skin

Published by Sriya Donthi

This piece is inspired by a patient encounter with a middle-aged woman who was recently diagnosed with a severe and malignant cancer. I saw her in the primary care setting, and she was undergoing chemotherapy at that time. She had a unique demeanor about her and she shared with me how she waited all her life to do the things she really wanted to do and now she was unable to do a lot of those things. She told me her and her friend now share a joke whenever they are debating doing something fun/risky/random in which they say “What are you waiting for, Chemo?”

The Ward as Medicine

Published by Nicole Wong

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.

Hidden Impact: Parental Health Status and the Cost for Children

Published by Katelyn Girtain

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.

Shivani Sundaram (2 Posts)

Medical Student Contributing Writer

Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California

 Shivani a first year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Because she is indisputably passionate about literature and music, she is currently considering Neurology as a specialty. She believes the brain provides a tangible link between the humanities and medicine, and hopes that studying its complexities will enable her to teach people the interlinks between the environment and the self.