Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
As I enter my fourth year of medical school and make plans for residency and beyond, I realize that I have spent much of the past few years checking off boxes and anticipating the next steps in my career. I have often viewed medical school as a source of delayed gratification, part of a process […]
Photos provided by the author. I spend a lot of my free time roaming around my developing, growing urban jungle. We have a small apartment in Harbor East, and since moving here in 2020 during the pandemic, I’ve found total peace in picking up houseplants that bring me joy and caring for them in my […]
Edgar Allan Poe enthusiasm at The Horse You Came in on Saloon in the Fell’s Point neighborhood of Baltimore. Photo: Margo Peyton When I set out on two trips from my home in Baltimore this April, I did not know that I signed up for an Edgar Allan Poe interstate tour. The first stop on […]
In the medical school years while obtaining my M.D.-Ph.D., I once attended a lecture by Mark Shelhamer, head of the Johns Hopkins Human Spaceflight Lab, which is part of the NASA Human Research Program — a coordinated effort to examine the physiologic consequences of long-term human spaceflight and its associated health risks. The medical concerns […]
Building density and the use of materials such as concrete and pavement make urban areas, including Baltimore City, extremely harsh environments for wildlife. The use of these materials causes an urban heat island effect, which means that parts of Baltimore City are hotter by an average of 8 degrees than surrounding suburbs on a given […]
Human history is full of stories about people going to great lengths to achieve splendor, beauty and luster. Women in ancient Roman used the belladonna plant to dilate their pupils and enhance the beauty of their eyes, running the risk of permanent vision loss. Diane de Poitiers, mistress of 16th century French king Henry II, […]
In most countries, including the U.S., people celebrate the start of the new year on Jan. 1, in the middle of the winter. However, there are some countries around the world where their new year starts in the middle of March, which would be the start of the spring. To be more precise, it is […]
Lunar Calendar and Timing of Ramadan Ramadan holds different emotional meanings for many Muslims around the world, encompassing topics such as self-discipline, gratitude, humbleness and renewal of connection with God. Yet, at its most basic level, it is a month of daily abstinence from food and drink from dawn until sunset. Ramadan falls on the […]
I recently sat down with Andrew Lea, a fourth-year medical student who holds a Ph.D. in the history of science and medicine. We discussed his forthcoming book, Digitizing Diagnosis: Minds, Medicine, and Machines in Twentieth-Century America, and the importance of historical perspective in medicine. Welcome! Tell us about your book. The book is about early […]
NOTE: This blog post contains discussion of sensitive topics regarding mental health, depression, burnout and suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, please contact a health care professional or the National Suicide Hotline, available 24/7: 1-800-273-8255. Background In March 2020, the world watched, as the COVID-19 pandemic descended on our health care systems. […]