Adventures from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Over 3,000 years old, Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions. Calling oneself a Jew draws on a rich history and a continually growing set of religious texts; it is a link to a culture of resilience and a peoplehood that have withstood incredible persecution and social restriction, immigration and assimilation. Thus, for many,(...)
“I am Muslim,” says Nimrah Baig, a third-year medical student. Her words do not sound like a label, but rather a bold summation of an entire world that she slowly begins to introduce me to. “My faith is something I live every day. My actions, how I treat others and my goals in life are(...)
Countless big and small tragedies occur in the hospital daily. There is the yearning for fresh air, the tedium of one blood draw after another, the inability to defecate, the removal of an organ, the loss of a child or parent. These are interwoven with beautiful miracles, human triumphs, cures and compassion. It is no(...)
In cardiac surgery, most patients come out of the operating room still heavily sedated and intubated — a tube down their windpipe helps them breathe, one is in their bladder so they don’t need to urinate and multiple others protrude from their chest, draining blood-tinged fluid. Some patients exit surgery actively “paced,” with several wires(...)
Last weekend, my husband and I visited our local pharmacy to pick up a prescription refill. The pharmacist chatted with us cheerfully as she rang us up at the cash register. Suddenly, her typing stopped. “Wow,” she finally said. “This is expensive.” The small pill bottle sat in her palm as she read off the(...)
Every medical student undergoes several rites of passage. There’s anatomy dissection during the preclinical years, the first board exam called Step 1, then a dizzying year of various required clinical rotations that range from pediatrics to psychiatry to surgery. The medical student clinical experience is finally topped off by a “subinternship” rotation. A subinternship —(...)
The atmosphere in the Albert H. Owens Jr. Auditorium in the David H. Koch Cancer Research Building was buzzing with conversation and an intellectual energy. More tha 100 people, ranging from nurses and physicians to administrators and patients who came as far as Brazil and as close as the hospital next door, were gathered for(...)
Learning medicine is like studying abroad. As a third-year medical student, you cross the border from lecture hall to hospital ward and are expected to adapt quickly to a new sets of rules, a new language, and different expectations for your behavior and role. Needless to say, it’s overwhelming. The patient experience is similar in(...)
During his time at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Liwei Jiang, a graduating fourth year, found himself interacting with classmates and faculty members who were passionate about teaching. One such professor, Dr. Donna Magid, encouraged him to seek ways to make radiology more engaging and accessible to new medical students. "I didn't expect to(...)
Recently, as I’ve been spending more time in various clinical settings, I’ve noticed a striking lack of patients who can say they have a designated primary care doctor. Evidence has shown that primary care has an incredibly beneficial effect on population health. The work of generalists, such as family medicine physicians, pediatricians and internists, reduces(...)