In February, the Johns Hopkins History of Medicine Survey had the opportunity to experiment with three stethoscopes: a replica of René Laennec’s 1816 stethoscope, a Russian cavalry surgeon’s 1915 stethoscope and a modern stethoscope bought a few years ago. Per M.D./Ph.D. student Maya Koretsky’s instructions, I sat on the office desk with my back turned(...)
Every Ph.D. Journey Is Different, and That’s OK
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAs a second-year student in the pathobiology graduate program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, I joined a thesis lab this past August. During our first year, we do three research rotations in different labs to get more experience doing research at the graduate student level, in addition to getting a feel for(...)
Transition to the Wards: A Pivotal Point in Medical School Training
Posted by | A Day in the LifeBy Neha Anand On Friday, my classmates and I completed our last preclinical unit of medical school. After a year and a half of lecture learning and small groups about the intricate physiology of the kidneys, detailed pathways of the brain and so much more, we finally came to one of the most immersive classes(...)
Underrepresented minority biomedical researchers: numbers, challenges and initiatives for change
Posted by | Did You See This?In 2012, the Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Diversity (ACDWGD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) produced its first report. The committee stated plainly that diversity increases core scientific principles — creativity, innovation and rigor — and that the NIH had a responsibility as a publicly funded body to maintain the(...)
On Kindness
Posted by | A Day in the Life“Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.” This is one of my favorite quotes from Captain America because it reminds me that at the end of the day, no matter how superhuman people think we are — whether(...)
Drifting Through the Dark
Posted by | A Day in the LifeI have never wanted to be an astronaut. The idea of hurtling upward in a rocket ship, crashing through the Earth’s atmosphere, and launching into the weightless, densely black sky with the knowledge that you might never return makes me feel a certain loneliness. Yet when friends and family ask what it’s like to do(...)
Medicine in the Library
Posted by | A Day in the LifeAbove: Kristin's carrel at Welch Library Mid-November 2018: I sit in my carrel watching the snow fall outside, a café au lait cupped in my hands and my elbows resting on the wooden barrier that protects me from falling eight floors to the bottom of the library. Historian Julie Livingstone’s book on debility and the(...)
Rowing Through Internship
Posted by | A Day in the LifeHalloween in the MICU: I was on call overnight, wearing a headband with droopy bumblebee ears, black and yellow clashing with the somber gray haze of the team room. Thus far, my call nights had torn 10,000 holes through my soul. Each was a devastating routine during which people of great medical mystery would rush(...)
Are Physician Salaries Appropriate?
Posted by | Did You See This?Over the holiday season, I was fortunate to spend time with family in northern California where I grew up. There I had the opportunity to catch up with some friends from high school. We talked about many things, but eventually the conversation turned to work, salaries and other practicalities of adult life we would have(...)
Things My Brother Sam Can’t Talk About
Posted by | A Day in the LifePhoto credit: Kelly Valeri When my younger brother, Sam, was 14 years old, he went outside, stripped to his white, Fruit of the Loom underwear, tipped over a plastic wagon and yelled, “Uh-oh!” He was re-enacting a scene from the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, though no one in my family knew it(...)