Biomedical Odyssey

Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Portrait of Smiling Senior Woman and Her Mixed Race Female Caregiver Together at Nursing Home. Caring Female Doctor Taking Care of a Happy, Elderly Woman

A Mile in Their Shoes

April 27, 2022

“Why won’t this cough go away?” “It’s probably nothing,” I thought to myself. “I haven’t had any fevers, night sweats, weight loss. Could it be TB? I am in Zambia after all. But I’m sure with a few more days of cough and cold medicine, this will improve. I really don’t need this right now. […]

Maria Dominique Mortel ⋅ A Day in the Life Global Health, Patient Care, Patients, physicians ⋅ No Comments

Female doctor standing in front of a group.

Never Forget Where You Started

March 1, 2022

“Let us know if you need anything,” I said to my patient as I hurried toward the door. With many more patients to see before heading down to the OR, morning rounds are kept short and concise. “Doctor,” she stopped me before I opened the door, with a slight tremble in her voice, “thank you […]

Hanghang Wang ⋅ A Day in the Life cardiothoracic, fellowship, Patients, reflection, Surgery ⋅

A pair of young hands hold a pair of older hands in a gesture of support.

The P-value of People

January 15, 2021

The prospect of helping patients is what attracted neuroscience graduate student Riley Bannon to the field of research, but this semester brought many humbling reminders that it is all too easy to lose sight of the bigger, human picture in translational research.

Riley Bannon ⋅ Perspectives in Research graduate student, Neuroscience, Patients, translational research ⋅

Two hands reach to connect with one another.

‘I Think I can Trust You’: Unpacking a Patient’s Words

November 30, 2020

A medical student reflects on a recent encounter with a patient who shared painful details of his life for the first time.

Howard Chang ⋅ A Day in the Life listening, medical student, Patient Care, Patients ⋅

senior patient with doctor

Inside a Med Student’s Mind On a Patient Visit

June 15, 2017

Want to read more from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine? Subscribe to the Biomedical Odyssey blog and receive new posts directly in your inbox. (Disclaimers: Although much of the following comes from my medical education, it should not be generalized to all medical students. Certain details — name, identifiers, complaints — have been modified for privacy […]

John Choi ⋅ A Day in the Life medical school, Patients, residency ⋅

Johns Hopkins Medical Students Create Startup to Protect Patient Privacy

October 27, 2015

“It’s not too often the right opportunity with the right person at the right time comes about, and sometimes you just say, ‘This is one of those shots I have to take or I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life,’” said Robert Lord, a co-founder of Protenus, when I sat down […]

Ruchi Doshi ⋅ Perspectives in Research HIPPA, Johns Hopkins Health System, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Nick Culbertson, Patient Information, Patient Privacy, Patients, Privacy, Protenus, Robert Lord, Startup ⋅

The Week of the Pancreas: Finding a Work-Life Balance

September 25, 2015

I vividly remember one particular week during my medicine subinternship as the Week of the Pancreas. On the wards, I was caring for two patients with pancreatitis: one acute, one chronic. Then, I admitted a third patient with heretofore-undiagnosed metastatic pancreatic cancer. To top it all off, midweek, I received a phone call from one […]

Ruchi Doshi ⋅ A Day in the Life Cancer, internship, Pancreas, Pancreatic Cancer, Patients, Work-Life Balance ⋅

Home Visits: An Essential Part of Medical Care

August 10, 2015

One of the most memorable experiences of my medical training was my first home visit. I was a medical student participating in a primary care elective with a physician in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to gaining experience in the clinic setting, I was expected to make a visit to a clinic patient in his/her home. […]

Ryan Lang ⋅ A Day in the Life Clinic, Home care services, Home Visit, Medical Training, Patients ⋅

Research Addresses Different Needs for Critically, Terminally Ill

July 6, 2015

Before I came to medical school, I had a very simple understanding of the components of patient care. In my mind, all patients had the same basic needs, which physicians provided along the road to cure. After four years, I now realize patient populations are incredibly diverse and far more complex than I could have […]

Arielle Medford ⋅ Perspectives in Research Critically Ill, Diagnoses, Palliative Care, Patient Care, Patients, Research, Research Trial, Terminally Ill, Underfeeding ⋅

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