During the battle of Gettysburg, military observers encountered a strange phenomenon. Perched at one vantage, some watchers saw the flash of muzzles and rising smoke but could not perceive the sound of battle. While others, situated miles behind the front lines, were deafened by the thunder of cannons. This phenomenon, which was widely reported at […]
I Belong
One of the most fulfilling feelings (especially for someone like me who can be so indecisive) is to know when you belong. I have been off service for a few months, and let me tell you, I could not wait to be back on a Psychiatry rotation! Sure enough, during the month of January, I […]
Some Do’s and Don’ts While on Clinical Rotations
I never thought there could be poor performing medical students on clinical rotations until I became a resident. That was a real shocker for me. The example stories you’ve been told of what NOT TO DO—guess what? Medical students still do them. That is always beyond me. How? What? Why? Just some starter words for […]
Studying Can Be Hard
I remember the times I was studying for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2. I was in medical school, and I knew I would have special “dedicated time” just to focus because that was my only responsibility. Those times were hard. I didn’t enjoy them. I felt like all the joy in my life was […]
Easy Meal Prep on a Busy Schedule
Back by popular demand are my easy meal prep ideas, residency edition! I told myself that I would carry on the tradition of eating healthy, simple meals, even with my busy residency schedule and I am proud to say that I have thus far been able to accomplish my goal. Residency has also been a […]
Patient Education: How can Physicians Improve as Teachers?
Just recently I was listening to a lecture by one of our physicians regarding cervical cancer. He made a statement that really stuck with me: “although we have made many advances towards screening, and treating the progression of cervical cancer, there is still more work to be done.” So I began to ask myself what […]
Delivering Bad News
Delivering bad news is a part of medicine. It has been something that I have had to witness as a medical student and now take a part in as a resident physician. Meeting with families to discuss goals of care or delivering a poor prognosis over the phone to those who cannot visit their loved […]
Intensive Care Unit During a Pandemic
One of the best aspects of my residency program includes the ability to rotate with our intensive care unit (ICU) team to increase our learning opportunities given the acuity of our patients. What makes our rotation this year even more challenging is working through a pandemic especially in California, one of the states experiencing high […]
Reflections on my Favorite ASCP 2020 Sessions–2
Scientific luminaries like Keith Porter of the Rockefeller Institute have asserted that a vital step in the birth of a new field is the establishment of specialized journals and institutions. In this session Dr. Roger L. Bertholf describes this process for Laboratory Medicine through an exploration of the field’s eponymous journal. Journals reflect not only […]
Inpatient Rotations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Although we have been back in the hospital for several months now after a hiatus when COVID-19 was ramping up initially last year, there are a few things that are different about inpatient rotations in the context of COVID-19 precautions now. There are pros and cons to these precautions in light of student learning, however, […]
