Tag Archives: medical student

The Interpreting Moth

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by Tanya Magana   The poem is written from the point of view of a medical student watching a patient undergo a skin biopsy. After the procedure, the student senses that the Spanish speaking patient is a bit confused about his disease and the procedure. She helps bridge the communication gap by translating. The patient walks away having a better understanding of his diagnosis, as well as no longer feeling embarrassed to ask questions. Slipping in quietly, I am the unwanted mothNestled in safely between the corner of two wallsTheir brown eyes dart at me to shoo me awayStay in your corner, stay out of everyone’s way The man’s hair … Continue reading →

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Tattoo

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a poem by Nat Mulkey* Sharp pain greets my shoulder My shoulder sighs, This again. Your hand has a flag, Of your country The IV at the center, poorly placed Covers it in blood. I wince, breathless Skin getting red and raw This one is bigger than the last Only halfway done. Near your ribs in calligraphy Names of your children Pulsating above your Nervous heart. Hours pass The outline is complete. Shading and color still to do Anticipation My hand trembles. A finger drags along your abdomen That is where they will cut And enter your body. Your hand reaches I needed this To stay, feel alive My voice … Continue reading →

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Don’t Get Caught Listening to Your Patient!

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The pupil and the teacher, one just a little ahead of the other.  William Osler Don’t Get Caught Listening to Your Patient! D. Micah Milgraum, MS4, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Abstract: A fourth year medical student blunders while learning not to take everything a patient says at face value. Keywords: pityriasis rosea, medical student, tinea, listening, medical lingo, pimping, embarrassed, ringworm, patient presentation, lesson learned, herpes, dyshidrotic eczema During the fourth day of my first dermatology rotation, I enter one of the clinic’s patient exam rooms to meet a 42 year old man sitting on the examination table holding his palms out towards me. “What brings you into clinic today?” I ask. … Continue reading →

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Psoriasis: A Poem

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Psoriasis by Mara Feingold-Link PDF: Feingold Psoriasis The bronze plaque on Lake Champlain’s bridge is missing a nail. The empty pit in the top left corner is the only indication that it has seen countless cycles of pouring rain and flaring sun. On this dry afternoon it sits proudly above a school of mooneye fish swimming upstream toward clearer, cooler waters in early April. In their haste they scrape their flattened bellies along rock-lined riverbanks. To swim so fast is rash; beneath those silvery scales lie hundreds of miniscule eggs, pinpoints of new blood waiting to be born. The mooneye head toward a quiet inlet where patches of watermilfoil float … Continue reading →

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My Summer on Kauai

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by James Foong In the summer of my third year as a medical student from Malaysia, I had the opportunity to shadow Dr Paul Esaki, a primary care physician who practices in Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii. I arrived in Kauai late at night tired after a few hours of flying (but many hours of waiting after a last minute flight change). Dr Esaki picked me up in a weathered 4×4 truck (I was expecting a conservative sedan for some reason). Right off the bat, there was warm hospitality and he gave me a lively talking commentary of the island while on route to the beach house where I was to stay. … Continue reading →

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