Clinical

Celeste Arden Swain, MD Celeste Arden Swain, MD (1 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Writer

Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco


Celeste Arden Swain MD is a 4th year OB/GYN resident at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. She attended Bowdoin College for her undergraduate degree and Drexel University College of Medicine for her medical degree. She will be starting a Minimally Invasive Gynecology Fellowship in Portland Oregon this summer. Celeste enjoys trail running, surfing, and spending time outside with her husband.




The Hug

There was a dark, empty space. Stillness, Where there should have been movement. No rhythm, no dance to take me across the screen.Floating, falling, weightless. Stillness. Silence. The heart. His heart. Still. My heart. Loud and bounding. In the small triage room, silence was my call for help. Scan, search, more gel. Maybe if I keep looking, I will find it. 38 weeks. Labor check. Uncomplicated pregnancy. Contracting painfully for the past few hours. As …

Work, Service and Health: Lessons from Veterans in the Environmental Contaminants Clinic

“A lot of the men in my unit started getting sick and never got better. And we just didn’t know. I mean, all I want is to help build a group big enough that we might finally understand more about what’s happening to us.” The Veteran’s words were measured and resolute. I had just finished introducing myself and inquired how he had learned about the Burn Pit and Gulf War Registries. During this phone call, …

Punctuality Permits Presence

It’s only 7:15 a.m.? I can finish folding my clothes before I have to leave for clinic, I thought to myself. Though the day was young, I had already been quite productive — I started the laundry, made myself breakfast, picked up around my room, and even found time to journal briefly about the day before. Surely I could check one more thing off my to-do list.

Surviving the First Month as an IMG Resident

Let’s start with a very brief introduction: Hello! My name is Aline, and I am an international medical graduate (IMG) from Germany. I used to work in Germany in internal medicine, where I have completed four out of five years of training. I would like to share my experiences, thoughts, and later also some of the processes and steps that got me here over the course of this new column.

Robotic Surgery Training in Residency: Good or Bad?

The rapid introduction of revolutionary technologies like minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgeries will exponentially increase complexity in medicine, law, education and ethics. Roboethics deals with the code of conduct that robotic engineers must implement in the artificial intelligence of a robot. Through this kind of ethics, roboticists must guarantee that autonomous systems will exhibit ethically acceptable behavior in situations in which robots interact with patients.

Along the Road: A Perspective on Medical Training in a Pandemic

It feels odd to have family members in the hospital regularly again. My patient’s wife approaches cautiously; for a second I pretend not to see her. She looks like she wants to talk and I’m afraid she wants good news I can’t give, promises I can’t make, and time I don’t feel like I have. She wants time to tell me her loved one’s stories.

Living with Congenital Heart Disease Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Patient-Physician Reflection

Thinking back to January 2020, I recalled the whispers throughout the hospital of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States, mere minutes from my home institution. Aside from my perspective as a pediatrician, I was also forced to confront my own anxieties regarding exposure to this virus as an adult living with repaired congenital heart disease.

Joseph Burns, MD Joseph Burns, MD (1 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Author

Cohen Children's Medical Center


Joseph Burns is a resident in pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York in Queens, NY. He is a native of Orlando, FL and is an alumnus of Stetson University. He is a 2019 graduate of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University in Miami, FL. His research interests include congenital heart disease with a focus on bicuspid aortic valve and Native American health. He is passionate about the arts and community engagement. He hopes to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology.