Morning Coffee (2017)
I often arrive before sunrise and leave long after sunset, enduring unpredictable and challenging schedules while juggling multiple competing responsibilities.
Internal Medicine
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Saint Louis University
Jason Lunt has been an internal medicine resident at Saint Louis University since 2016. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in genetics and cellular biology summa cum laude at Arizona State University in 2012 followed by his Doctor of Osteopathy degree from Des Moines University in 2016. Jason lives in Saint Louis, Missouri with his wife and son.
Top 5 Reasons You Might Want to Work Locum Tenens After Residency
Every job is different, but my experiences so far have drawn a very stark contrast to life as a resident. Now imagine, if you can: you stroll into work at whatever time you want. You round on your patients, write notes and leave. The rest of the day you give verbal orders over the phone while you hang out at the beach.
Uncle and Doctor: Terms of Endearment or Old-Fashioned Barriers?
On my first day of intern year, my attending corrected me in the hallway after I introduced myself to a patient by my first name. Following this, I sheepishly adopted a habit of saying “I’m Dr. Last Name” when sticking out my hand to greet a patient. In clinic, the nurses call me “Dr. Last Name,” even when saying a casual hello. When you refer to yourself as a doctor enough times, you start to believe it.
One Code Blue
We coded the woman for forty minutes. She was forty-two, and had two kids, and was perfectly fine yesterday. Now she was gone, or going, her family in the lobby, and no one with any answers.
Please Stop Saying Thank You
You are so soft / in voice and touch, / gliding through / the mines that are set in
Flying
I have always wanted to fly / but they wouldn’t let me / until I signed a contract / built on blood and tears
Croquet in the Tall Grass
The grass grows tall outside my uncle’s home — he only cuts it when we play croquet. He blazes a crisscrossing trail through the sea of weeds to form a maze-like playing field. We push the white wickets into the earth, grab the mallets, and drop the balls to the ground.
Siloed Departments, Yet Grain From the Same Field
Early in intern year, I reached out to residents in other departments who were part of my patients’ care in the hospital. In an effort to redirect my thought patterns, I asked them how and what drives their interaction styles and their medical decisions.
GI Janes: Women in Medicine
We offer unique perspectives from three women at different levels of their gastroenterology careers.
Blood is Thicker Than Water, But What if the Water is Duke Blue?
On Match Day, you are assigned to a new family for the next three to seven years. This will be the city where you might buy your first home, the city where you may meet the people who will speak at your wedding. An algorithm shuffles you into your assigned place in a new family tree.
What Brings You in Today?
Good afternoon, ma’am. Wow, what a contagious smile you have. I hear that you are here because of a stuffy nose? They said that you tried Claritin and that did not help. You feel congested, and it’s hard to blow anything out? And no fevers, no cough, no difficulty breathing or any wheezing?
24 Weeks
Back in that operating room, I am dutifully holding onto the basin just beyond and under the table edge. What I see is what the mother would never wish to see; being a part of her care, we accept that burden for her, and in a much different way that she ever could from her intimate connection with it. It is our service to her, to alleviate that pain, to be an open support to her health and well-being. It is an acceptable cost, but a cost all the same.
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
New York University School of Medicine
Jafar Al-Mondhiry, MD, MA, is a second year internal medicine resident with the New York University School of Medicine. Originally pursuing graduate training in Continental Philosophy and Medical Ethics at Pennsylvania State University, he has maintained a thriving interest in the medical humanities throughout his time as a medical student and resident with NYU. Particularly areas of interest include issues in medical education/training, medical history, and drug and alcohol recovery.