Little Professors
Nine months of sabbatical / I meet them in the airport lobby / of the newborn nursery.
Pediatrics
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Jefferson Medical College duPont Hospital for Children
Douglas “Mac” Jones is a PGY1 resident in pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College duPont Children’s Hospital. Hailing from Idaho with a stopover in the Midwest, he is passionate about ruffling feathers and radical public health. He finds joy in cooking, writing, and squishing babies. He is still trying to impress his wife.
Toxic Stress and Consequences of Child Separation
For children who have been reunited with their parents, though, the damage may have already been done. Let’s discuss some of the key consequences associated with parental-child separation in detail, starting with the notion of toxic stress.
What Remains
By anyone’s standards, from a medical perspective, we did everything right. But all I could think about is how much we hurt this boy by saving his life. How we saved his life just enough, not to kill him, just to take away every meaningful part of human existence.
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.
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.
Lessons in Medicine, From the Car Dealership
I distinctly remember my drive to the hospital for the first shift of my residency five years ago. It was a night shift, a fact that only added to my trepidation. My brain bounced frantically back and forth among a random assortment of topics of which I lacked, I felt, sufficient knowledge, but which knowledge I felt sure I would imminently be called upon to use in a critical situation.
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.
Seeking Strength in Residency: Find Your Baby to Feed
“What part of what I just said did you not understand?” The fellow patronizingly chastised me in front of the entire medical team. Her tone and body language felt demeaning, almost as if she was more intent on embarrassing me than caring for the patient.
Light Upon the Waves
The waves beat; / a cold, relentless torrent. / You stand against them / taking the impact
Year One
“Goddamn doctors,” says a voice down the hall, slightly muffled through the curtain of the exam room where I lay. “What now?” comes another voice and they both grow louder, batting back and forth gripes. “They make the worst damn patients, know exactly what’s wrong with them and exactly what to do and you’re not doing it quick enough.”
Parting Soon
How do you enjoy that / Which will be gone — sooner than someday?
Fellow Physician Contributing Writer
University of Minnesota School of Medicine
Ellen Ingolfsland is a neonatology fellow at the University of Minnesota. She does basic science research in retinopathy of prematurity. She loves the Twin Cities and exploring their lakes and paths with her family.