Light Upon the Waves
The waves beat; / a cold, relentless torrent. / You stand against them / taking the impact
Featured
Fellow Physician Contributing Writer
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Pamela is currently completing her fellowship training in Pediatric Critical Care at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She has always used writing as an outlet and was inspired at a young age by personal experiences to join the field of medicine. With a keen interest in technology, she completed her undergraduate training at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, earning her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. She then went on to complete her medical doctorate at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. In pediatric critical care she has found the perfect melding of her interests in technology and medicine and hopes to be a part of designing the critical care unit of the future. Pamela believes that in medicine especially, reminders of the humanism that inspires people to begin the journey of medical training are essential to becoming the type of physician we all would want treating our own families.
Physician Burnout: Moving From Solutions to the Problem
The unexpected suicide of a graduate of our surgical residency program — nearly seven years ago — still reverberates off the walls of Stanford Hospital. While he didn’t end his life on the premises (that happened during fellowship in another city), the effects of his tragic death subdue the residency to this day
Humor
Humor… / it’s what saves me / keeps me from dying inside
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.”
“Isn’t that just for psychiatrists?”: An FAQ for Addiction Medicine
Several months ago, I was asked by an attending about my future plans. “So I can pimp you,” he said. I told him that I am pursuing further training in addiction medicine. “Isn’t that just for psychiatrists?”
The Health Provider Paradox: Depression as a Resident Physician
“You need to just take care of yourself” — a phrase I’ve heard often over the past few years. What does this even mean? I thought it was silly and laughable.
ON
Lunch hour on a Thursday
in the skies above
Windy City
If You Don’t Have Time To Meditate For An Hour
Prior to starting medical school, I meditated for an hour every morning. There is a Zen proverb that goes something like this: “If you don’t have time to meditate for an hour everyday, you should meditate for two hours.”
Suicide
It’s been about three years since Jacob committed suicide. In the high turnover microcosm of general surgery residency, there aren’t many who remember him.
The Old Man in Bed 3
Medical alert, paged — STAT to Bed 3 / The nurse comes a runnin’ — we need an MD!
Screening: A Haiku
A haiku about screening for colon cancer.
Thy Sweet Practiser
When do-sed dram or weigh-ted dusts / no remedy impart
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
University of Missouri School of Medicine
El Salvador born, Canadian raised. Graduate of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine. Currently a Family and Community Medicine third-year resident at the University of Missouri.