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.
Housestaff Wellness
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Dr. Henry Wong is a PGY-3 emergency medicine resident at VCU Health in Richmond, VA. He earned his medical degree from VCU/MCV and his undergraduate from the University of Virginia. His clinical interests include difficult airway management and critical care. In his spare time, he enjoys tennis, kayaking, napping, and playing with his wiener dog.
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.
My Thoughts on Intern Year, Expressed Through a History & Physical
My early idea of what it meant to be a intern came from a combination of pop culture physician idols (i.e. ER) and a handful of actual medical experiences. A dive headfirst from a shopping cart at young age earned me my first trip to the emergency room.
consci/o: A Column on Health Disparities and Social Justice
All physicians are taught to communicate with a fundamental language of healing. This column is a collection of reflections on how I learned this fundamental language and an homage to the teachers who taught me.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat
The novelty of becoming an intern has worn off, the fresh sheen of excitement on each shift, the crampy belly pain as I walk into a critical patient’s room, the rush of adrenaline as I try to intervene on a patient slowly or rapidly dying in front of me. Get up, go work, and sleep. And not much more.
Gentle Into That Good Night: Death in the Emergency Department
The message, like all earth-shattering pronouncements, came with the softest of dings. As I was walking out from my house into the cold December air for a morning shift in the emergency department, my parents messaged me about the passing of my grandfather.
A Resident’s Observations on Interviewing
In the field of medicine, one thing is for certain: you are always interviewing. Whether it is for medical school, residency, fellowship or your “first job” as an attending, these skills are indispensable. During my career, I have interviewed on 39 separate occasions in over 150 distinct interview sessions. Here are some of my observations.
On The Other Side: Resident Physician as Patient
It really doesn’t take much to remind you just how human you are. I utilize the adjective “human” because most believe, both inside and outside of the confines of the medical community, that physicians are entitled and even expected to behave in somewhat robotic ways, with the long hours and constant absorption and dispensation of medical knowledge that often comes with performing the job and doing so well.
Success in Intern Year: Momentum over Minutiae
I got an email recently from one of the faculty at my program who prompted us to each evaluate the question “what does success in intern year look like?”
Residency Prepares Us: For the Better or the Worse
Twenty minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Fifteen beats per minute. Seven nurses. Five doctors. Three paramedics. Two anesthesiologists. One transcriber and me. And then the eerie silence of the trauma room as the death was called.
Stop Telling Younger Generations To Avoid Becoming Doctors
His eyes were as wide open as his mouth as he slowly placed his beer on the bar without looking away from me. Making no effort to wipe the thick foam from his upper lip, the man continued to stare in disbelief, “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Emory University
Darin is originally from Atlanta and went to medical school at Tulane in New Orleans. He then moved back to Atlanta for an emergency medicine residency at Emory and Grady -- one of the busiest trauma centers in the country.