Resident Physician, Contributing Author
University of Miami/Jackson Health System
Ankur Vaidya is a current PGY3 resident in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at the University of Miami/Jackson Health System in Miami, FL. He intends on practicing combined adult and pediatric hospital medicine upon graduation. He attained his BS in Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and later earned his MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
During my medical school journey at the University of Maryland, I created this photography series as an introspective representation of my experiences and to portray some of the unseen challenges and realities of medical training that, for example, are not seen on “medfluencer’s” pages — some feelings, experiences, and stories I wish I would have known prior to embarking on this career path.
My husband and I were pregnant with a child / Then we found out something wild. / I am a carrier of SMA / And this affects me in almost no way.
why do we live? do we struggle in vain / for the dream of a world, of a life without pain? / we suffer in spades, without cause, without gain
At the turn of every corner / I will be found out / You will see / The fraud in me
Don’t you forget the first day of life, / You had turned upside down / And a tight slap upon your backside / Even to get you to breathe!
A flicker on the screen of the heartbeat, the first glimpse of my baby, I cry at the possibility of new life // An empty ultrasound, no heartbeat, a young mom cries; discovery of death amidst life.
Graduation gown: shiny, matching cap / She looks up / With aspirations
I have a child, two months old / Who needs me, more than you need me. / I hear you crying, but it is her crying.
I spent years of my life preparing for you / before I even knew the ways you would make my soul come alive, / How much you would spark my curiosity and give me purpose
University Hospital was erected some years after Man’s Greatest Hospital — with the vision of its leadership — to satisfy the needs of many. Namely, the financial supporters, trustees and patients of course. The hospital’s motto was to “Make hospitals great again.”
Older people aren’t sweet, precious or cute, / They’re wisest among us, without dispute. / A habit of ours is to condescend / When talking to people near life’s end.
I am a 25-year-old resident physician of anesthesiology /
My sister and I are bonded by genetics, anatomy and biology /
I am a senior in high school at age 18. / My sister and I are bonded by love and everything in between.
Guest Author
Uwharrie Charter High School
Rachel is a senior at Uwharrie Charter High School with plans of following her oldest sister's path to become a physician. Recently, Rachel was inducted into the Beta Club and served as a junior marshal. By the time she graduates high school, she will already have earned an associates degree from the numerous college courses she has taken simultaneously with her high school classes. Additionally, Rachel is a highly awarded competitive dancer who is passionate about pointe ballet and lyrical acrobatic dance. As someone with an extensive past medical history, born at 27 weeks gestation weighing in at 1.5 pounds, required eight weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, diagnosed with sagittal crainiosynostosis which required cranial vault reconstructive surgery, and then developed hemolytic uremic syndrome at age 1, Rachel has not only been immersed in, but also has always respected the medical profession. In the same way that physicians saved her life countless times, she plans to attend medical school and focus on the care of pediatric and neonatal patients.
