Yearning for Better Opportunities at Home
Home became a dark / place, and I miss the feeling / of warmth on my face
Tag: Art in Medicine
Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Ohio State University
Joan Nambuba is a first-year resident physician in emergency medicine at The Ohio State University. She received her medical degree (MD) in 2022 from The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. She also holds Master of Science (2016) and Bachelor of Science (2013) degrees from Duke University. In her free time, she enjoys watching Duke basketball, traveling, exploring nature, and capturing candid photos of loved ones.
The Life of a Medical Student: A Photo Essay
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.
Levity
At the turn of every corner / I will be found out / You will see / The fraud in me
The Newborn Perspective
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!
Along the Road: A Perspective on Medical Training in a Pandemic
It feels odd to have family members in the hospital regularly again. My patient’s wife approaches cautiously; for a second I pretend not to see her. She looks like she wants to talk and I’m afraid she wants good news I can’t give, promises I can’t make, and time I don’t feel like I have. She wants time to tell me her loved one’s stories.
Stargazer
Graduation gown: shiny, matching cap / She looks up / With aspirations
A Second Home (2019)
Scared and frightened, we came in as interns / We had the knowledge, but we needed direction
A Story of Artistic Reclamation (2019)
Here I am, come and get me! A playful provocation we have all used with much more than literal meaning as a mantra. But going through the rigors, chills and metaphorical bacteremia of medical education, I lost some of the pieces that made me confident to be myself.
Fellow Physician Contributing Writer
Johns Hopkins University / National Institutes of Health
Dr. Michael Barbato is a pediatric hematology oncology fellow at Johns Hopkins University/National Institutes of Health. He is specializing in epigenetic research and considering a bone marrow transplant clinical focus. He is interested in advocating for maintaining professional and personal life balance in medicine and physician burnout. He is particularly passionate about the arts and how they can be used as expressions in medicine. He can be found on Instagram @mibarbato.