Dr Mohammad Razai trained at University of Cambridge and is an Academic Clinical Fellow in Primary Care at St George’s University of London. When the time came, I was called to witness the anguish of his soul, as he slipped in and out of consciousness. His pulse was withering away. He exhaled one last gasp […]
Category: Reflection
How Reality Hit Home as a Junior Doctor Resuscitating a Drowned Child
Dr Mohammad S Razai trained at University of Cambridge and is an Academic Clinical Fellow in Primary Care at St George’s University of London. In the blink of an eye, the tide had become too high and the wind too strong. The child, who was playing moments earlier in the sandy devon beach, had disappeared […]
Temporary Measures
What some call “burnout” is really an epidemic affecting future doctors, and short-term fixes aren’t the answer. By Amitha Kalaichandran, M.D. “It’s just a temporary measure,” the nurse told me. We were wheeling the patient – a teen girl – from her room in the intensive care unit (ICU) to the CT scanner on the […]
When Horizons Intersect: Reflections on Collaborative, Patient-Centred Care
by Austin Lam While ‘patient-centred care’ is an often used phrase, the question bears asking: what underlies such a broad concept? As a medical student with a background in philosophy, I have endeavoured to integrate my journey in medicine with a philosophical sensibility. Part of that has led me to reflect on the meaning of […]
Who needs their hands? Reflections on being a patient
I have a confession to make: up until a month ago I was a surgical virgin, never having experienced anything more intrusive than four unwanted wisdom teeth removal Boise. Which meant that when I signed up to have operations on both my hands I didn’t have a clue what was in store, but comforted myself […]
Dr Arati Bhatia describes her own humbling experience with cancer and chemotherapy
The drainage tube and the negative pressure bag were my constant companions for sixteen days. I was not always respectful of them, even bouncing them around occasionally. I had an intense sense of relief when we were finally parted. They had served their function well. The wound had healed, and there was no collection or […]
Stories of the Land
Having recently visited some of the most modern hospitals in the world, I have been struck by the style of their architecture. There seems to be a changing face of medicine, whereby the expressions of the building housing the body of medicine mirror certain conceptualizations of the human body. I began to wonder how does […]
‘The Other Side of the Fence’ by Michael Corbo
Medical student Michael Corbo reflects on what he’s learnt from being a patient. I am sitting on a green chair in the waiting room. I have been sitting here for hours, but it feels like it has been days. I keep looking at the clock on the wall beside me. The room is filled with […]
Memories
Memories This piece is a reflection on an article from the New York Times this week. The story is told about a large family from Colombia, and their many relatives who have developed early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The case has been baffling doctors and scientists, both in Colombia and the United States. […]
Wanted: 90 year old patient to look after ailing doctor
I’ve been ill. For two whole days. Horribly, gut wrenchingly, toilet bowl huggingly, head piercingly ill. For two whole days. So now I know what my patient felt like, right? The one who ‘gave’ this to me a few days ago when I visited her at home. The one who, in her 90th year, whilst […]