Strength, Resolve and a “Bedazzled Tuxedo”: Graduating Medical School in Zimbabwe

Written by Adam Ackerman ’14
Every medical student makes sacrifices and faces some form of adversity to become a doctor. Whatever sacrifice I made to get to this point pales in comparison to the imposed hardships this entire class was forced to tolerate. I honestly don’t know if I would have made it through under these circumstances. It’s hard to imagine the daily inconvenience and uncertainty they faced, but the strength and resolve the class has shown is a common theme I’ve found in the more inhospitable corners of the world. Whether it’s Haiti or Guatemala or Zimbabwe, people endure.

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“The Greatest Privilege:” Spending Time with a Dying Patient

Written by Sarah Gardner ’15
I went to see him every single morning, and pretty much just sat next to his bed and let him talk. Asking him the usual review of systems questions, outside of whether he was comfortable or not, seemed a waste of time. He was struggling with trying to make a decision: Should I go through chemotherapy? Should I get radiation? Should I do nothing? I dutifully listened to him, confident only in the fact that I had none of the answers.

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A Lesson From Within: Palliative Care with the Noyana Singers

Written by Marissa Mendez ’15
Dying is such a sacred time in one’s life. As future physicians, I believe that one of our roles will be to guide our patients into this journey of death so that when their time comes, they don’t leave with pain and suffering. This role certainly shouldn’t involve running away because we ourselves can’t deal with the thought of death or saying goodbye to a patient we may have become attached to. In their end, it shouldn’t all be about us.

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