A Study On A Patient On The Room Out Of The Window

From the moment they began their journey at Harvard Medical School, their entire life became medicine and medical related topics. Constantly studying for school, exams, board tests, and for their future, stress was no stranger. “Stress refers to physical and psychological responses to overwhelming stimuli… Burnout is actually a combination of factors” (page 115, DePru). Stress leads to burnout, and many medical professionals face both roadblocks in their careers. In Doctors’ Diaries the students stress did not subside when the graduated, it only increased. Once they were placed in their intern positions, adjusting to their new jobs brought on more stress than some could handle. The doctors had to learn to be modify their lives and their expectations in order to stay on top. In example, Jane learns to be a positive influence for her patient’s in her inner-city hospital for she fears that she might be the only flicker of light they see for awhile. Jay Bonner and Tom Tater display the greatest burnout and stress. Tom cannot seem to find his place within the hospital and even doubts his own abilities. Tom is a hard worker and he is more driven than his peers. When Tom is fired from his ER job, he realizes how burnt out he is with the system, not the

Dr. Vincent Lam is a profound Canadian physician and writer. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures is his award winning novel that speaks on the reality of what it’s actually like to be in medical school aiming to be apart of a medical profession and the difficult expectations students must face while still managing to stay sane during those challenging years of their lives. It’s a collection of short stories partly based off of his experiences in the medical field, following the lives of fictional characters Ming, Fitzgerald, Chen, and Sri as they endure medical school and later work as doctors. Dr. Lam does a remarkable job at incorporating unique and compelling characters with intriguing storylines who face common and extraordinary moral dilemmas that seem to shape their overall characters. Lam introduces themes of love, fear, tradition, drugs, death, self doubt, duality, etc.

After a week working in the hospital, I went on home visits with nurses, doctors, nutritionists, psychologists and a monk. The first patient lives in a shabby wooden house. A great contrast could be seen between the room that the patient lives in and the rest of the house. “The patient is diagnosed with prostate cancer with bone metastasis. The room is specially built for him by the hospital and his family. He won’t live long.” A nurse told me. On another visit, I met a man with esophagus cancer.

For as long as I could remember, I have seen my father rushing to the hospital in a white coat, answering pagers in the middle of important family conversations and attending night calls even in the most terrible weather. I had always wondered; what could be so important that it belittles every other responsibility in his life. It was only after many years of anguish and protests that it finally made sense to me. This defining moment of realization occurred when I first met a patient in his office. I saw how the gratitude in the patient’s eyes can provide a sense of fulfillment that triumphs all other feelings in the universe. It was human life that was most important. Being a doctor does not make you a mere healer but also gives you the responsibility of a caregiver. I had never felt more proud of my father and that was the day I felt the urge to relive this feeling many times over. It was there in that moment that I decided to pursue a career in medicine.

I don’t come from a background that is heavily associated with medicine, nor have I ever really been immersed in a medical setting. As a result, I do not have a first-hand experience of what it is like to practice medicine. However, since my early years,

I stood with a look of wonderment as I watched the beehive of physicians, radiologists, nurses, and paramedics collaboratively save a man’s life. The scene initially appeared chaotic with scrubs flying around and doctors swarming all over, but in actuality the team was extremely single-minded—as if driven by instinct. I was amazed by the speed and conviction with which the attending doctor made his decisions; his training and experience was evident with every move. Seeing the tearful wife thank the doctor highlighted the impact of his work—his actions had saved a husband and a father. I left admiring both the competency of emergency physicians and their ability to touch lives in such a dramatic way. While my enjoyment of high school biology sparked my original inclination towards medicine, my first hand experiences in the hospital deepened my motivation and left me steadfast in my decision to become a doctor.

In the novel, No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine by Dr. Rachel Pearson, the author, Dr. Pearson, encounters several patients and experiences several personal challenges that builds her role as a doctor and helps her realize the social injustices in the healthcare system. With the personal encounters she faces with her patients, her family and her peers, Dr. Pearson learns that there are several flaws in the healthcare system that is beyond the doctor’s power to fix. She also learns that the education she receives progressively builds as she meets new patients and learns about their individual cases. She begins to understand that the nature of her education is surprising because one cannot fully understand something unless they have experienced it. Consequently, Dr.

The medical field has a wide range of opportunities that many plan to seek. Some, and hopefully a majority, pursue this career in order to better society one healthy solution at a time; however others simply pursue it to exceed parental expectations or to sit in a higher tax bracket. Personally, my reason for pursuing this career, through St Mary’s outstanding program, is altogether unique and abnormal to say the least. Normality never made an impact on the world. I, instead, stray far from the beaten path.

Is medicine an art form or a social science? Lu Hsun relates this concept in this story by bringing opposite

It was dark and there were so many noises around me as I slowly woke up and recalled I was in a hospital with abdominal pain. I then heard a familiar voice say “Sweetie, wake up! Wake up!” I opened my eyes to a blurry image of my mother. “Shhh… don't make any noises. We're leaving now. Just act like you are fine. We'll try to sneak out before anyone notices”, my mother said. She explained later that she could not afford to pay hospital bills, so we had to leave before any physician checked over. Living in Vietnam, I was filled with resentment towards their healthcare system, as people were rejected treatment and left to perish in the streets. As a child, I therefore never considered medicine as a career. My spark for medicine was unforeseen until I went on a high school field trip at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Virginia. Hovering over the glass ceiling of the operating theater, I watched doctors performing coronary bypass surgery while witnessing the heart beat stronger and stronger. At this magical moment, I was overwhelmed by the power of medicine to save people’s lives.

After beginning medical school, I quickly realized that for every one question we could answer there were about a dozen that could not be answered. I delved even deeper into my studies, determined to learn all I could to help my patients to the best of my ability. Suddenly, two of my close family members died, and with this my determination to find answers increased again. Something else awoke within me during the morning of these loved ones, as well. I truly understood what families were going through while watching their loved ones suffering, and my empathy, compassion, and bedside manner became even stronger.

Melvin Konner, in “Basic Clinical Skills”, uses a first person point of view along with some bits of humor in order to establish a more relatable narrator. He discusses several topics such as the relationship between doctors and their patients, the healthcare given in hospitals, and the role that the physician plays in different contexts of life.

I wandered throughout the hospital hallways. An unfamiliar place to me, thus I began to explore. It was 9 am and some patients had already lined up to see their physicians. I was shadowing Dr. Waterman, a family medicine resident. I followed her on the morning patient rounds, she would introduce me to her patients, asking for their permission for me to observe. As the shadow, I tried to remain imperceptible but observant. That day, I got exposed to different medical disciplines. In one case was an 83-year-old Caucasian female with dementia. She had come with her two children who broke down in tears when she couldn’t even remember who they were. Dr. Waterman’s response transcended beyond patient care and got families involved. She would report

As I said before I used to be a cancer hospital nurse. I love my job but I feel tired. Too much pressure on my shoulder when I was working. In Death and Anger on Everest Jon Krakauer mentioned, Sharpas help mountaineers to carry food, medicine, oxygen bottles, and equipment. However, they put their own lives in great dangerous without any supports (Krakauer, p19-27). People will remember the mountaineers, not Sharpas. I think nurses and Sharpas have something in common. Nursing cancer patients is a hard work. You have to focus on every detail while work without any tiny mistake. One mistake would kill your patient. The number of patients is growing rapidly, and the number of nurses is inadequate. That means you have to undertake more work and responsibility. On the other hand, the medical environment in China is becoming strained. That makes me upset and scared. I come here not only for knowledge but also for time. I want to give myself some time to make me become better and stronger enough to face all the problems I might meet in the

I became captivated by the opportunity to apply my knowledge of the biological and chemical sciences in a way that one day may save a life. Though my interest stems from my experiences, my passion to pursue this field lies elsewhere. Growing up in a family of low socioeconomic status in an area with few sources of acceptable health care, I saw my parents struggle as they aged to provide my siblings and I with a proper education. There were times they would ignore their own illness in order to save funds for an emergency for us. Observing this, I knew that no matter how difficult of a path I picked, regardless if it was pharmaceutical sciences or the medical field, my parents had concurred greater difficulties. Growing under such conditions, I began to realize the disparities in quality of treatments my parents received compared to those who of a higher socioeconomic status. This motivated me to pursue a career where I would be given the chance to offer care to individuals through unbiased views. Of course, there are a plethora of careers that can fulfill this but medicine has presented itself as very unique to me. It promises a lifestyle devoted to empathetic patient care, direct patient interaction, and a boundless opportunity to learn and experience something new. As the end of my undergraduate experience is forthcoming, I look forward to taking on the next phase of my life, endeavoring to join the ranks of tomorrow’s