Category: Personal Narratives
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Shaggy dog licks patient
As a very young doctor, a very long time ago, I had to support myself by making house calls as a locum or for an agency. The calls often came at night, often from a worried-well patient. Finding the right house was frequently challenging, especially in the suburbs, where people used fancy, elegant names instead…
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Morris Blechstein steps away
Eli Daniel EhrenpreisSkokie, Illinois, United States Of course, it was always assumed Morris Blechstein would take his final breaths sitting in his office, surrounded by scientific papers, studying his favorite medical literature to the end. But Morris made a surprise announcement. He was leaving because he always wanted to become a “good soccer dad” for…
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Laughter is not the best medicine
David FosterNew York, New York, United States Even as I spent hours every week sitting in lectures, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars on my Chinese medicine education, I still never figured that I would become an actual acupuncturist. I was a comedian, first and foremost. I had a decade of New York performances under…
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A belated reunion
A yellowing page of uncertain date from a Chicago newspaper tells the story of an eleven-year-old girl who had her legs crushed and her pelvis broken in an automobile accident. At the hospital, all experienced surgeons said the case was hopeless. But a young surgical intern undertook her care, visited her every day, and dressed…
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My second birthday—or date to die?
Laura ClaridgeSaugerties, New York, United States I was relieved when the date arrived, and my husband, Dennis, moved me into my next month’s home on the eighth floor of Memorial Sloan Kettering, where we both marveled at the difference between this unit and neuro-oncology, one floor below. No noise, no voices reverberated off the walls;…
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Marshmallows
John Graham-PoleClydesdale, Nova Scotia, Canada The writer E.B. White accused our society of being suspicious of anything non-serious. Thank the stars, then, for humour. I had a teenage patient with advanced cancer tell me after I had given him some none too hopeful news: “Lighten up, doc, I don’t need solemn doctors around me.” A…
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Beyond the scope
Nathan CannonHershey, Pennsylvania, United States Hushed hum of voices. Open, dimly lit room. Slit lamps gliding, knobs turning, lenses gently flashing. Clinical officers hard at work, diagnosing, assessing, treating. “Next!” I am seated beside the attending, a retina specialist. Together, we have been seeing his patients, who have had a remarkable array of corneal transplants,…
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Your worst experience with a physician
Matthew WootenHouston, Texas, United States As a second-year medical student, I was supposed to interview patients and physicians about their experiences. Specifically, I was supposed to help find ways for physicians to develop better relationships with their patients. When trying to find patients to interview, I thought: Who would have more experience with medical care than…
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The art of war and medicine
Xinxin WuOmaha, Nebraska, United States War and medicine are two vastly different fields, yet they share a common goal. In war, soldiers risk their lives to defend their country; in medicine, healthcare professionals work to heal the sick and prevent illness. Both groups deserve our gratitude and admiration. Hai Wan Wu was the name of…
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The night the emergency room staff vanished
Edward TaborBethesda, Maryland One of the strangest events of my medical career occurred on a spring evening in 1975. It was during one of my outpatient months as a pediatric resident at a large medical center in New York City. During the day, I took care of infants, children, and adolescents in the pediatric clinic;…