Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: medical student essay contest

  • The fall

    Max KutchHanover, New Hampshire Gazing through my night vision goggles (NVGs) at the green outlines of my teammates, we began to silently enter our sniper hide. My breathing labored under the heavy weight of my battle gear and the thick, humid Iraqi air. As I scanned the path we had just patrolled, I was jarred…

  • The middle zone

    Alfred DavidPort Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria What sacrifices must be made in order to practice medicine? Choosing to study medicine is never a choice that should made lightly. The scope of knowledge in its various disciplines is vast, requiring an immense amount of dedication and attention to detail. Finances, social life, and a portion of one’s…

  • “You will be alright”

    Swetha KannanAjman, United Arab Emirates “Will my daughter be alright?” asked the anxious mother, trying to hold back her tears. A young girl in her early twenties, so petite and frail that her body seemed to be like a sole pearl in a large sea. Her worrisome eyes met mine, screaming the same question—“Will I…

  • Wounded healer

    Brandon MuncanStony Brook, New York Since Plato, the notion of a sufferer helping the suffering has been proposed as one of the more skillful ways of helping a patient through an illness.1 Although this concept has been discussed since the time of Athenian philosophy, the term “wounded healer” itself was only coined in 1951 by…

  • Dr. David Hartley and the benevolent AI

    Erik AndersonHouston, Texas Question posed to ChatGPT: What is the “Golden Rule”?ChatGPT answer*: The “Golden Rule” is a principle found in many different cultures and ethical traditions and often phrased as “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”1 Presently, artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT are exceptional at reiterating information, but do…

  • A day in the team room

    Kirin SaintAnn Arbor, MI Today is Monday, May 2. The day starts before the sun has risen, before pink-lavender hues warm the earth, as two internal medicine interns slink in, yawning and bleary eyed, careful not to spill their coffee onto their well-worn scrubs. The residents stride into the room, greet one another, lament the…

  • The white-collar antisocial personality

    Richard ZhangFarmington, Connecticut, United States A frequently overlooked topic in psychiatry is “antisocial personality disorder” (ASPD) or “sociopathy,” specifically as it manifests in higher socioeconomic backgrounds and thus evades recognition. I once cared for a well-spoken, charming patient who practiced for years in a prestigious profession. While in his professional capacity, he embezzled thousands of…

  • A historical review of Crohn’s disease

    Anagha BrahmajosyulaBangalore, Karnataka, India Crohn’s disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, may cause inflammation in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus, with a predilection for the ileum. While much is known today about the underlying pathology of the disease, historically, this condition was thought to be a form…

  • Words

    Riley ScherrIrvine, California, United States Patients in the lobby think I speak Spanish very well. Although I momentarily feel validated, those compliments would mean more if I did not know I was repeating the same conversation cyclically, drawing from a carefully prepared arsenal of questions and responses and an accent I parrot from the farmworkers…

  • Soul power

    Shannon Adams-Hartung Chicago, Illinois, United States Soul food has deep historical, cultural, and economic roots in the African American community. Much of the cuisine affiliated with modern-day soul food dates back to the era of American slavery. Before the fourteenth century, the African diet was primarily vegetarian. Meat was used sparingly in comparison to various…