Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Medical students

  • Empathy for medical students

    David Jeffrey Edinburgh, United Kingdom   Medical students check blood glucose on a patient. On a windy corner of Drummond Street, not far from Rutherford’s pub in Edinburgh, there is a small bronze plaque with these words: “And when I remembered all that I hoped and feared as I pickled about Rutherford’s in the rain…

  • Observing the human condition: letters and case reports

    Thomas J. Papadimos Columbus, Ohio, United States   From time to time medical students and residents ask me to mentor them in regard to the exploration of a research topic. My retort is that I do not consider myself a researcher, even though I engage in scholarly endeavors. I tell them that I am a…

  • The Imposters

    Michelle Ponder Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States   We sit behind our desks for ten-plus hours a day … learning … the building blocks of medicine Painting courtesy of Wikimedia Freshly-coated med students across the world both revel and rot in the newfound responsibilities bestowed upon them. Suddenly, they become “the smart one” (especially if they…

  • Studying medicine

    Matko Marusic Croatia   The author studied medicine from 1965 to 1970, at the Zagreb University School of Medicine, the capital city of Croatia, in the country that at that time was called Yugoslavia. It was under communist rule (until 1990). The home town of the author is Split, on the Adriatic coast, some 200…

  • Dissecting cadavers: Learning anatomy or a rite of passage?

    Emmanuelle GodeauToulouse, France In many medical schools, dissection of cadavers remains an essential component of the curriculum, even though surveys from the past 50 years have shown this is not the most efficient way of learning anatomy. Yet the persistence of dissections suggests a different role: a rite of passage and creating an esprit de…