This Is Real
Not me, I thought.
Not me, I thought.
The middle-aged woman whined her way through minimally toxic chemotherapy.
The old man insisted on being driven by his house on the way from inpatient to VA rehab…
“On medication for life? No way!”
We, too busy to teach and really listen…
It was spring.
After many days of rounding…
Alone.
My 20s, training…
I imagine they were depressed before it all began, but unaware.
They say we are great, trustworthy…
Epic inbox, emails, pages, requests…
When you say you want to be a physician like me…
After this year+ of…
Flashbacks of a fourth-grade insect lesson…
COVID. 2020.
Hemoptysis. Pregnant. A mystery.
Suddenly, there’s a virus that stops everything, an earthquake, and a toddler saying, “I have no breath OR steam.“
She is looking out the window…
A miracle?
All your life…
A three-year-old tried to make her mother look beautiful…
The last time I was in this room, a patient took her last breath.
Dear Reader, Our learners continue to inspire our stories collected in this second issue of Voices from the Faculty. Medical students’ eagerness “to connect and learn,” Dr. Backman writes in “Mindful Mentorship,” enables each of us to “relearn.” Our lives also are enriched by our patients. Even after 40 years as an oncologist, Dr. Buys …
Continue reading “2021 | Voices from the Faculty, Introduction”