Another recommendation in the informal curriculum is to regularly acknowledge patient strengths. Physicians are specifically trained to look for problems. The purpose of diagnosis is to identify what is wrong with a patient’s health. As a consequence, we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about what is ill, incorrect, out of order, defective. …
Author Archives: Maria Yang, MD
The Oral Exam (X).
Most of my postal mail consists of the following: letters from various organizations and charities soliciting donations letters from schools I have attended soliciting donations recruitment postcards from random medical practices throughout the nation letters from the AMA, requesting that I become a member (they send out at least one letter a month; I wish …
The Oral Exam (IX).
Before I left Boston a few hours later, I changed out of my suit and into jeans and tee shirts. Some friends, The Beau, and I met up at a mall that was clearly designed in the 1970s. The Beau had thoughtfully purchased a Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi) for me; I purchased a cookies and …
The Oral Exam (VIII).
Really, the most prominent emotion I felt as I walked out of the building was relief. I didn’t care during those moments if I had passed or failed; I only cared that I was done. As I had mentioned earlier, there are arguably many flaws with this oral exam (live patients are not standardized, the …