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Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Words of WisdomTags , , , ,

The Pop-Up Cultural Marketplace

By Dr. Vernicia Hernandez

I am an internal medicine resident at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital (UM/JMH) in Florida. The director of my program, Dr. Stefanie Brown, is committed to recruiting the most diverse class of residents, which is reflected in our residency cohort. There is strength in diversity, and it can be leveraged through a culture of mutual understanding and respect. To help promote this culture in my program, I decided to launch a project called the ‘“Pop-Up Cultural Marketplace.” The Pop-Up Cultural Marketplace project aims to foster a better understanding of the other societies, values, and cultures represented by the community at my host institution.

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A New Beginning for HIV Patients

By Dr. Ram Prakash Thirugnanasambandam

“Is it true that there is an injection for HIV now?”

This is a common question many patients have asked me at the outpatient clinic over the past six months. It felt like a dream come true for most of my patients who had been taking daily medications since their diagnosis. To me as well, it was a remarkable advancement in the treatment of this disease, which has defined much of my J-1 physician training experience thus far.

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Against All the Odds

By Dr. Poorvi Agrawal

Since I was a young child, my father taught me to dream. That is how a young me, with no medical background or exposure to the healthcare profession, dreamed of becoming a provider one day. I graduated from B.J. Medical College, which is affiliated with one of the largest hospitals in Asia, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad. I was introduced to research and the science behind it during my practice, and it was then that my dream expanded: I dreamed of one day becoming a physician-scientist. The idea of juggling caring for patients, where every patient poses a new question for science, and working in the lab to discover answers to those questions, sent an adrenaline rush to my system. It was then that I decided to pursue the dream of furthering my medical education in the United States, due to its large investment in the research sciences.

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One Day at a Time

By Dr. Carlos Andres Avila Molina 

“One day at a time.” These exact words I continue to say to myself even after matching and beginning my residency. I had always known my goal was to pursue a residency in the United States. I would read medical books, articles, and other research done in the United States to complement my learning back home. I always thought to myself: “I want to find out how they’re discovering all these new things, participate in them, and hopefully bring innovative techniques back home.”  

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Life After Cardiac Arrest: Surviving My Intern Year

By Dr. Samantha Fernandez Hernandez

“This cannot happen… I just started my career. Open your eyes. Move your fingers. Wiggle your toes. Do anything you can to let them know you’re ok!” These are the things I said to myself as I heard the commotion around me. As I felt the excruciating pain of the freshly inserted chest tube between my ribs, I heard someone say, “She might need to go on ECMO, let’s call the team.”

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