Dr. Germ

The field of medicine persists through time due to its prevalence: humanity will always succumb to illness and injury in which healthcare advancement and technology will remedy. Though one might believe that the future of medicine centers around a cure, the future of the field depends on making healthcare more accessible to everyone, to alleviate illness as a whole.  Research, being the forefront for medical in...

For many medical professionals, women’s pain doesn't even exist.  Doctors across the globe are expected to consult and treat patients of all ages, genders, and backgrounds; however, it has become apparent that a specific demographic has been subject to a refusal of trust regarding their testimony of symptoms. Women, and specifically, teenage girls, are placed in immensely dangerous positions of having a...

Many people are very vocal about their wishes regarding death and brain death. Brain death occurs when a person loses brain function in which they will not be able to regain consciousness or breathe without support. This usually happens as a result of head trauma, a complication in which the person loses oxygen, or as a result of another traumatic event.  Brain death is considered one of the wors...

The current structure of health-science education within the United States throws potential medical professionals into the deep end with a do not resuscitate order; it deters future students from pursuing the field. This consequently minimizes the pool of future care providers.  As a student who has aspired to join the medical field since I was in elementary school, I’ve noticed that over the y...

Monitors rapidly beeping, blood splattered across the floor, and the surgical team moving at the speed of lightning. Most people imagine surgery to be a hectic and even frightening scene, like something out of Grey’s Anatomy. While there may be a level of chaos within emergency surgery, standard operating rooms actually display a calm environment in which trained professionals are able to work swif...

In normal conversation about the medical field, one overarching idea usually arises: joining in the field is a lot of pressure. This is in no way incorrect; however, the pressure does not just begin when visiting a patient and having their lives be placed in one’s care. In the current day and age, it is necessary to be as perfect as one can be from the start of one’s education.  In clinical pra...

Most of the cells in the body are able to regenerate, and constantly promote growth in the body. With the exception of neurons in the brain, cells are constantly being produced and specialize in functions of the body in order to help sustain a person’s life.  Stem cells are the source in which specialized cells originate from. These cells can be obtained from bone marrow, blood, and even from emb...

I’ve always felt immersed within clinical education, all the experiences throughout the four years I’ve participated in medical courses in high school. However, I have never actually come into contact with any patients. Being a training professional and also a minor poses this situation: clinical practice is limited by the formalities of law, as most facilities prohibit minors working with patients. ...

“It makes sense to be a nurse when you’re a woman, you can’t start a family until you’re 30 if you go the physician route.”  Last week one of my classmates mentioned that a physician she had been following had advised her to pursue nursing if having a family was something that she prioritized. Her older sister is graduating medical school this year, and my classmate also plans on pursuing a do...

STAT. CC. BP.  After taking two years of Medical Terminology, I had felt properly prepared to enter clinical rotations and be able to speak the “language of medicine” with adequate proficiency. I had studied the abbreviations, made flashcards for the suffixes and prefixes, as well as memorized the endless root words relating to the human body. Communication within medicine however, goes beyond ...

Medications can be prescribed for daily, weekly, or monthly use. Depending on the condition that the medication aims to treat or supplement, medication dosage can have a significant impact on daily life. Being unable to receive or take medication in a smaller dosage can be dangerous for many who depend on medication daily.  Following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, certain medications have been...

911 is the number that almost everyone has memorized from a young age.  For emergencies, like when someone is unresponsive, or there is a criminal matter at hand like an active shooter; emergency services can be contacted with this number.  On the other side of the scene, the ambulance is propelled into action in order to bring aid to whoever is in imminent danger or harm. Stocked with medical...

Blood, urine, and seeping wounds are all part of the job in health care. While these bodily fluids, and sometimes bodily solids do not waver my confidence or cause me external disgust, working in an environment that constantly feels dirty is a mental hurdle that many, including myself, struggle with.  Hemophobia, the fear of blood, is surprisingly common amongst healthcare workers, affecting 3-...

“Going to the doctor made me feel worse.” Usually, when one visits their primary care physician or goes to the hospital with any ailment or injury, they expect to return home feeling healed, or at least better than they did before. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, as in any environment, mistakes are bound to happen at some point.  Mistakes within the medical field, known as ma...

Where are you feeling pain right now?  For many people, the answer is simple, nowhere. Some might add that they have a headache from not drinking enough water, or that they’re a bit sore from working out the previous day. For others however, pain is more complex, and is a constant in their life.  Chronic pain and chronic illness refer to the notion that certain people do not recover from illness or have conditions where their sympt...

Cigarette ads stopped circulating television and media only 50 years ago. Prior to these 50 years, many people leisurely smoked, enjoying the act as an indulgence rather than understanding the harmful truth of smoking. That truth being that every cigarette smoked contributed to the deterioration of one’s lungs and body on a systemic level. Could there be daily indulgences in today’s age that co...

Medicine centers around the human body and treating it when functions are impeded by systemic issues. Whenever thinking of healthcare, or caring for others, many immediately think of people helping other people. The new age of medicine, however, includes immense technology, in addition to hands-on care.  In a routine sense, when stepping into a physician’s clinic, or even a hospital, many st...

Physicians carry a lot of weight. When one thinks of the medical field, their mind immediately goes to doctors, used interchangeably with physicians. Young kids want to become a doctor when they grow up. Doctor, on the other hand, is a title that many strive for, but may not achieve. Eight years of medical school, with an additional four years of a specialty fellowship are carried within the title of do...

“We are in a recession, no one’s job is really safe, you know?”  The patient in the emergency department was apologizing for being on the phone while myself and the registered nurse I was following were in the room attempting to collect information about her condition.  The RN laughed and simply said, “Well, us in healthcare will always be safe.”  This resonated with me, because ...

As I’ve begun to rotate through multiple hospitals, I’ve noticed that each day, each experience is vastly different than the previous. Not just in terms of patients, or what cases I see, but based on the different medical professionals I follow, or encounter.  Depending on the hospital, each floor will usually have its own care team that focuses on the specialty of the floor. This can be divi...

The inner workings of hospitals have always fascinated me. Over summers in middle school I would binge watch TV dramas set in hospitals such as Grey’s Anatomy or Scrubs. As years passed though, hospitals became less of an elusive labyrinth for me, but rather a building in which I recognized handled very complex aspects of human life.  For many, hospitals can be a source of anxiety; a lot of visits being c...

Innovation, and subsequently all revelations and advances in the medical field, begin with research. From elementary years, students in science classes are encouraged to participate in scientific experiments, noting observations on chemical reactions, or even hypothesizing an outcome. Clinical research is the basis of the medical field and how patient care is able to persist through time.  Considering how most medical methods and devices...

As red and white lights appear on houses in the neighborhood and cheery music fills the chilled air, another season, less festive, dons society. During the latter weeks of November, and all throughout the Christmas season of December, influenza makes its rounds across the country. This year as well COVID-19 and strep throat have been plaguing many.  Beginning around Thanksgiving, sickness begins to emerge, along w...

Germs cover every surface in the world. Each expanse of skin, and even every microscopic piece of dirt. The intrigue lies in how many people perceive germs. To many, the word itself has a negative connotation, germy. Some may cringe at the idea of contracting illness from an invisible organism, however, many germs aid us in daily life.  Germs can be identified as the four prominent microorganisms: ...

Pills, syrups, and vaccines. Prescription drugs are vital to the world as we know it. For many people, their only method of survival is based on these medications; if they do not receive them and take them as prescribed: they could die. Other times, medications can be fatal if an individual is allergic, or if they take an incorrect dosage. The potency of prescription drugs holds the fate of a major...

Prior to Thanksgiving break, I spent my last two shifts at the nursing home that I had rotated at for six weeks. At this facility I was able to interact with patients for the first time, and learn the importance of care on a comfort level, beyond clinical. I was able to become confident in conversation as well as in my own clinical skills, however, upon returning to my CNA class this week, I reali...