By: Iain Drew, MD

Then, the facts were made clear: that he was not going to survive without a ventilator, that even with mechanical ventilation the large tumor that had eroded his lung made infection more hospitable and increased the risk of sepsis, respiratory failure, and shock.

Image Credit: Buckeye Muse, illustrated by Ethel Franklin Betts

By: Sophie Goldman, MD

I have a responsibility to my patients but also to the community that shapes—and is shaped by—their struggles and wins.

Image Credit: Sophie Goldman, MD

By: Henry Slone, MD

With my gloves on, I checked everywhere for evidence of a heartbeat, perhaps hidden under his still-warm skin. I counted the seconds until I reached thirty as I fumbled with the series of numbers.

Image Credit: Deviant Art, by deemuun,

By: Ally Waldron, MS3

I first met her in the ICU where she was recovering from a suicide attempt. Her wrists were painted in a web of silver scars that trail up to her elbows. She clung to her mom’s hand as if when she let go, she might drift away in a sea of hospital sheets, tubes, and leads.

Image credit: Matthew Matthysen, https://artincontext.org, 2023

By: Julia Parker, MS3

Any attempt to break her out of her loop of despair was met with resistance. Her eyes would often drift away when she talked, averting your gaze if it was too strong.

Image credit: ZiaBellaCreations, via Etsy Art, accessed 2024

By: Teyhana Rounsavill, MS3

Family medicine physicians may often find themselves frustrated, overwhelmed, or utterly burnt out. It is not uncommon for them to be the first-line of contact when a patient needs help, though often the last to be thanked. They are first hand witnesses to the many different struggles, mistakes, and vanishing acts patients perform.

image credit: Salvador Dali, "Persistence of Memory," 1931

By: Emma Fenske, DO

As I finish my intern year, it is unclear to me if I would have been able to succeed this year without the mentors I have been humbled to meet this year.

Image Credit: Emma Fenske

By: Aniqa Azim, MD

I walk into the room and see him then, folding an intricate Origami crane with a gum wrapper. He is a thin man with sallow cheeks and well-worn skin, and a heavy furrowed brow. I watch his calloused fingers folding, creasing, and unfolding this tiny paper, all with his eyes closed.

Image Credit: Tarkka, Mechanical Engineering Design Basics, 2019

By: Emma Fenske, DO

Yet, I learned that Alaska's vast wilderness, unconnected by the roads I was used to, contained many secrets. What felt, at first, antiquated and rural helped cultivate beauty and tradition.

Image Credit: Svetoslav Stoyanov, Singulart, 2011