Professional Development

The Thousand-Mile Journey to Medical School

By: Valencia Henry At the age of 16 years old, I left the country of Barbados where I was born and raised, to pursue my passion of medicine. I had to leave my friends and family behind, while adjusting to a new country, culture, school system and living alone. I made this sacrifice because I...

Always look for the rainbow, the path to resilience

By: Vivian Concepcion The process of becoming a physician is a long and exhausting process in which there are a lot of ups and downs. From my point of view it doesn’t require you to be the smartest or most brilliant person in the room; but to be able to be a physician you need...

Building Resiliency Amongst Medical Students Facing Daunting Burnout Statistics

By: Aquila Lesko As physician burn-out has mainstreamed in medicine, it is only natural that researchers have turned their attention to analyzing the mental well-being of the youngest members of the healer sector: residents and medical students. Burnout describes a work-associated syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism and a low sense of personal accomplishment[1]. The...

Under the Surface: A Narrative on Overcoming Pre-Medical Burnout

By: Toma Gina BS, Koscielniak Lily BS, Patwoary Nargish BS, Martinez-Castro Karen BS, Karoubi Susan BS, Sellner Erin PhD – Arizona State University West Campus Introduction: I was lost my first day of college. I had no idea where to park or where classrooms were located. Fifteen minutes late to my first class, I searched...