Adventures in Acrylic Pouring

By Betsy Cha, M1, Class of 2023

 

Cygnus (3’x4′, Fluid acrylics)

Blue Skies

J.R. Lott, M4, Class of 2020

What am I to do if the skies are gray?

If I paint them blue does that erase their nature?

What if the skies are meant to be gray?

Would I be wrong to hide their color?

I Tried to Change a Patient

Ben Harstine, M3, Class of 2021

I tried to change a patient,

instead they changed me.

I crashed into a brick wall, you see.

I poked.

I prodded.

I begged.

I implored.

Anatomically Correct

By James Vargo, M.D., PGY6

I’ve never really considered myself to be an artist.  I grew up enjoying pencil sketching and took some high school classes, but compared to the talent of the true creative and artistic minds around me, expression of my right brain felt forced.  This hobby, like many, was pushed to the side by the ever expanding time commitment to medical school and residency.

Jack Ayres, Class of 2023

Everyone has a story, and each story is unique, intimate, and powerful. Our Narrative series invites you to step inside someone else’s life by reading their story, as told in their own words. Readers, please come open-minded and ready to engage in one of the many stories that makes our community complete. The following is the narrative of Jack Ayres, a first-year medical student at KUMC.

Two Americas

Ben Harstine, M3, Class of 2021

I showed up to group today, a young man in a sweater.

One man was there, tattered sweatshirt and Chiefs ball-cap.

Two others walked in, both gay but not together.

An old man followed, grey hair, torn jeans.

Finally a woman, young and anxious,

joined our little commune.

A Philmont Experience

John Price, M4, Class of 2020

The night was young when the radio crackled to life.  We couldn’t believe our luck. They told us the search and rescue missions wouldn’t start for another week, but here we had someone that couldn’t continue their hike. Eager to test our skills, we quickly gathered our supplies into the truck ambulance.  When I look back on all my clinical experiences, the Philmont rotation outside of Cimarron, New Mexico, is certainly my favorite. Established in 1938 as Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp, Philmont Scout Ranch has become a center for high adventure and training.1  For emergency medical technician students and medical students like me, this site offers a unique clinical training in wilderness and prehospital medicine high up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rockies.1  Below the peaks in basecamp, the Philmont Infirmary is the central hub for this medical four-week sub-internship rotation, and it all began on my first night.

  

R.I.P. White Coat

Miranda Machacek, M4, Class of 2020

I laid my original white coat to rest at a beach in Auckland, New Zealand after my final day of an international clinical rotation.  White coat disposal ceremonies are a tradition I must confess I have greatly anticipated. I had grown to resent that coat and what it meant.  Its characteristic short length was an immediate signal to any healthcare professional in the hospital that I was a student – perhaps to some savvy patients as well.  I frequently felt the weight of the “student” label while walking through the hospital. The real or imagined looks of patients, nurses, residents, and attendings that said I was a temporary time-waster at best and utterly incompetent at worst.  

Homeward Bound

By Amani Raheel, M1, Class of 2023

“The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma.” – Patrick

Cross Stitching: Family, Fundraising, and Fun

By Rachel Holder, M1, Class of 2023

Three Cats at the Winter Window (Cross stitch)