What I Learned in Medical School: Personal Stories of Young Doctors

235 Pages·2004·1.75 MB·English

by  Kevin M. Takakuwa, Karen E. Herzig, Joycelyn Elders

Praise for WHATI LEARNED IN MEDICAL SCHOOL
“This vibrant collection celebrates the diversity of medical trainees’ experiences
and brings to the forefront voices too often marginalized in medicine. A testa-
ment to the changing face of the profession, this volume reminds both healers
and patients that medicine’s strengths arise from the rich variety of its practi-
tioners. What I Learned in Medical School is the very real humanity of these
young physicians.”
SAYANTANI DASGUPTA, M.D., M.P.H., author of Her Own Medicine: A
Woman’s Journey from Student to Doctor
“This fascinating collection of experiences underscores the need to implement
much higher levels of cultural competency in our medical schools. The book
has tremendous educational value and could be used as a catalyst for change.”
MAUREEN S. O’LEARY, M.B.A., R.N., Executive Director of the Gay and
Lesbian Medical Association
“This book is a must-read for all humanitarians, but especially for medical stu-
dents of color. The stories in this book speak to the soul and heal while inspir-
ing the reader.”
FRANK YONG CHOO AN, M.D., President of the Asian American Physician
Association of Southern California, South Bay Region
“What I Learned in Medical School should be mandatory reading for all medical
school deans.”
OMEGA C. LOGAN SILVA, M.D., F.A.C.P., Past President of the Amer-
ican Medical Women’s Association
“What I Learned in Medical School looks at medical education through the eyes of
a diverse collection of students who challenge many of our assumptions about
how medicine is taught and practiced. The essays ask us to think about how we
measure and treat such differences as race, socioeconomic status, and even
weight as part of the identity of the physician—and how a larger, unspoken
professional identity has often marginalized many of its members or even
excluded a greater richness from its membership.”
SUZANNE POIRIER, PH.D., Professor of Literature and Medical Edu-
cation, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
“What I Learned in Medical School is a ground-breaking coming-of-age-in-
medicine book. Each contributor offers a personal and often critical narrative
at the intersection of personal identity and the rigidly demanding professional
sphere of medical education. This book says more about issues of professional
development, and how institutions both thwart and encourage it, than any I’ve
read. These are the issues medical educators should be talking about during
whitecoat ceremonies.”
DELESE WEAR, PH.D., coeditor of Educating for Professionalism: Creating a
Culture of Humanism in Medical Education
“This is an insightful and revealing examination of medical education from the
point of view of the student. Fascinating and well written, it represents an
invaluable addition to the historical and sociological literature on medical edu-
cation and should be of great interest to general readers as well.”
KENNETH M. LUDMERER, M.D., author of Learning to Heal: The Development
of American Medical Education
WHAT I LEARNED IN MEDICAL SCHOOL
WHAT I LEARNED IN MEDICAL SCHOOL
PERSONAL STORIES OF YOUNG DOCTORS
EDITED BY
KEVIN M. TAKAKUWA + NICK RUBASHKIN + KAREN E. HERZIG
WITH A FOREWORD BY JOYCELYN ELDERS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY . LOS ANGELES . LONDON
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2004 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
What I learned in medical school : personal stories of young
doctors / edited by Kevin M. Takakuwa, Nick Rubashkin,
Karen E. Herzig ; with a foreword by Joycelyn Elders.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-520-90162-2
1. Physicians—Anecdotes. 2. Physician and patient—
Anecdotes. 3. Medical education—Anecdotes.
4. Medicine—Anecdotes.
[: 1. Education, Medical—United States—
Personal Narratives. 2. Students, Medical—United
States—Personal Narratives. 3. Cultural Diversity—
United States—Personal Narratives. 4. Prejudice—United
States—Personal Narratives.  18 555 2004]
I. Takakuwa, Kevin M. II. Rubashkin, Nick. III. Herzig,
Karen E.
705.48 2004
610'.71'1— dc21
2003006769
Manufactured in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of  ⁄ z39.48–1992 ( 1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
To the thousands of family members, friends, teachers, mentors, colleagues,
and patients who helped sustain the individuals in this book.
Our thoughts are always with you.
And to the American Medical Student Association for its continued work
to advocate nationally on behalf of medical students and patients.
CONTENTS
Foreword, by Joycelyn Elders / xi
Introduction / xv
PART ONE
LIFE AND FAMILY HISTORIES
1
Becoming an American / 9
Eddy V. Nguyen
Melanie’s Story / 19
Melanie M. Watkins
Pavement / 23
Nick Rubashkin
Whispers from the Third Generation / 31
Paul M. Lantos
Borderlands / 37
Marcia Verenice Casas
Poison in My Coffee / 47
Heather Goff