3rd Place - GHHS Essay Contest 2021

My First Hospital Experience as a Medical Student

What started off as weird pain in my right lower quadrant and a simple “appendicitis” Google search turned into an admission to the Queen’s Hospital. As an out-of-state student, I never would have guessed my first real-life clinical experience here would have me as the patient. To my luck, this happened as COVID cases were rising in Hawaii. And to make things worse, this was less than a week before my first final exam.

Going into the emergency department at around 9pm, I looked around to see healthcare workers donned with face shields and surgical masks for COVID-19 safety precautions. My thoughts raced back to the our COVID PBL case. I was trembling. Upon further questioning and imaging, my doctors admitted me for observation due to my potential risk of appendicitis.

After being wheeled into a shared room, I got hooked up to an IV pole and was put into a hospital gown. I was told that I wasn’t allowed to have any visitors due to COVID precautions. As I passed by the bathroom mirror, I stole a quick look at my appearance. No one ever warned me of how these thin hospital gowns had the strength to leave one so helpless.

I woke up to needle pricks and struggled with lugging my IV pole to the restroom. Despite my inopportune condition, I still tried to go to my Zoom lectures and kept up with studying. I had about 6 days before my first final.

In the midst of studying about the pathophysiology of myocardial infarctions, I noticed my roommate peeking her head through the curtain separating our beds. She introduced herself as Mrs. T. Although a bit hesitant to drop my books and stop studying, I could tell she needed someone to talk to. Mrs. T mentioned about how she missed going to her work and seeing her family. She shared how she was recuperating from a renal cell carcinoma extraction and how COVID added more stress to her treatment decisions. Restrained to our hospital beds and separated by a thin curtain, we kept talking and encouraging each other. We shared stories, jokes, and prayers, doing what we could to stay positive. Considering our inability to see our friends and family, we served those roles for each other. We ended up getting discharged on the same day, and Mrs. T thanked me for listening to her and wished me well on my exams. She mentioned that I have the makings of a great doctor because of my ability to set aside my own agenda to check in on her. Her words were more than enough to help me push through my final exams.

After taking my tests, I wrote about my experiences, reflecting on my physical and mental well-being. Just like Mrs. T, I had an innate desire to put my emotions into words. Previously, my endless “to do” lists—and my stubborn inflexibility—rarely gave me this luxury. This pushed me to start a student-led humanities journal within JABSOM called Mauli. Given the isolation that come with quarantining and social distancing, I hoped to give students, faculty, and alumni the platform to express themselves through their art and words, encouraging them to carve out time to reflect and share their stories. Through this journal, I hoped to emphasize that true physician patient connection can only be achieved if we first allow ourselves to be vulnerable and honest with our own thoughts and emotions.

I’ve partnered with JABSOM faculty and fellow students, and we’ve received visual arts and writing submissions from people within different walks of medicine. We’re due to have our first issue by the end of the school year and hope to potentially expand this opportunity to patients and premedical students in the near future.

What started off as a terrible experience developed into something positive. JABSOM now has a student-led humanities journal that aids to cultivate an environment and tradition that focuses on the physical and mental well-being for others and oneself.

Thank you, Mrs. T.