Hubris

“I think he’s just anxious about it,” the medical student told me a few sentences into the presentation.  His patient had had a spontaneous pneumothorax, a leak of air between the lung and chest wall, a few years ago, and now he had some uncomfortable feeling and was worried about a recurrence.  I hadn’t heard the full story … Continue reading

53 Year-Old Black Male

“53 year-old black male,” the medical student begins his presentation of the patient’s case. “53 year-old man,” I correct him. It’s not his fault, we are taught to do this in medical school. We are taught to refer to people as “male ” or “female,” but every time I hear someone say that I think … Continue reading