One Hell of a Year

Hey everyone! My name is Neha and I am halfway through my second year. It’s been one hell of a year—educational, exhausting and rewarding.

Neha Kayastha, MS2

 “Ahhh there’s my girl! I was waiting for you.” This is how I was greeted every afternoon when I would visit one of my very first patients, Ms. B. She would then ask me to “cut” the TV and would motion for me to pull up a chair or sit at the foot of her bed. One afternoon, I played her favorite 60s song on my phone as she sang along with a hoarseness in her voice that comes with 86 years of age. By the end, we were laughing so hard we both started tearing up. Thirty minutes later, I was holding her hand as she mourned the loss of her two sons. 

Every time I think of Ms. B., I remember Mr. V. He is a very sick man with nobody in this world to advocate for him. I never got quite the warm greeting from him that Ms. B used to give me. He usually remained under his blankets and often refused to talk to me. He once said, “I don’t want to die, I just want a break from all of this. And I want coffee.” That we could manage. Maybe we could even do something more. My intern (who had a mind-boggingly long list of things to do at the time) and I tracked down a wheelchair so we could take him outside. Mr. V bummed two cigarettes off someone outside and one of them somehow burned through his hospital gown (whoops, I think I was supposed to keep that detail to myself). We ended up staying out for over an hour watching the sky change colors as the sun set, Mr. V. finally enjoying something and me trying to avoid the way the wind was blowing smoke into my face.

Getting to spend this year out of the classroom and really connecting with patients has been a privilege. My patients have already taught me so much more about this profession than my textbooks ever could have. Like I said, it’s been one hell of a year. 

Doc of Ages

Jonah Orr, MS1

When springtime arrives at Duke Med, it brings with it many great and wonderful things: blooming flowers in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, the untamable excitement of March Madness, and most thrilling of all, the Duke Med Student Faculty Show (SFS). What, you may ask yourself, is the Student Faculty Show? I, Jonah Orr, MS1 at Duke Med, will answer that question. In short, it is a multi-act, interdisciplinary, musically inclined, fundraising showcase spectacular directed, produced, and acted entirely by students (with a few faculty cameos sprinkled in). In very short, it is some of the most fun you can have as a student at Duke Med. 

       

     Preparation year’s show, “Doc of Ages” (based on the Broadway show and subsequent movie-film “Rock of Ages”) began two and a half years ago, so I am told, with the writing of the script. I did not become aware of it, however, until December, when I, along with some 30 other students from all different years at Duke Med, auditioned for the show. It was a no pressure, no experience required audition, so for someone like myself with little singing and even less acting experience, I was comfortable going out for this new adventure. Everyone who came out got a part, and the best part was, we could choose how involved we wanted to be. Do you have a very needy pet at home? Do you need to hit the gym for 3-4 hours a day, every day? You might think that this would keep you from getting involved, but I assure you, if you still yearn for the opportunity to tread the boards in Durham, there is a place for you in the SFS!

            From January (or as it is better known by Duke MS1s out there, “Brain and Behavior Month”) until March, I had the privilege to get to know my schoolmates, tell jokes with them, and take a break from the intensity that is medical school, all while singing songs like “Duke Doc Hero” (Juke Box Hero), “Sweet OB Gyn” (Sweet Child of Mine), and “Like a Surgeon” (Like a Virgin). All puns intended, all the time.

            Our months of work (but mostly fun) culminated in a one-night-only event during Medical Families Weekend, with all proceeds from ticket sales went to benefit the Durham Crisis Response Center. Helping our community? Rocking out? Showing off your acting and singing chops parents and friends? Can it get better than that?

            Yes. It can.

            “How?” you might ask.

            I’ll tell you.

Advisory deans in KISS make up.

From Right to Left: Dr. Goodman, Dr. Wigfall, Dr. Drucker, Dr. Haynes

When I chose Duke Med, I did so because of the tight community, because the students here are indisputably happy, and because the professors genuinely care about their students. All of this is reflected so strongly in the phenomenon that is the SFS.