Title of piece: Medical School Sketches
I can only speak for the first two months, but my favorite part of medical school has been the clinical encounters. During most of the clinical encounters and plenaries, I like to sketch a quick portrait of the speakers. “Medical School Sketches” is a refined compilation of my favorite doodles and commemorates our guest speakers. Hearing patients describe their experience of living with an illness has helped me appreciate this education even more. No matter how many times I’ve learned about sickle cell anemia, I had not grasped the human side of the disease until a family described the fear and uncertainty they experienced when their newborn son was diagnosed with the condition and their relief when their son was cured through a bone marrow transplant.
Title of piece: Anatomy Lab
Cadaver lab is an interesting experience because I used to care for people close to death when I worked as a hospice caregiver. For one patient, I sat next to him as he died. Gradually, I saw his breathing become less frequent until his chest stopped expanding altogether. As I waited for the appropriate party to arrive over the next hour, I felt the warmth leave his skin, his muscles become rigid, and his skin turn a sullen color. The line between life and death felt blurred.
During the first day of anatomy lab, I was struck by how much our cadaver resembled this patient and felt reluctant to make the first cut. In this piece, I wanted to juxtapose the two experiences to highlight the similarities between my patient at the hospice who was in his last hour of life, and our cadaver who I was expected to dissect. As I’ve taken a more specimen-centered view, I’ve become much more comfortable learning from our cadaver. However, when I catch a glimpse of his frail hands or sunken face, I am reminded to appreciate our donor’s life.
Anusha Mamidipaka is an MS1 at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Images also by Anusha Mamidipaka.
