Small by small [A book review]

Popular though they may be, there has often been something missing from the overseas medical memoirs and dramas I so hungrily consume. Rosamund Kendal’s Karma Suture and Angina Monologues are two of very few novels that hit the nail on the gritty metaphorical head; but then she went and became a popular author who branched

Can I Be A Depressed Doctor?

Ever since I wrote about how going for therapy was my biggest gift to myself*, I’ve met with a few medical students to talk about the topic of mental health. Many of them were worried about their ability to make it through med school with their illness. Many were worried about the viability of a

DOC-U-MENTALLY: The Film [Review]

I had the pleasure of watching this film at a screening organised by JUDASA this past week, and I was glued to the screen (projector) from the opening shot. So was the rest of the audience. 

Mental Health Begins With Medical Students

I really believe that a medical student who is comfortable with therapy, becomes a physician who is comfortable with therapy; one who is comfortable with addressing the mental health of their colleagues, and one who can identify when their own mental health is spiralling out of control – and then do something about it.

FAQ: Will I Get Into Med School?

My fist response: don’t let me stand in your way.

My second response: be realistic.

Dear Medical Student: Med School Is Not Worth Your Self-Harm

Dear Medical Student: medical school is worth a lot of things. I can tell you that because I went from hating medical school to loving being a doctor (well, on most days).

But it’s not worth that.

A Song for Medical Students, Interns, and Basically Everyone

By now this is an old song, but I remember last year I thought: this is the song I want to dedicate to my class. I don’t know if I’ve always followed its advice. Have I grabbed every opportunity to LIVE? Perhaps not. But I’ll keep working on that. I keep saying this about medicine:

Dear Graduates: You Should Be Supporting #FeesMustFall

As alumnae, you are the elders. You should be safeguarding tertiary education in this country. Who are you sucking up to by decrying these protests? Which lecturer are you still trying to impress?

Weekly Whine: Small Luxuries

We have learned to adjust to these circumstances, because being angry every day makes the working environment unpleasant. But sometimes it is the small things, the absence of tiny luxuries, that plunges one into despair.

I Hate Med School – And That’s Okay

I hated the selfishness I saw festering in my colleagues. I hated noticing how our passions died, how we began to work just hard enough to get through the day. Dreams clinical and humanitarian prowess fell by the wayside, and we shuffled forward towards that degree like zombies past their expiration dates.