She asked me, “Is it okay to laugh?” My patient Linda, who was only 12 weeks pregnant, had just had a chorionic villus sampling, or CVS. During this procedure, a small piece of placenta (chorionic villi) is removed via a long, thin needle inserted into the woman’s uterus, and then the sample is sent to Read more
Medicine
Researchers tend to rely on scientific journals—sometimes specific, narrowly oriented ones—to obtain the latest updates on progress in their fields. Although many of us listen to, watch or read mainstream news, we seldom consider that the mainstream press can catalyze scientific inquiry. While driving to work one morning in August 2012, I heard a news Read more
The third year of medical school is the clerkship year, which means it’s learn-to-wear-your-white-coat-convincingly year, and figure-out-where-the-best-late-night-food-options-are year. But it’s also try-to-understand-what-kind-of-doctor-you-want-to-be year, and that decision is a stressful one. Here’s what you should know about this decision: It’s not actually about the organ systems you like to think about. (Very few people go into Read more
I am not a doctor. I haven’t spent much time working in hospitals. That made working at a malaria research ward in the African country of Malawi a challenge—and an experience that continues to inspire me. I’m a fourth-year Ph.D. student performing my thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Johanna Daily. What drew me Read more
Editors’ Note: Almost 500,000 premature babies are born in the United States each year, and those infants often struggle during their first hours and days of life. To help offer comfort to both “preemies” and their frequently exhausted parents, Einstein medical students banded together to form the Cuddling Club, a group of more than 30 students Read more
Editors’ Note: According to the Pew Internet Project, 72% of U.S. Internet users have searched online for health information during the past year. Globally, there are 1.1 billion people on Facebook and 218 million active monthly Twitter users. Given the explosion in digital communication (with an estimated 500 million tweets a day), it’s no surprise that more Read more
