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The Texas Academy of Internal Medicine is pleased to announce the submissions for the first Annual On Being a Doctor Creative Writing Competition for Medical Student and Associate ACP Members.

Code to Joy by Kerem Ozer, MD, TAIM Associate Member, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

Note: Dr. Ozer's essay was selected as the most outstanding of the 2004 submissions. All attendees of the TAIM Annual Meeting enjoyed Dr. Ozer's oral presentation of his essay during the Plenary Session on Friday, Nov. 5th.

The stage is empty now. The only thing standing out among the unoccupied chairs is a double bass lying on its side. Soon, the stage will be full and the hall, too; except for a few seats here and there, among them F7. They are playing Beethoven's ninth tonight, her favorite; always a source of inspiration. They start coming on the stage from the wings, some waving at an old friend in the audience. continue reading ...

The Add-On in Room Five by Sonya Merrill, MD, TAIM Associate Member, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas

Finally I had reached the last fortnight of my surgical clerkship. After floundering through vascular and general surgery rotations and feeling useless during a month of surgical subspecialties, I had found my feet during a two-week stint in the anesthesia department. I was gratified by the interest the residents and attendings took in teaching medical students and was relishing the opportunity to participate more personally in patient care. Today was a hectic one: there were at least four patients on the schedule and a possible add-on in room 5. continue reading ...

Strange Bedfellows by Christopher King, MD, TAIM Associate Member, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

My third call as an intern and three-thirty a.m. sidles up, a dutiful companion. There is a palpable glumness in the air at that hour, a dullness of mind, a semi-conscious state of being that betrays the 24/7 fluorescent daylight of the windowless emergency room. I can smell the night air, ferried in by two paramedics and an empty stretcher. Both nod and smile in my direction -- a silent salute between fellow journeymen. But the fleeting scent of recent rain will be my only brush with the outdoors this night. I savor the smell of ambulance exhaust before heading to the floor. continue reading ...

Two 100 Dollar Bills by Carlo M. Valentino, TAIM Student Member, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio

At my school, they teach us to ask, "Anything else?" "Is there anything else you are experiencing?" "Are there any other symptoms?" "Is there anything you may have forgotten to tell me?" The theory is that patients will many times forget to mention important details, or just overlook something they think is trivial. We are taught a lot of things at school. This question, however, is supposed to be instrumental in bringing out hidden information. "Is there anything else?" continue reading ...

When the Healer Needs to be Healed by Juan Rivera, MD, TAIM Associate Member, UT Southwestern, Irving

Immediately upon laying eyes on Mr. R, I knew he was deathly ill. But, he was smiling…After carefully examining him and reviewing labs, it was clear to me that he was in full-blown sepsis. He was supposed to be admitted to the MICU, but the unit resident called me, the on-call CCU resident, for assistance with his atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. In retrospect, I am glad she called. He was admitted to the CCU and started on broad-spectrum antibiotics, aggressive fluid resuscitation, and rate control therapy. As the infection took over his body, the blood pressure continued to drop steadily. I started to get nervous. I stepped out of the unit and spoke to his wife. continue reading ...

In the Morning by Jasmine Dao, TAIM Student Member, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio

In the morning
In the morning
Tomorrow's morning
There will be born in
Another love to life
Sings a girl turned mother,
To the child in her womb,
Alone in the yellow papered room
With blue flowers. continue reading ...