Apartment 5 on Dolphin Drive

Something special happens when you work in the field. It speaks to you. It calls on the bounty of your generosity. It coaxes you to the precipice of your creativity, and it demands that you become sharper, savvier, and more self-possessed. If you listen, then in return you find it affords you the greatest gift life can offer: the privilege of having touched someone’s heart. Medical student Noor Ahmed reflects on the special year-long connection forged with a patient during her time in the field as a health outreach worker. This essay placed second in the 2024 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the November 2024 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.

Om Podcasten

Meet medical students and residents, clinicians and educators, health care thought leaders and researchers in this podcast from the journal Academic Medicine. Episodes chronicle the stories of these individuals as they experience the science and the art of medicine. Guests delve deeper into the issues shaping medical schools and teaching hospitals today. Subscribe to this podcast and listen as the conversation continues. The journal Academic Medicine serves as an international forum to advance knowledge about the principles, policy, and practice of research, education, and patient care in academic settings. Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are the guests’ alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the AAMC or its members.