A Whole New World: A Medical Student’s Reflection on the Moments Before Surgery for Breast Cancer

Abstract

Medical school clerkship offers third year medical students multiple opportunities to acquire clinical experience through real patient interactions and integration into the healthcare teams of different specialties. As part of the general surgery rotation, medical students are invited to scrub in to assist with surgeries—a chance to simultaneously gain medical knowledge while developing technical skills. In what is often an impersonal experience for most patients, students are encouraged to consider the patient’s perspective throughout their surgical journey from the pre-operative to post-operative stages. In this reflection, a third year medical student discusses her experience on the moments before breast surgery. From the point of view of a breast cancer patient, she reflects on the impact of a mastectomy on a patient’s identity and comments on the importance of empathy in helping a patient grapple with their unique illness experience.