An aspiring physician on reconnecting with an empathetic caregiver from her youth
At her White Coat Ceremony at Tufts University School of Medicine in August 2024, Fiori reunited with Michelle, the ophthalmic technician who had helped provide care during Fiori's frequent trips to the New England Eye Center as a child.
When I was a toddler, I was referred to a New England Eye Center specialist. That meant multiple five-hour roundtrips from Maine to Boston each year. It also meant surgery as a five-year old, being unable to open my eyes for a couple of weeks afterwards… It was all a little bit terrifying.
But, for as long as I could remember, Michelle was there, at the hospital as an ophthalmic technician. A bossy toddler, I wanted to understand what I was experiencing; Michelle was always patient, explaining everything.
Michelle knew eyedrops scared me, so she came up with a technique for me: she’d put the drops on my closed eyelids and say, ‘When you’re ready, open your eyes and the drops will fall in.’ She modeled giving agency to patients and working with patients to find solutions—both of which will be essential to my own approach as a physician.
When I was 16, I no longer needed care in Boston. I lost touch with Michelle, but I never forgot about her.
When I returned for medical school, my mom secretly invited Michelle to my White Coat Ceremony. I was overjoyed when I saw Michelle that afternoon. We both burst into tears.
Though your care provider may have a strong impact on you, you’re just one of the many patients she sees. That’s why I was so honored Michelle came to Tufts for my ceremony. I want to be a physician who goes on the whole journey with my patients, and I owe part of that pathos to all that Michelle—and many others—taught me about patient care.
Michelle and I will be spending more time together soon. And who knows? Maybe we’ll work alongside one another as colleagues during my clinical years. That would be a joy I could never have imagined when I walked these same hallways as a patient throughout my childhood.
—JuliaKay Fiori is a first-year medical student in the Maine Track Program at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Our Tufts is a series of personal stories shared by members of the Tufts community and featured on both Tufts Now and Instagram.
