During my third year of medical school, after the first night shift of my life, I resolutely decided I wanted to become a hospitalist. Almost a decade later, I found myself sitting at the computer at 2 a.m. during a quiet night shift. I recently had a child and had been debating whether I should completely phase out the few night shifts I still did for next year’s schedule. My eyes became a bit blurry, and my sleepy mind started to meditate on the soft glow of the computer. I thought about the third year, about how my dad used to say his only source of relief on night call was the hospital vending machine Almond Joys, and tried to make a decision. The only thing I ended up deciding, though, was to try to remember this moment, so I could draw it later.
2026 National Hospitalist Day HM Voices Contest Winner
Dr. Awan
Dr. Awan is a hospitalist and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. She is interested in how we can use the medical humanities to help us process our clinical experiences.