I am Eugene H Kim and I am a student, recorder, and gamer.
Currently, I train as a first year psychiatry resident (PGY-1) Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, PA and will finish my residency in 2023. I completed medical school through the University of South Florida, SELECT class of 2019.
I have two major projects, On the Education of a Physician and the Four Prompts On Death Podcast.
On the Education of a Physician
Since the very first anatomy lab of medical school, I have written weekly reflection On the Education of a Physician. Every Sunday, sometimes a Monday and rarely a Tuesday, I reflect on my experiences in medicine. This project has changed greatly as I’ve progressed through my training: the first two years of medical school are primarily academic with lots of studying and musings on life. Then, from third year and beyond, I’ve written about my clinical experiences: seeing patients and learning about their stories.
Further, I’ve found love and grown a family along the way. I met my partner, Mackenzi, during the first year of medical school, we moved in together during second year, we got married third year, and we birthed a wonderful son, Joonsu, during our fourth and final year. In my writing, I reflect on my experience as a new father attempting to balance clinical learning with presence in my family.
Four Prompts On Death Podcast
I utilize four prompts to drive conversations regarding the end of our life cycle:
I am…
Before I die, I want…
When I die, I want…
After I die, I want…
I’ve interviewed about 100 humans (I’ve stopped counting at this point) On Death, ranging from 19 years old to 79 years young. I began this project during my second year of medical school, an attempt to keep my conversational skills sharp as I studied endless powerpoints and anatomical diagrams. Since then, this project has changed and grown dramatically.
One of my guests, Alana Karma, suffered a horrific car accident a few months after I interviewed her: spending weeks in the ICU and lucky to be alive. In the wake of that catastrophe, her friends and family poured in and listened to our conversation, hearing her words regarding what she wants before she dies, when she dies, and after she dies. Before these events, I had no idea the power and potential of these interviews. Then, I re-interviewed her about a year after the accident, utilizing the same prompts, but with a powerful life experience to fuel the conversation.
A new conversation posted every other week available here, on iTunes, or your favorite podcasting app.
Eugene H Kim 