Behind the hospital curtain: The reality of med school through a fifth-year student’s eyes

CapeTalk's John Maytham interviews Sarah Stein, a fifth-year medical student at the University of Cape Town.

Listen below:

Many of us have watched Grey’s Anatomy, letting it shape our ideas of what it means to work in the medical field – high-stakes surgeries, unexpected deaths, romance in the corridors, and a blur of drama and intensity.

But the real world of medicine is far less glamorous.

For fifth-year medical student Sarah Stein, the experience is defined more by long shifts, limited resources, endless studying, and endurance.

Death, while a frequent subject in textbooks, takes on a completely different weight in practice.

The emotional impact of witnessing it firsthand can’t be learned in a lecture hall.

Stein’s first encounter with a patient death was jarring.

She says that while the medical staff continued their routine, she felt the sharp contrast between the clinical detachment expected of doctors and the deeply human experience of loss.

"They explained to me that not being empathetic and not giving every patient their all is a self-preservation strategy."

- Sarah Stein, fifth-year medical student – University of Cape Town

Stein believes there needs to be more honest and accurate preparation for what medical school and life as a doctor truly entails.

It demands enormous personal sacrifice and is built on a culture that normalises relentless overwork, she says.

"It's not this glamorous life."

- Sarah Stein, fifth-year medical student – University of Cape Town

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.