A first year medical student’s stress and anxiety begin to take physical form as she navigates the first year of medical school.

History of Present Illness portrays the initial, daunting, years of medical school from a medical student’s perspective. Inspired by the director’s own conversations with classmates and meeting with advisors.

Director’s Vision

History of Present Illness portrays the initial, daunting, years of medical school from a medical student’s perspective. Inspired by my own conversations with classmates and meeting with advisors. I wanted more than anything to capture the way stress and anxiety compound the profound sensation of isolation that medical students feel on a daily basis. Medical school advisors, dealing with their own personal troubles, are often powerless to help students confront our unique issues. At the end of the day, medical students are expected to somehow push through and continue studying, because as we are told, “it only gets harder.”