The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Medicine was not just about what we did for patients—it was about how we walked with them through life and death. A typical day for me might be a patient's most vulnerable and life-defining moment.

Leonard Kuan-Pei Wang reflects on participating in an honor walk, a solemn tradition where hospital staff, family, and friends gather to pay their respects to a patient donating their organs.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the February 2026 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at https://academic.oup.com/academicmedicine.