Hopes and Fears, Dreams and Tears ― A County Memoir

Every destination has a journey and every journey has a story. The County traces the story of a young medical student full of idealism as he starts his training. Yet lacking in knowledge, he embarks on a confusing journey full of Hopes and Fears, Dreams and Tears at a County Hospital similar to one that most doctors in United States train at today. Using humor to deal with triumphs and tragedies, both personal as well as those involving his patients, the young doctor in training finally achieves wisdom decades later as a full-time medical educator teaching at the same County Hospital. Having come full circle, he finally realizes that perhaps all he ever needed to know to be a successful healer he already knew as a naive young medical student.

Dr. Niraj Mehta is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. After completing his medical training at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, he served as a full-time medical educator and Associate Program Director in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital (LBJ). For dedication and commitment to education, he has received numerous faculty teaching awards over several decades. Nicknamed “House” after the medical doctor of the famed television series by his current and formal students (having even received his own walking cane from former graduates), he continues to inspire and teach at The County, currently working at LBJ's “bigger brother hospital” Ben Taub. Still full of Hopes and Fears, Dreams and Tears, he continues to learn from his two newest teachers: his daughters, Natasha and Poonum. He currently resides in Pearland, Texas.