Should Birth Control Pills Be Over-the-Counter?
Many women have experience with using or trying to attain access to contraceptives. More than 100 countries offer contraception over the counter; however, the United States is not one them.
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Contributing Writer
St. George's University
Gabriella Giambanco is a fourth year medical student at St. George's University in Grenada class of 2022. In 2018, she graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science in biomedical science with minors in chemistry and Spanish. She enjoys writing in her free time. Her work has been featured in Bustle, BUST, Thought Catalog, the CLASH, Hobart, and the Tunnels. After graduating medical school, she will be pursuing a career in pediatrics.
Re-Educated: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change Medical Education Forever
Students across the country in all grade levels, from preschool to graduate school, had their educational routines upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown. In medicine, there were special challenges associated with adapting safety protocols to a field that inherently requires human interaction.
To My First Patient Who Passed
Yours is the name I carry on / You were the first I mourned when gone
Silence
“I’m sorry that you have to see me this way,” said Ms. A as we exited the examining room. Twenty minutes earlier, Ms. A had been laughing and cracking jokes while my attending physician and I obtained her medical history and life updates.
Q&A with Dr. Jason Ryan, MD, MPH
Most students recognize Dr. Jason Ryan as the creator of the Boards & Beyond (B&B) video series. His modules have been lauded for being concise enough to target board prep, yet comprehensive enough to strengthen a student’s understanding of (often) some very challenging content areas. While he may be well known for his video lectures, we decided to go “beyond” in this Q&A.
DOs and DON’Ts for Career Changers
Many of us had careers in medicine before beginning this arduous journey of medical school. We were nurses, technicians, EMTs, CNAs, researchers and more. We enjoyed a few years of steady pay and real-world lessons before we transitioned back to textbooks, lectures and rotations.
Mask and Vaccine Mandates Secure Personal Liberty
Many in our nation see COVID-driven requirements as anathema to their independence, but what if mandates are actually the best way to secure our personal liberties?
COVID-19 Quarantine: An Emerging Risk Factor for Heart Disease
As COVID-19 continues to rage around the world, extended quarantine measures have been responsible for saving innumerable lives. Now, as we slowly catch glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel, or face the possibility of rising cases returning us to the heights of the pandemic, it is important to examine the long-term side effects of our self-prescribed quarantine treatment.
Story(ies) of Myself
The power and beauty of writing rest in a process of active narrative formation. The act of expression helps us make sense of what happened, integrate this into our sense of self, and clarify our values that will influence our next steps. Conveniently, our expression serves as a record of both identity and narrative formation, giving us a glimpse of ourselves more intimately than we typically take time for.
Letter to Myself
Instead, I was worried that medicine would consume me only to regurgitate me as a mere collection of cells and systems — just like those I would be expected to regurgitate on the test. I was worried that the demands of knowing it all would make me believe that I could know it all, that there is nothing in the spaces between what we know. I was worried that bathing in science would make me stop believing in art.
DNR
20 / still / except / her chest rising, falling
Health, Identity and History: Vaccine Hesitancy Among Minority Groups in the COVID-19 Pandemic
With the development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and the arrival of the summer season, people are feeling happier and beginning to come out of their homes. It’s clear that there is a growing sense of hope that the pandemic may be approaching its conclusion. However, standing in the way of our pursuit of normalcy is the refusal among some to partake in the vaccine, despite its proven efficacy and safety by experts.
Contributing Writer and Social Media Manager
Oregon Health & Science University
Haleigh is a third year medical student at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon class of 2023. In 2017, she graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and in 2019 she graduated from the Johns Hopkins: Bloomberg school of public health with a Masters of Health Science in biochemistry and molecular biology. She enjoys baking, painting, jigsaw puzzling and playing with her kitten in her free time. After graduating medical school, Haleigh would like to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology or pediatric surgery.
