A Thought Above the Level of Plain Narration
Thomas Jefferson has said his piece and this time I won’t attempt to say anything back. This time I won’t stay silent either. This time, I’ll write.
Opinions
Writer-in-Training
University if California San Francisco
Shakkaura Kemet, MPH, is a member of the Class of 2021 at University of California San Francisco. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Harvard University in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a minor in African American Studies in 2015. She then went on to complete a Master's of Public Health at Yale University where she focused on social determinants of health, with a particular focus on women's health. She is currently a second year medical student at UCSF School of Medicine where she is co-president of SNMA, teaches a course to first- and second-year medical students about integrating advocacy work into one's medical career, and helps to design and implement quality improvement projects with the OB/Gyn healthcare providers at San Francisco General Hospital targeted at closing health care disparities in maternal care. Her areas of interest for research and practice include women's health, maternal health, health disparities by race and socioeconomic status, and medical education.
Federally Qualified Health Centers’ Role in Reducing Health Disparities
FQHCs serve complex patients, many with multiple comorbidities that have worsened due to lack of health care, health insurance or distrust of the health care system.
Mentor-Mentee Relationships in Medicine
The best mentor-mentee relationships I am a part of have allowed me to make mistakes while encouraging me and giving me targeted ways of doing better the next time around. They have also consisted of developing realistic goals and expectations. But, above all, they have taken what I bring to the table and helped elevate what is already there, not change it.
The White Coat Conundrum
I can only hope that you, my future physician colleagues, and I can understand the greater meaning of the white coat and fulfill its truest potential. That white coat is now our life, and we must not take it for granted.
Which Doctor is “The” Doctor?
Previously, the only health care provider who possessed a doctorate degree was the physician. However, with the rise in educational standards across the United States, many health care professionals now must earn doctorates in their field before even beginning their careers.
Caring for the Medically Underserved Deaf Community with American Sign Language
We can all make a difference in the quality of health care provided to deaf patients and that difference starts with you.
When “Other” is the Patient’s Language
We, as current and future health care providers, should actively participate in providing our patients with proper support and access to an interpreter.
Let Patients Die
In retrospect, I regret that she was not allowed to die peacefully. I now am compassionate towards those who opt solely for palliative management in terminal illnesses.
Medical Interpretation and the Art of Communication
If a provider cannot understand their patient, they are unable to treat them. Likewise, if a patient cannot understand their provider, how can they possibly adhere to their medical advice? “Getting by” is not enough; patients are entitled to someone who speaks their language, no matter how rare.
The NIH Should Fund Studies on Racism, Not Race
On the subjects of disease and disparity, the NIH focuses on the genetic code inside individual bodies and ignores the wider contexts within which these bodies live, work, play and get sick. The NIH overlooks societal inequalities and gives genes too much credit.
Reproductive Rights Reflection
She doesn’t know that, just on the other side of the door, there is a beautiful room filled with the smell of eucalyptus, sounds of water trickling and dimmed lighting dedicated to putting her mind at rest. That next to that is a room full of grateful and relieved women looking forward to the rest of their lives.
Physicians as Leaders: The Need for a Novel Curriculum Addressing Health Care Reform
Nationally, our current medical education model fails to address the fundamental tenets of the U.S. health care system, health care policy, and business management. Despite the recent major shift in health care policy, medical schools have proved universally inept at equipping future doctors with the knowledge and tools they need to influence policy in their professional field and to thrive in their careers.
Contributing Writer
Yale University
School of Medicine
Parsa attended Cornell University as an undergraduate, where he majored in Human Biology. He had a particular interest in nutrition, healthcare policy, near eastern studies, and human development while in Ithaca. He completed medical school as part of Drexel University College of Medicine's Class of 2017. He is currently an Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Resident at Yale University.