Contributing Writer and Outreach Coordinator Emeritus
Northeast Ohio Medical University-Cleveland State University
Kate is an M1 at NEOMED in Rootstown, Ohio and part of the CSU/NEOMED partnership. She is excited to have the opportunity to marry two of her passions--writing and health --with the team at in-Training. Prior to entering medical school, Kate had the opportunity to earn an MPH and work for several years with Children’s HealthWatch, a fantastic group that researches impacts of public policies on low-income families in pediatric primary care centers and emergency departments.
Between classes, she works as an EMT or on freelance film projects, practices amateur photography and gets lost in nature. She is particularly interested in physician advocacy, the role of narrative media in public health, urban community violence, nutrition, international health, early childhood education and ending cycles of poverty.
Perhaps you watched the Oscars last month. Maybe you rooted for the technically stunning “Gravity,” or the raw, true-to-life “Twelve Years a Slave,” or since we’re science-inclined medical nerds, “Dallas Buyer’s Club,” the film based (loosely) on an HIV-positive patient’s real-life plight to medication access during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. I freelance as a production assistant and set medic. One film I worked on was up for Best Picture, so I dutifully watched, …
Becoming a doctor takes time, but those outside of medicine do not always realize how convoluted the process can be. Central to the perversion is the National Resident Matching Program (or “the Match”). After college and the two years of classroom-based training in medical school, students are ushered into clinical training through third year core rotations in predetermined specialties. In the spring of their third year, students must decide on their career specialty, often without …
Location: Surgery inpatient floor Time: 6:00 a.m. Surgery morning rounds began: “Ms. A, your MRI shows you have colorectal cancer, so we plan to take you to the OR for surgery tomorrow. Alright, see you later,” said my surgery attending, who rushed out of Ms. A’s room right after he abruptly dropped this shocking news. Inside the room, Ms. A, a fragile, bony 75-year-old lady, was laying on her bed with her eyes full of …
Imagine an active neuron in the temporal lobe of the brain. This neuron receives a message through its dendrites and passes it to other neurons via its axons. This is the basic process of cell signaling. It shows the role of neurons and, more importantly, how neuronal disorders develop. Now imagine the neuron becomes overwhelmed by repetitive high priority messages. By the nature of cell signaling, it relays these messages to its many connected neurons. …
“Drain commissioner! What the heck is a drain commissioner? And why do the drains need a commissioner?” I had recently moved to a rural county in the United States to work as a physical therapist, and as I read through the advertisements in the local paper for electoral offices, this one particularly intrigued me. As a young boy growing up in India, I remember electoral politics being an ever-present topic of discussion at home. So, …
According to the Guttmacher Institute, there have been more anti-choice bills passed in the past two years than in the past decade. Ninety-three up from to 22, to be exact. The majority of these restrictions target abortion providers in an effort to close clinics and limit public access. Specifically, these are known as “TRAP” laws: “Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers.” Others limit insurance coverage while the ones that often garner the loudest public outcry seek …
Please read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series “Medical Cannabis: A Matter of Patients, Not Politics.” Organizational Support for Medical Cannabis Legalization Many organizations, including some of the most prestigious in the country, support the legalization of medical cannabis. Here is a partial list with their takes on the issue: New England Journal of Medicine 1997 “Federal authorities should rescind their prohibition of the medical use of marijuana for seriously ill …
Let’s imagine that you are one of the 115,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list in the United States. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could go on Craigslist and type in “kidney” under the sales section? Well if you are a law-abiding citizen and your life is dependent on a kidney, you have only one legal option: travel to Iran, the only country where buying (and selling) kidneys is legal. Kidney transplant is …
Please read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series “Medical Cannabis: A Matter of Patients, Not Politics.” Cannabis as Medicine The health benefits of medical cannabis have been reported since 2737 B.C., when Chinese Emperor Shen Nung began to record its uses. These possible medical uses include the following: assists in decreasing nausea, vomiting, and pain, increases appetite, assists patients with insomnia, produces short-term reduction of intraocular eye pressure, has anti-anxiety properties, …
Every current fourth-year medical student in the country marked March 17, 2014 and March 21, 2014 on their calendars a long time ago. The first date tells students if they matched into residency and if they will begin their training program this July. The second date tells students where they will ultimately live, breathe and work for the next three to seven years as a member of the hospital’s housestaff. My personal journey to March …
Please read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series “Medical Cannabis: A Matter of Patients, Not Politics.” Due to the potential of medical cannabis to provide relief to millions of patients in the United States, the need for state and federal governments to immediately increase research and legalize medical cannabis prescription is imperative. In this three-part series of articles, I will outline (1) the history of medical cannabis law in the United …
Here’s the problem: Medicare’s physician payment formula has not been working. Since 1992, Medicare has reimbursed physicians on a fee-for-service basis. In 1997, Congress implemented the sustainable growth rate (SGR) to control Medicare spending and make sure that growth in physician reimbursement does not exceed growth in the gross domestic product (GDP). This is problematic because the cost of medical care in the United States has increased faster than its GDP. In fact, health care …
Contributing Writer
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Ryan is a Class of 2020 MD/PhD student at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He graduated in May 2012 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in molecular biology. He enjoys thinking and writing about health care policy, and is also an avid tennis player, instructor, coach, umpire, and fan.
