Contributing Writer
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Azraa is a third year medical student at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. In 2018, she graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Prior to medical school, she was a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group, where she worked on projects in medical devices, value-based health care, and artificial intelligence use in drug discovery. She enjoys traveling, running, and hiking in her free time. In the future, Azraa would like to pursue a career in surgery.
One crisp Sunday morning in October, I arrive at the community free clinic to find four student volunteers — two of whom are in their third month of medical school like I am — and one attending physician. As usual, we are overbooked.
Three knocks, no answer. “Good morning Mr. Adams!” I call as I peek into his room, flicking the lights on. I am wheeling a small, flailing tablet and it unstably spins left and right, back and forth, until I park it by my patient’s bed.
It was a Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. and I was rushing to the hospital for pre-rounds. I was on my neurology rotation, and my pockets were heavy and stuffed with tools. My preceptor had texted me the room numbers of the patients I was to visit that morning. I had three patients to see in the hour before rounds — the first two patients I had been following every day this week and a third patient was a new admit from overnight.
Making the choice to study medicine in my homeland is a momentous undertaking, with a surrounding fragile health system deficient of medical supplies and in shortage of expertise. Through this series of articles, I will share my experiences and perspectives on being a medical student in Palestine.
On May 2, POLITICO published the leaked SCOTUS majority opinion draft indicating the imminent intention of the court to overturn Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey and 50 years of legal precedent that ensured access to necessary health care for anyone capable of becoming pregnant.
In this article, I hope to examine some causes of this discrepancy, compare and contrast the various prison systems across different countries, understand the shortcomings of America’s prison system in addressing these issues and shed light on how prison systems can provide better health care services.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating effects upon our nursing homes has highlighted the vulnerabilities of this sector of our health system. With increased attention to the issues in such a growing and vital part of our society, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for change.
I learned English out of necessity — not only for myself but also for my family. I grew up in Mexico and moved to a small Northern California town at the age of eight. When we moved to the United States, I was placed in an English-speaking classroom with no one who spoke Spanish. Necessity forced me to learn English quickly and, as a result, I became my family’s unofficial interpreter, including at their medical appointments.
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.
An anxious, 36-year-old Hispanic female lays on the exam table, her feet in stirrups. A sleeved arm juts out between her tented legs as she stares resolutely at the ceiling. I wonder if she is afraid of what the amorphous black and white structures shifting on the ultrasound monitor may reveal.
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.
A 5-year-old African-American boy presents to the emergency department with left leg pain. His leg is exquisitely tender to palpation… If I read this vignette in the first year of medical school, I would have navigated to the multiple-choice answers to select anything related to sickle cell disease. The question writers are stating that the patient is Black, young and has a painful limb — this is not a difficult diagnosis.
Contributing Writer
Tulane University School of Medicine
Carrie Crook is a fourth year MD-MPH student at Tulane University School of Medicine from Mobile, AL. She received her BA in Health and Societies from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a 4-year varsity athlete on the women’s soccer team. Carrie is passionate about pursuing epidemiological research to alleviate health disparities and influence equitable health policy.
