Tag: health disparities

Ashley Paige White-Stern Ashley Paige White-Stern (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Ashley Paige White-Stern is an M2 at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her primary concern is making quality health care available to all people regardless of race, gender identity, age, ability, geography, class, or religion. She believes that medicine is a powerful tool for social change.




Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk: A Conversation with Transgender People to Discuss Trans Health

Published by Ashley Paige White-Stern

In July 2015, I attended a three-day Movement for Black Lives Convening in Cleveland, Ohio, where I — along with the other attendees — was charged with articulating how I would support making spaces safer and more inclusive toward trans, gender-queer, gender nonconforming, intersex and two-spirit people. On the second day, in a plenary session with approximately 800 people in the auditorium, we were asked to turn to the person next to us and state what we were planning to do when we got home to act on our commitments.

On Fear, Failure, and the Future: What Medical School Can’t Teach You

Published by Jennifer Hong

As I settle into my second year of medical school, I’m confronted with the fact that I’m one-fourth of the way to an M.D. — that an entire year has passed, and unsurprisingly, all those predictions my deans made at the very beginning came to pass: time flew, we learned more than we thought we ever could, and upon close self-examination, we’re very different from how we were this time last year.

Dr. Ben Carson, Would You Let Me Be Your Doctor?

Published by Hammad Khan

The President of the United States of America cannot be a Muslim. This was the message Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson relayed on national television last week. Carson, who afterwards surged in the polls and saw spikes in campaign donations, went on to add that the religion of Islam is also “unconstitutional” — thus blatantly smearing and demonizing the nearly seven million Americans who identify as Muslims with words that were discriminatory, inflammatory and, somewhat ironically, unconstitutional.

Dr. Tom Catena: The Man the Nuba Call Jesus Christ

Published by Ghady Rahhal

In the Gospel of Matthew, a man walks up to Jesus and asks him, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus replied by saying to uphold the commandments. The young man assured Jesus that he has kept all of the commandments and asked what else is required from him. In turn, Jesus replied, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Volunteering in Medical School

Published by Jordan Perchik

In our undergraduate careers and as far back as high school, we were encouraged, and often required, to volunteer and serve our community. Whether it was a project we believed in or just something to put on our resumes, volunteering was a part of every medical student’s life before enrolling. As classes have grown more hectic and free time becomes scarcer throughout the years, service activities are often cut from the schedule. It is not unusual for medical students to leave behind passions; I know concert violinists who no longer play, Division I athletes who no longer compete, and people who traveled all over the world that never leave the library.

Global Health at Home: Fourth-Year Elective with Burmese Refugees

Published by Melissa Palma

As medical students across the country enter their fourth year, many will travel thousands of miles to acquire global health experiences from the far reaches of the globe. While much can be learned by exposure to the stark differences among health systems in other countries, there is no doubt that such health disparities also affect the lives of vulnerable populations in our own communities. As a fourth-year medical student, I spent four weeks conducting a community health needs assessment of Burmese refugees in my hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, where I began to learn the meaning of global health at home.

Fifty Shades of Care: Why Doctors Need to Pay More Attention to their Kinky Patients

Published by Christy Duan

On Valentine’s Day weekend last year I found myself at Paddles, the local dungeon in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, for the first time. I was perched at the alcohol-free bar when a man politely introduced himself as a human carpet. He asked that I tread on him and lay on the floor to demonstrate. A professional dominatrix-in-training stepped onto his chest and buried her stilettos deep into his belly. His eyes were closed, and he looked calm — blissful, really. As a medical student, I winced, imagining the arrangement of his delicate organs in relation to her vicious heels.

LGBT Health: The Next Frontier?

Published by Aishwarya Rajagopalan

Just last month, the Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring bans on same-sex marriage illegal. While many hail this as a major step in the quest for equality, equity in health outcomes is still lacking in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Many clinicians and prospective clinicians do not receive significant training in how to address the unique needs of members of the LGBT population.

How Racism Makes Us Sick: Incarceration and Illness

Published by Jennifer Tsai

Today, there are more people in jail for drug offenses then there were prisoners for all crimes in 1980. People of color comprise more than 60 percent of those incarcerated, yet represent only a third of the country’s population. While the issues leading to the disproportionate incarceration of people of color are many, I wish to focus on a single contributor which is the most important cause of America’s dramatic increase in incarceration — the structural racism readily apparent in our country’s approach to drug offense convictions.

Jennifer Tsai Jennifer Tsai (14 Posts)

Writer-in-Training and in-Training Staff Member

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

The white coat is a scary, scary thing, and I'm still trying to figure out if I should have one. If you like screaming about ethnic rage, dance, or the woes of medical education, we should probably do some of those fun activities that friends do.

I have few answers, many questions. Dialogue is huge. Feel free to email with questions and comments!