Contributing Writer
George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Alexa is in the Class of 2018 at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
My entire life’s work has culminated in medical school. Every volunteer organization, every organic molecule I drew, every sacrifice I made in the name of studying has led to being here in Washington, D.C. Why? To join the ranks of the people I held with the highest esteem: doctors. Doctors were the embodiment of justice, beneficence and non-maleficence in my mind: flawless humans. Something I overlooked in that belief was that doctors are, in fact, …
On a Saturday morning at one of our local safety net clinics, where third-year medical students see patients independently and then present to the supervising attending, a man in his 60s arrived to talk about some lab results he had received and what they meant. This man, Mr. S, had many medical problems, including hypertension, COPD, chronic kidney disease and newly diagnosed diabetes. He came to the office that day wanting to know why he had …
By way of 1992 policy, men who have had sex with men (MSM) any time since 1977 are ineligible for blood donation. We believe the current policy is possibly justified, but certainly inconsistent with other CDC donation policies, and the the American Medical Association and the American Association of Blood Banks appear to agree. Here we will focus primarily on the latter issue, as it pertains to everyone’s health more so than only the degrading feeling that non-infected gay men likely endure when attempting to give lifesaving resources back to their community.
Medicine is the career path I have chosen to pursue, and I feel grateful to live in a city I adore while I work in a field I love. I have long taken for granted that I can make choices about where I want my life to go because of the freedoms I have in this country, because of my family and friends’ support, and because of the resources that are available to me. Ultimately, …
Any threat to the celebrated individualism of American citizens is usually met with fierce debate — be the enemy mandatory health coverage or a ban on 64-ounce sugary soft drinks. What happens, then, when the results of these individual choices conflicts with the limitations of reality? Obesity was categorized as a disease by the American Medical Association only one year ago but in many ways it defies such neat classification. In the AMA’s own statement …
The patient is a 45-year-old man. When I enter the room with the resident, he is sitting on the edge of the exam table, wearing a poorly-constructed hospital gown. When I introduce myself, he struggles to keep on the paper garment while extending his hand towards mine. He is a pleasant man, overall, except for a lot of physical discomfort evident in his facial expressions. The resident asks the patient about his symptoms. She asks …
How can doctors-in-training practice medicine with a social justice approach that acknowledges health is not just about medicine, but about systems? Teresa, a recent medical school graduate from Hawaii going into family medicine, examines how her own privilege informed her mission to serve the communities she cares for as a clinician.
I began volunteering at an interesting time in Chiapas. My medical school was gracious enough to let me participate in a year-long project in Mexico between my second and third years working and teaching for VIVA, an international volunteer group lead by Darinel Ballianas. In June of 2013, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto began introducing laws to restructure the educational and health systems of the country. If passed, they would further privatize the country’s health care …
How can doctors-in-training help improve the experience of minority populations in places where there are few providers with whom they can identify? Carlton, a fourth-year at the Medical University of South Carolina interested in anesthesiology, describes his motivation to pursue medicine in the South, where members of his African-American community are relative newcomers to a primarily white health care system. He also discusses the importance of treating patients as he would like himself and his family to be treated.
It was an unusually warm Saturday in October, and my alarm started buzzing. I wanted so badly to shut it off, but my conscience told me this was not an option. I had to get up so that I could go help my fellow classmates weed and plant at the community garden. This is because part of the curriculum at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) includes 40 hours of community service a year. …
“Es un milagro, señora.” It was getting late, and the clinic waiting room was almost empty. It was OB/GYN day, and the patients—predominantly Spanish speaking migrant agricultural workers—had all finally been seen. All except Maria, who was still in the exam room. Her six-year-old son, Joaquin, skittered around the outside corridor, under the watchful eye of the nurses preparing to close up shop. I was in the exam room with the doctor and Maria, and …
Starting an LGBTQ student group… Leading sensitivity or safe-space training sessions… Overhauling the LGBTQ health curriculum… Planning and promoting a visiting lecture series… These are but a few of the tried-and-true techniques to promote a safe and enriching environment for medical students and faculty of sexual and gender minority groups. They’re also a lot of work. If you’re short on time and resources but care a whole hell of a lot about promoting LGBTQ health …
Contributing Writer Emeritus
Boston University School of Medicine
Jacob Walker is a member of Boston University School of Medicine's class of 2016. Jacob's passions can be hard to pin down but lie somewhere in the intersections of geriatrics, infectious disease, public health, and game design.
