Tag: public health

Yash Shah (5 Posts)

Columnist and Medical Student Editor

Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University


Yash attends Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He pursued a Bachelor of Science in premedicine at Penn State University. Prior to attending medical school, Yash worked on clinical and translational oncology research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He has long-standing interests in contributing to medical education, advancing health policy, and working with cancer patients. He enjoys playing tennis, rooting for the Eagles, reading, and traveling in his free time.

COVID Chronicles

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a tremendous challenge to our community – certainly from a health perspective, but also in nearly every other aspect of daily lives. Our daily routines were upended – from the way we work, play, learn, socialize and travel. Numerous times, the unimaginable happened, and it is safe to say we will never see the world in the same way again. As future physicians, it is important that we recognize the challenges faced by the health care space during the pandemic, and perhaps more importantly, the everlasting transformations that our future medical students, physicians and patients will encounter. This column explores the countless obstacles we overcame and their everlasting effects, along with emerging trends that we will see in health care for the years to come.




Voting is Healthy: A Voter Mobilization Campaign in Georgia Founded by Medical Students

As medical students at Emory, we spent our first six months building a firm conception of what it means to be healthy. It did not take long to appreciate how much of our patients’ health would be determined by their social context before they ever walk into our clinics and hospitals. The importance of adequate and healthy nutrition, safe housing and manageable stress is clearly linked to patient outcomes. We can see these issues on the ballot in every election. In this sense, voting is healthy.

Prescriptive Autonomy

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.

COVID-19 Quarantine: An Emerging Risk Factor for Heart Disease

As COVID-19 continues to rage around the world, extended quarantine measures have been responsible for saving innumerable lives. Now, as we slowly catch glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel, or face the possibility of rising cases returning us to the heights of the pandemic, it is important to examine the long-term side effects of our self-prescribed quarantine treatment.

Health, Identity and History: Vaccine Hesitancy Among Minority Groups in the COVID-19 Pandemic

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.

Priya Rajan (2 Posts)

Contributing Writer

University of California, Riverside School of Medicine


Priya Rajan is a third year medical student at the UCR School of Medicine in Riverside, CA. In 2013, she graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, concentrating in International Relations and Comparative Politics. Before deciding to go into medicine, Priya worked in many different industries including advertising and management consulting. She is also a registered yoga teacher. In her free time, Priya enjoys reading, playing tennis, taking Peloton classes, practicing yoga, and watching Schitt's Creek. Her medical interests include Street Medicine and Critical Care.