Exploring American Primary Care: Southcentral Foundation
As a medical student and a public health professional, I see the current American healthcare landscape through a lens of concerned optimism. We, as a nation, have been taught that our perspectives on healthcare are vastly divided. Yet, I believe we have more in common regarding what we want from health care delivery than we currently understand. Through a series of interviews, I seek to study these common values and further highlight creative approaches to primary care that exist within the United States.
Read More
Embracing the View From Your Unmapped Path
I opened the door and heard the jingle of a holiday-themed bell announcing my arrival. I walked up the creaking staircase and found myself in front of a pleasant woman sitting at a desk. She greeted me and led me to an empty room, decorated as if it were someone’s living room, wood fire stove and all. I took a seat on the couch and tried to feel comfortable despite being clearly uncomfortable. What an unfamiliar feeling.
Read More
Missions Align: Recognizing Our Veterans and Honoring Their Service to Others
I have had the privilege of serving many years on active duty in the US Army alongside the women and men of the various branches of the armed services and public health who chose to serve our country. As a member of the US Army, one of the most rewarding aspects of my job was providing help and care to people from all walks of life. This approach falls directly in line with the mission of Pacific Northwest University.
Read More
How I Kept My Grandfather's Trust by Lying to Him...
Pancreatic cancer. Stage 4.
Five-year survival rate: 1%.
We were certain that he would break all odds and be a part of that 1%. After all, the studies that provide us with these data don’t consider having spent the first 65 years of your life outside of the US.
Read More
A Mind in Motion: How Medical School Forced Me to Take on My ADHD
Change is hard for everybody. It is especially hard when you are already moving one-hundred miles per hour.
Imagine having to change your wardrobe while driving a race car, and you only get a quarter of a lap to do it, or you crash and burn. This is how I felt every day.
Read More
Police Cars, Crisscrossed Standoffs and Sock-Stealing Elves: How Down Syndrome and My Brother Justin Inspired Me to Change the World
Justin is my little brother and my favorite human being. He’s 24 years old and he loves the Elvis, the Beatles, bowling, and the TV show Glee. Every time I talk to him he tells me — in detail — the plot of latest episode he’s watched (he’s seen all six seasons innumerable times). He wants to be an actor and musician someday but, for now, he interns at a local theater.
Read More
“Staph Infections Happen All the Time”
According to a survey released September 28th, 2017 by the IHI/NPSF Lucian Leape Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago, 21 percent of adults report having personally experienced a medical error and 31% report they have been involved with the care of someone who has experienced an error.
With over 247 million adults in the United States, that means over 52 million people in the US over the age of 18 have personally experienced a medical error.
Read More
This Cannot Be Happening to My Mother...
I think it was the first day of summer when I walked down the stairs to see my parents sitting outside staring at nothing. I can still see them sitting on the patio, and remember how uncomfortable they seemed.
No talking. No laughing. Just staring.
Read More
C.T.E. and the Truth Below the Helmet
The first time I heard about C.T.E., memories of a warm summer day in New England filled my mind. I recalled standing beside a practice field at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, watching an NFL legend approach and remove his helmet. I had grown up watching Junior Seau on television and, now, he was standing in front of me, smiling as he shook my hand.
Read More
The True Face of Medicine
I grew up listening to stories about how great physicians are.
In every instance I can recall, people would always have the utmost utter respect for any healthcare provider, focusing their praises on the selfless service those providers delivered day in and day out. That praise was integral in the formation of the image in my mind of how great healthcare workers are. Ultimately, it sparked my interest in the medical field.
Read More
