We are proud to announce the founding of Mosaic in Medicine, an online peer-reviewed publication for underrepresented voices in medicine. We founded this publication to shine a light on the issues and difficulties that we face as underrepresented individuals in medicine. Our experiences as unheard voices in medicine are all too often hidden, overlooked, or unrecognized.
If you had to take a guess, how many online publications would you say are devoted to capturing the experiences of underrepresented voices in medicine and providing a platform for exchange of advice, observations, support, wisdom and knowledge from a range of career points including attendings, researchers, faculty, to students and those contemplating medicine? None. It is this fact that has led to our efforts to fulfill this untapped niche and launch this space.
We desire to be a forum for an inclusive community of voices, where aspiring premedical students to attendings can share their first-hand insight into their unique experiences. As the Editors-in-Chief of Mosaic in Medicine, we believe that there is a strength that can be drawn from sharing and learning from our own experiences and those of others. We hope that by giving a personal touch to the different struggles that our peers and colleagues face, we can enrich the medical education system and the medical community.
We seek submissions that discuss important issues that impact medicine and medical education from a “boots on the ground” perspective; the effect that the psychosocial milieu and culture at large has on the experience and education of underrepresented students, in subtle but impactful ways. Mosaic in Medicine will focus on the experiences and stories of students and medical providers (residents, attendings, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, and so on), their personal approach to resolving these obstacles and issues, and their critiques of the established philosophy, values, and norms of medicine. What we are looking for are personal stories, essays, or even art pieces that represent an issue within the field of medicine or medical education that is important to you personally. These experiences can range anywhere from what it is like to be a parent while in medical school to what it is like to be a resident in an underserved and multilingual community when you only speak English. Submissions can range from personal stories, essays, interviews, to all types of art.
By spotlighting the mosaic of thoughts, ideas, values and perspectives of the individuals who make up the medical field, we aspire to enlighten readers of the hurdles and obstacles our peers face on their journey in medicine, inspire each other via stories of struggle and growth, and show each other that we aren’t alone in the challenges we face nor in the ambitions that drive us. Since we represent the current and future leaders of this profession, we hope this platform will benefit all involved in these exchanges, as well as promote dialogue that fosters healthy engagement among fellow colleagues to positively enhance their experiences as health care providers. This peer-reviewed journal will serve to equip, empower and encourage medical trainees, students, residents and faculty with support, advice, guidance, and access to an inclusive community of voices as they navigate the medical pipeline. We, as Editors-in-Chief, represent just a sample of the diversity of students along the medical student pipeline and are thrilled you are taking this time to read about our new online publication.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Albany Medical College
A current Internal Medicine/Pediatrics resident at Stony Brook University Hospital. I was born and raised in Southern California. Being a 1st generation Mexican-American and a 1st generation medical student has provided me the opportunity to be thrusted into the culture of medicine but also left me feeling like an outsider. I believe Mosaic in Medicine has the potential to expand and strengthen medical culture and education by illuminating the stories, adversities and passions that encompass experiences that stretch far beyond race or creed. I want Mosaic in Medicine to be a platform in which we can relate to, inspire, and educate one another by showing that no one is truly an outsider in the medical community; we are all just pieces of different shapes and colors that add to the same whole.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Albany Medical College
I originally grew up in New Hampshire and then attended college at Emory University, where I earned a B.S. in Biology. I completed a 1-year Master of Science program in Biotechnology and Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences before matriculating to medical school. I am currently an attending physician in Internal Med at David Grant Medical Center California, serving as a Captain in the U.S. Airforce. I have a keen interest in quality improvement and patient safety at a medical education level as well as at a systems implementation level and am involved in research on involving students in the QI processes. My goal, as an Editor-in-Chief, is to represent military medicine and to advocate for this population that I serve