This category contains reflections on forms of discrimination, related to racism and sexism, students have faced on their healthcare journeys.
Medical Student Contributing Writer
Case Western Reserve University
Afua Ofori-Darko is a first-year medical student at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Community Health. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, exploring new restaurants and playing tennis.
In this piece, Afua Ofori-Darko discusses how medical education has focused on tokenism on a way to achieve diversity. Specifically, Afua discusses her journey as the token Black girl and how tokenism harms URiM students and the institutions they belong to.
Dr. Max Hawkins reflects on the expectation of medical students on the wards and the racial bias implicit in the operations tested on certain patients.
Entering the field of medicine can be daunting, especially if you are the first physician in the family. Current intern Dr. Ervin Anies discusses the emotions associated with assimilating into the culture of medicine and how we as providers can use our diversity to foster better relationships between providers and our patients.
Dr. Erin Saner reflects on the importance of underrepresented minorities and representation in clinical care and education.
Medical student Rebekah Russell reflects on her experience with the healthcare system during a miscarriage.
Medical student Alyssa Guo shares excerpts of her diary with reflections of her first times in medicine as an Asian American.
Medical student Sara Phillips writes a personal reflection, grounded in scholarly literature, that details her exploration of racism as a mechanism for perpetuating disparities in maternal health outcomes. The piece traces discriminatory policies and actions undertaken by physicians and leaders in the field of obstetrics and gynecology to portray a historical origin for contemporary health inequities. Interacting with these grim stories and statistics, she reflects on what it means for her to seek out a career in OB/GYN to confront this prejudicial history and create a more just path forward.
This creative piece explores the internal dialogue that a gay patient has with himself when his provider fails to use inclusive language and offers a question that probes disclosure.
Read more to find out how three seemingly straightforward words, for medical student Charna Kinard, represented a spectrum of emotions, feelings and connotations in the setting of national news regarding policing and the Black Lives Matter movement and how this has shaped her path towards physicianship.
Medical student Navjot Singh teaches us how to surmount racism with composure, grace, and courage.
Medical student Nkiruka Aniagolu explores how understanding someone’s name or title can foster deeper trust with patients and those around us, as our names are ‘pieces of our personal mosaics’ that give glimpses to who we are.
Alicia Pugh writes a poem that reflects on how our backgrounds impact the way we view our patients.
Medical Student Contributing Writer
University of Illinois at Chicago
Alicia Pugh is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, gardening, and volunteering.
