First Times in Medicine as an Asian American
Medical student Alyssa Guo shares excerpts of her diary with reflections of her first times in medicine as an Asian American.
Tag: medical education
Editor-in-Chief
University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Hello! I’m Alyssa Guo, and I’m a fourth-year medical student at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine at Greenville. I received my bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
I’m excited to be part of Mosaic in Medicine to share voices that are often missed in medicine. I hope that our joint efforts in shining a light on difficult topics spark conversations that will change medicine for the better. It is also my hope that MiM encourages more reflective practice and encourage more narrative medicine publications, so that we can capture moments of history and their impacts on the healthcare profession. We are working towards building MiM to serve as a beacon of light in promoting health equity, allowing for those who come after us to understand the events that shaped us through reading our publications.
Feel free to get in touch with me at aaguo@email.sc.edu if you have any questions about MiM!
Prayer in Practice
Medical student Jackson Dean challenges readers to think critically about the variety of forms that prayers come in and the roles they pray at work and in our every day lives.
Made in God’s Image
Medical Student Jackson Dean discusses the role of God in medicine by exploring the creation story which suggests human perfection and juxtaposing it with the management of sick patients who may suggest otherwise.
Hidden Impact: Parental Health Status and the Cost for Children
Medical student Katelyn Girtain writes about her experiences as a child of a disabled mother that contributed to the lack of proper insurance and ultimately the occurrence of preventable health issues. She also explores relevant policies and the lack of literature on the impacts of parental disability/lack of insurance on children.
What Is In a Name?
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.
More Than Poster Boys
Dekoiya Burton reflects on how he often feels like a prop in a “diversity” scheme when academic medicine doesn’t follow through with messages of diversity and inclusion beyond pamphlets and brochures.
Conquering the Mount Everest of Education
Future surgeon Kayla Flewelling describes, in scrupulous detail, the psyche of a medical student as they traverses the learning pipeline, all the while trying to maintain a semblance of sanity, perseverance and perspective.
Excellence in Health Care
Health care providers face what seem to be insurmountable challenges on a daily basis; none more sobering than the inhumanities and tragedies that often occur when on the clock. Medical student Nicholas Czelatka gives his perspective on what quality health care truly means.
Medical Student Contributing Writer
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
I was born and raised in Long Island, New York. I began volunteering in EMS in 2013 and attained my paramedic certification in 2016. I received my Bachelor's degree in Health Science from Stony Brook University in 2019. Since then, I have been studying at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine with an anticipated graduation of 2023.