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 to which they belong.
Dr. Erin Saner reflects on the importance of underrepresented minorities and representation in clinical care and education.
Medical student Atisa Paudel reflects on the impact of her immigrant background on her medical education.
Medical student Rebekah Russell reflects on her experience with the healthcare system during a miscarriage.
Medical student Ana Jimenez reflects on her experience during her surgery rotation.
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.
Jean Anne Adomfeh unravels a common gender bias, contained in diagnosing chest pain, that has existed in medicine for decades and how through a few simple yet profound words of a teacher, combined with experiences along the way, she is inspired to help change the narrative.
Future physician Yomna Amer broaches the topic of religion in the clinical environment and opines that, along with diversity, it can be used as a powerful therapeutic tool to connect with patients.
Medical student Ritha Mera reviews responses to reproductive health care accesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mera writes as an advocate for women of color and highlights health disparities in vulnerable populations. Through drawing comparisons to past natural disasters and tracking the current pandemic’s harmful impacts on reproductive health care, Mera makes an argument for contraception and family planning to be included in emergency protocols for future disruptions.
Unhealthy relationship exist in the world of health care and beyond. Medical student Alesia Voice explores, through this poem, how to operate within a significant imbalance in relationships.
Medical Student Contributing Writer
Texas Tech University Health Science Center
I’m Alesia Voice, a third year medical student at TTUHSC. I’ve been writing for a long time, mostly personal and creative pieces. I began sharing many personal reflections and narratives about my life happenings and medical school experiences on my blog The Third Voice in 2018 and have since began sharing my poetry there as well. My goal in my writing as well as in my future medical practice is to tell the truth... the good, the bad, and the ugly.
