“360° Protection”

This morning we started the day with Uncle Al; in other words, the best way to start! Uncle Al was formerly on the admissions team at USCSOMG so he has a really good idea of how one can get into medical school. He talked to us about the top “10” TENants we should know/do to have a good chance of getting accepted. The 10 pieces of advice included

1. Believe

2. You

3. Test

4. GPA

5. Academic Rigor

6. Work Related Experience

7. Other Experiences

8. Personal Statement

9. LOR

10. Interview

This link has my notes on it that goes into each thing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h9bJXwUE-7omr7yNmCsIqthaFj3-7wBzW5GmZgxurS8/edit?usp=sharing

Believing is the first thing Uncle Al mentioned and it is the thing that stuck out to me the most. I feel like a student can have appropriate social media, get a good score on the MCAT, have a good GPA, take rigorous classes, have the experience, write an impressive personal statement, have decent LORs, and interview well, but if the student doesn't believe in what they can do now and as a future healthcare professional, then what good does that offer. To have the confidence and courage to do medicine, one needs the support from those around them. Uncle Al asked me to get up and stand next to him. I felt empowered. He then told me to stand behind me. I felt protected. He then made way and told me to stand in front of him. I felt supported. Uncle Al calls this 360° protection; supporting each of us from each angle. This not only means we gain the guidance from the wonderful advisors and interns, but we also gain each other's lifelong support.

Dr. Epright then came and talked to us about a variety of topics. She first began by explaining to us why we were assigned to research the topics that we got. Some of those topics included physician-assisted death, pharmaceutical advertising, the legalization of marijuana, and organ vending. My group and I are researching physician-assisted death and looking at it from the perspective of those who are against it. Physician-assisted is something that many people, including Dr. Epright, are in favor of. So it’s hard looking at this topic from the unpopular opinion’s perspective.

It was helpful to discuss how capacity of a person is assessed and what to do in case a patient is found to be “incapable.” I also learned to distinguish between killing a patient and letting them die. It is important to be reminded that we as future healthcare workers, we are not “killing” our patients. If a patient refuses treatment, that's their decision. We can not take the blame of their death at that point; we are not killing them. Yes we have responsibility as physicians, nurses, administrators, custodial staff, to keep the patient protected, but we also must respect their decisions.

After lunch with my buddy, the wonderful Anvita, it was movie time! It was the second session we had scheduled for DEI. AJ allowed us to watch Service to Man which is about the first historically black medical school. Just from the short synopsis AJ presented, I expected the movie was going to be from the perspective of a black man. Instead, it was from the perspective of a Jewish man, Eli. In the predominantly black medical school, Eli and his other Jewish friend were the minority in this case. Although white privilege has got him places before, he was finally able to see what it is like to be the one that looks different. I never realized before that discrimination isn’t based on where you are from, it is simply based on what color your skin is. Most of the Jewish community is white, so until they are asked “where are you from?”, they can pass just fine. Monique shared a story with us about how someone at her school once hinted to her that her sister is going places in life because she has blonde hair blue eyes and that Monique will be disadvantaged because she has Brazilian features. Why does it matter? This has always been so infuriating to me. Why is it good that someone can pass as white? Or why do I feel like changing my name to “Abby” gives me a better chance to get an interview for a job?

After the DEI discussion, Kathryn and Allen led the Highs/Lows activity and it was really fun hearing about everyone’s week and their shadowing experiences. Anika and I stayed at the med school to work on our Wix and profession projects and then we went to my apartment to have a snack before the humpday hangout! It was so fun seeing everyone get competitive and then my favorite part is always seeing what people claim with their tickets. It was all candy haha. Because Spare Time wasn’t enough, we decided to go downtown for some ice cream. We had some really yummy Jeni's ice cream and chatted for hours. I love this group so much and know that I will keep these friendships forever.

Can’t wait for tomorrow!!