At one of the medical schools where I am a standardized patient (SP), a student recently failed a portion of the exam because he did not ask his SP questions that were integral to her medical care. When asked by his faculty preceptors why he didn’…
The medical community was rocked by the United States Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina, et al. The ruling essential…
“Are you sure you’re supposed to be here?” It was the first day of my subspecialty rotation. I’d left my husband, friends, and my home to spend the next six weeks some 2500 miles away. Like most third-year medical students on th…
The recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to eliminate race-conscious decision-making from college admissions is being openly challenged by the medical establishment. The American Association of American Medical Colleges (AAM…
A couple of weeks ago, the president of West Virginia University, Gordon Gee, announced a set of truly draconian cuts: he’s firing 169 faculty, about 16% of the full-t…
Last week, my niece, Maria Piedad Villadiego Carrascal, the only child of my sister, Maria A., graduated from medical school. In doing so, she became the seventh member of the Carrascal family to embrace medicine as a profession. It was an emotional mo…
Medical education is a rigorous journey that demands dedication, resilience, and compassion. However, as medical students, we often find ourselves navigating through the pressures of this journey while silently grappling with our mental health. By shar…
“We need more doctors who look like us.” I led a small group discussion with high school students enrolled in the Medical Careers Education and Emergency Preparedness (MedCEEP) ‘s Summer Pipeline Program. Our task was to brainstorm so…
Moderna has now wiped out nearly $160 billion worth of early pandemic stock gains.
As I reflect on the concept of work-life “balance,” I realize that trying to integrate clinical and home responsibilities may feel like a juggling act while unicycling on a high wire. Instead, what we need is work-life “stability̶…
