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Using ‘Miracle’ Cures to Fight COVID-19
Written by Jonathan Gao Edited by Elizabeth Badalov It feels just like yesterday when the sharp scent of Five Thieves essential oil and the pungent smell of garlic boiling in a mysterious broth hung in the air of my home. The garlic broth, whose fumes were supposedly used to ‘disinfect’ the air of homes in Hong Kong during the SARS epidemic, made a popular resurgence during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. As for essential oils, despite the debate on the merits of
Six Weeks In Texas
Written by: Marium Ghobriel Edited by: Ishraq Nihal Texas has recently come under America’s attention and scrutiny after its legislators passed a law that banned the majority of abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Women have had their right to abortion protected since 1973 by Roe v Wade, but the new Texas abortion law, made by largely male lawmakers, have put pregnant women in a difficult situation that endangers their both health and well-being. Out of the 40 weeks that
The Epidemic of the Pandemic
Written by Faith SIngh Edited by Anling Chen In the age of technology, where we can get countless information at the tip of our fingers, the hard part comes from distinguishing truth from error. We are often cautioned to avoid using google for medical advice to avoid unwarranted panic. However, throughout the coronavirus pandemic many people have suffered an information overload, between major news outlets, press conferences from government officials, medical journals, Facebo
Inequity and Indigenous People: The COVID-19 Crisis
Written by Elizabeth Badalov Edited by Anling Chen The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically shifted the norms which dictate how people interact with each other. These effects are felt not only on the individual level, but throughout entire communities and populations. Social distancing restrictions advise physical separation from loved ones to minimize the spread of the virus and protect at-risk individuals. Unfortunately, distance is a luxury few can afford - especially for mem
The Uphill Battle to Becoming a Doctor: Undergraduate Money Matters
Written by Sanjana Ahmed Edited by Lok - Yee Lam When discussing trials and tribulations faced by students pursuing careers as doctors, many think about the hours spent studying, participating in extracurriculars, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life. What so many people gloss over is the issue of money. In the United States, it is largely known that seeking higher education is a costly endeavor. On average, a four-year undergraduate degree costs $37,650 at
U.S. Healthcare Economics -- Why are Drugs Getting More Expensive and Why You Should Care
Written by Lok-Yee Lam Edited by Sanjana Ahmed One of the growing concerns that we’re seeing in the U.S. healthcare system is the pricing for brand-name drugs. Over the years, pharmaceutical companies have become notorious for marking up their brand-name drugs’ price tags. These copays and coinsurances can get fairly expensive even if a patient has health insurance. Even worse, for people who don’t have health insurance or a prescription drug coverage plan, they may be left t
Health Disparities in the LGBTQ Community
Written by Aisha Abid Edited by Razna Ahmed Health disparities exist in the LGBTQ community, which are associated with social stigma, stereotypes, and prejudice. There are transgender issues that we are struggling with, and will continue to face them, just like we do with sexism and racism after many centuries. Identity shouldn’t be assumed based on appearance and behavior. Individuals in this community experience prejudice daily due to a lack of adequate health care. These d
An Illness Away From Bankruptcy
Written by Christine Kuang Edited by Jacquelyn Tang Give me a moment as I grapple with the fact that I am one serious illness away from bankruptcy. The cost of healthcare is unregulated and steadily increasing, leading me to wonder about the repercussions. The United States healthcare system became a corporate business with an irrational marketplace and outrageous pricing. According to National Health Expenditure Data, the United States spends 17.7% of its GDP on healthcare p
#FreeBritney: When Mental Health is Weaponized for Financial Gain, Instead of Treated
Written by Laila Gad Edited by Lok-Yee Lam Over this past summer, pandemic restrictions weren’t the only things being slowly lifted, signaling a chance for new beginnings. After thirteen years of being solely controlled by her father, Britney Spears' life seems to be finally opening up again, following her public decision to file for her father’s removal from her conservatorship. With her silence finally broken, the mental health community is slowly being exposed to the horro
WHOSE LIFE IS WORTH SAVING?
By - Elizabeth Badalov, Edited By - Melissa-Maria Kulaprathazhe May 27, 2020 It is no secret that hospitals across the globe are overwhelmed and understocked. Healthcare workers have had to concentrate their efforts entirely onto COVID-19 patients in desperate need of immediate care, and the stock of essential resources follows. In the throes of a pandemic, the allocation of crucial medical equipment like ventilators becomes a matter of life and death. This raises the inevita
EUTHANASIA, ASSISTED SUICIDE, AND THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH
By - Razna Ahmed, Edited by - Nadia Addasi May 26, 2020 The Hippocratic Oath, established about 2,500 years ago, dictates that physicians and medical professionals follow a set of ethical medical standards. The fundamental premise of the Oath is that doctors “will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it nor will [they] make a suggestion to this effect,” as translated from Hippocrates. The Oath is the basis of modern medical treatment. The Hippocratic Oath is on
WHO GETS THE VENTILATOR?
By - Pooja Suganthan, Edited by - Nadia Addasi May 3, 2020 At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City, news channels highlighted chaotic supermarkets crowded with shoppers. Consumers were competing to buy necessities, such as water bottles, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer in bulk. Disinfecting products and masks are now hard to find in most local stores. Similarly, hospitals are facing shortages in medical equipment and resources. Ventilators are one of the crit
INFORMED CONSENT FOR ELDERLY IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES
By- Razna Ahmed, Edited by - Nadia Addasi April 19, 2020 Informed consent ensures that a patient and, if appropriate, the patient’s family, has an understanding of their health problems, and treatment options and their consequences so that they may knowingly consent to treatment. Its role is to protect the patient and respect patient autonomy, or their right to make their own decision. In Western medicine, it is the patient’s right to consent to their treatment without outsid
PRISON LABOR IN THE ERA OF CORONAVIRUS
By - Elizabeth Badalov, Edited By - Melissa-Maria Kulaprathazhe April 14, 2020 “Do you have Purell?” I asked the pharmacist behind the counter of the fourth drugstore I visited that day. He could not stop himself from laughing at my question, shaking his head in defeat and gesturing toward the shelves that have been swept empty by panicked New Yorkers. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep the state, we are reassured that we will not be left without resources—resources
WHAT’S IN A FACE?
BY – MADONNA MOZA AND SHLOMO SMALL November 7, 2018 Where is the line? What happens if we cross it? These questions are not unique to medicine, but perhaps what’s unique is the question, “If we cross the line who do we become?” When Dr. Joseph Murray performed the first organ transplant, he and most other people felt the effect of this Herculean step in medicine. Incongruously enough, 57 years later, at the same hospital, for the first time in the history of the United States
CALL FOR PERSPECTIVE ON BIOETHICS
BY – SHLOMO SMALL May 2, 2018 The need for the field of bioethics, and ethicists in general, is apparent to most reading this. The horrors of the past have not yet been in the rearview long enough to fade from memory. However, beyond the basic principles under which we operate–such as the concepts of Autonomy, Nonmaleficence, Beneficence, and Justice–the overarching philosophy of the field is not as clear. We stress over and occupy ourselves with how to apply these principles
THE RIGHT TO DIE
BY – UROOJ KHAN April 19, 2018 Imagine spending countless years studying medical textbooks from cover to cover and working diligently in exhausting hospital rotations. Fully equipped with the necessary medical expertise, you finally enter the healthcare profession with the intention of being compassionate and above all, healing others. Then, you come across a patient who exerts no desire to live and requests that you to cut off their treatment. What would be the appropriate r