Community ConnectionsAs a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Greek organization, I was able to engage with my Seattle community in a tangible way. I was able to volunteer putting together medical packs for people historically disadvantaged in the medical system as well as engage with organizers for medical advocacy groups. Through this, I gained an appreciation for the multiple facets of identity that go into medical care and the privilege associated with health.
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Learning How to COPEThrough my 280 hours as a Health Scholar at Swedish Hospital, I gained indispensable experience dealing with patients in the clinical setting. Due to the limited range of competencies for volunteers, I had ample time to speak one on one with patients and learn how their preferences and identities related to their experience in the hospital. I was able to integrate patient identity into my care for longer term patients and enjoy a depth of interaction that I am unlikely to experience in later practice where visits are time constrained. I know that being a Health Scholar will help me better serve patients as I work on how to relate to their interaction with healthcare and how to best serve a wide range of patients.
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Contextual Practice at Work Over each summer of my undergrad, I worked at the Foot and Ankle Center of the Rockies as a medical scribe. Here I enjoyed the mentorship of an amazing podiatrist team who practiced contextual care in real time, treating the whole individual to improve health outcomes with an understanding that accommodations must be made to general treatment plans. I hope to emulate this amazing approach to medicine in my own career and couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from the doctors at the clinic.
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Identity in Healthcare: LGBTI Rights in International AffairsIn the class LGBTI Rights in International Affairs, I had the opportunity to explore the intersection of identity with medical care and rights with a former Swedish United Nations representative. My independent research allowed me to specifically investigate how transgender Czech citizens must choose between recognition from the government to avoid discrimination or the maintenance of their reproductive rights. My research involved multiple perspectives on medical rights within the Czech government that have allowed me to better comprehend how the context of one's identity affects the medical experience and associated rights. As a future doctor, I plan to be intentional with how I practice care for individuals of various identities and to keep at the forefront of my mind the passion for providing care tailored to their lived experience.
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