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Featured Articles
Dense CI [News From the Lecture Hall]
Sackler Renovation
Rosie Lau, M'10
The Sackler Renovation Project has reached the final stages of its planning phase, and construction is slated to begin as early as May 2008. The reason for this early start date is the ultimate aim of having the majority of the construction finished before Class of 2012 arrives in late August. One of the key components of the new educational objectives, the establishment of learning communities, will be further realized by the completion of their physical spaces mid-August, specifically on 2nd and 3rd floors. Our beloved 4th floor café and hang out spot will be closed on May 19, 2008, and is scheduled to reopen in Nov 29, 2008 with a brand-new face-lift.
Soft CI [News From Around Campus]
Taking Care of Ourselves: Healthcare for Students
Chris Montgomery, M’11
If your past medical experiences are anything like mine, you most likely avoided switching from your childhood pediatrician to an adult primary care physician for as long as was realistically possible, and then a couple years more. If so, you might be familiar with the confused glances of young parents as you tried to ignore the wails coming from their two-year-old child crying in pain from an ear infection, all in order to get that meningococcal vaccine your college admissions office required prior to matriculation.
As much fun as those visits were, the next time I found myself in need to medical treatment I was pleasantly surprised to finally experience a waiting room that was designed for someone over the age of seven...
Tufts Medical Center: A New Face and a Simpler Name
Nicole Harrison, M'11
Even if you missed the giant banners in the atrium and the nearly overnight change in signs around the hospital, there are the ubiquitous ads in T stations to let you know--Tufts-New England Medical Center is now, simply, Tufts Medical Center. The name change, which went into effect on March 4th, is the culmination of many months of brand research...
Expanded CI [News From Beyond Campus]
Summer Fun in Boston (and Beyond!)
Michael Garshick, M'11
Summer is fast approaching, although with the recent weather outside you wouldn’t necessarily know it. However, in a few weeks when school is out and the sun is in, I know that us upcoming 2nd years--and hopefully even the 3rd and 4th years--will be looking for something to do. If you have never experienced a Boston summer before, watch out, as it can be hot and sticky, but definitely filled with some city (and beyond) fun.
The Sterotyping of america
David Einstein, M'11
The swing state, the undecided voter, and middle America—three vague terms subject to intense political analysis and media scrutiny amid the angst of the Democratic primaries. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards all dedicated their campaigns to the plight of the working class, and the Democratic party—as countless columnists have pointed out—should face an easy election with promises of progressive economic policies in the midst of financial crisis, smart foreign policy as Iraq claims more lives and resources, and new approaches to healthcare in the face of increasing health disparities. But this election cycle increasingly highlights the misguided efforts of political and media elites to understand and categorize the American everyman.
Irregular CI [Features and the Like]
Who is Going To Feed Us Now?
John Biebelhausen, M’11 (MD/MBA)
You have heard it before: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Now, more than ever, this rings true throughout the halls of the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals. If there was any doubt of the recent shift away from hand-holding between industry and academic medical institutions, then the recent Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) report on industry funding of medical education sets things straight like an over-protective father on prom night.
The Price of Beauty
Kate Turk , M'11
In his book, Better, Atul Gawande recounts the moment he was offered his first job as a fully licensed physician after years of grueling preparation. The head of the department asked him what he wanted to be paid. Gawande didn’t know how much would be reasonable, let alone how much he wanted. It’s a problem we all face in medicine, though perhaps in a more subtle way, when we pick our specialty. We are not supposed to be "in this for the money," but let’s face it: most of us hope our dream specialty--the thing that gets us out of bed in the morning, ready to heal the sick and comfort the dying--also has a nice paycheck and doesn’t require excessive amounts of overtime to boot. Why not?
Wrapping Up the Community Service Selective
David Einstein, M'11
The Community Service selective: heralded by sandwiches, concluded with pizza, and then something in between. In my recent wrap-up session, we each described our CS selective and our reaction to it. We then struggled to define which settings were the most effective for community service. On one side, a student argued that the CS selective offers an opportunity for medical students to get beyond the medical sphere, to practice interacting with unfamiliar types of people through basketball or tutoring; another student rightly pointed out that more medicine-oriented selectives like Sharewood often enhance the student’s PD skills more than the patient’s health. On the other side, a Sharewood selective student felt that volunteering in a clinic allowed medical students to serve the community using their unique skills, as well as to practice simply listening. Our moderator then phrased this as a debate over the meaning of altruism.