Over this past summer, after my first year of medical school, I decided to live in Fukushima for two months in order to understand how mental health is affected by large-scale disasters. My first days, and subsequent impressions, in Fukushima left me quite confused about its spirit and reputation. (more…)
When we invited Dr. Mary T. Bassett, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to speak about racism in the health care system at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), we knew that it would be a powerful conversation. (more…)
On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm, struck Puerto Rico, my home. It destroyed the entire island’s infrastructure and left 3.4 million people without electricity, water, and cell phone service—making internal and external communication, nearly impossible. These are facts. I’d like to get personal. I’d like to share how I was affected by this hurricane. (more…)
The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, left the country with damaging effects, including a fractured health care system. On an annual service trip, volunteers of the ISMMS student organization, Medical Students for Haiti (MS4H), visit Haiti to train their international peers on basic medical practices, in an effort to build a cohort of competent physicians and clinicians who are ready to overturn the country’s current health care state. (more…)
During my sophomore year of college, I was thinking seriously about applying to medical school, but I was not sure if I would be able to handle working with dying patients. I decided to volunteer at a local hospice over the summer to confront that question as well as my personal fear of death. (more…)
