Medical
What Caribbean medical students need to know about the residency match
For students studying at Caribbean medical schools, success in the residency match is a major concern. And it should be, because Caribbean medical students have unique challenges. At the same time, strategizing early in your medical school career can significantly impact your ultimate success. Here are five rules that are critical in residency match success:…
Read MoreMarket-driven health care: What you need to know before searching for a position
Breaking down the medical industry As you inch towards your debut as a physician, it’s wise to assess the medical field’s ever-changing landscape before you establish your place within it. There are many factors to consider when evaluating the medical market and how it impacts you personally. Now more than ever, national trends can directly…
Read MoreTelehealth in underserved populations needs telecommunication expansion
COVID-19 has propelled the nation into widespread telehealth services to provide consumer-based care, especially for those who access this technology. Equity issues arise when using digital communication because many underserved populations lack access to digital and/or mobile services. Inevitably, this brings up the greater concern of an unintentional exacerbation of disparities because low-income groups face…
Read MoreThe doctor will sneeze you now
A year ago, it would have seemed absurd for a medical resident to call out sick with nothing more than a cough and congestion. It’s different now. The calculus of cold symptoms has changed. When one of us recently woke with a sniffle, she wondered if she should stay home. She logged into her computer…
Read MoreWhy spiritual health is so important [PODCAST]
“Around the time of the coronavirus outbreak, 2019 also marked a full century since the death of Sir William Osler, who revolutionized medical training. Despite some lingering debate over whether Dr. Osler’s pneumonia-related death should be counted among the 50 million lost to the 1918 influenza pandemic, his notes suggest that he believed the flu…
Read MoreWill anyone take the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s approved?
Finally, 2020 has offered some encouraging news, with Pfizer and Moderna publishing recent results that provide initial evidence of their vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19. With the recent promising results from both vaccine trials, it seems like only a matter of time before the FDA approves them. While some hurdles remain before the vaccine’s distribution…
Read MorePhysicians fight from the social media frontlines
As of November 2020, there are about 11.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,50,000 deaths from COVID-19 disease in the USA. Conspiracy theories thrive in times of great uncertainty, and the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a petri dish for them. Misinformation regarding the usage of masks, vaccine safety, and other pseudoscientific theories…
Read MoreThe 5 “P’s” of a pandemic
Math was never my favorite subject. However, I was lucky to have good teachers who took the time to help me navigate through high school math and graduate with a final A grade. As I struggled with numbers and equations, calculus and fractions, I was told by one particular teacher to remember the five Ps…
Read MoreThe ibuprofen COVID-19 paradox
With the surge of information surrounding COVID-19 released in the news this year, an interesting concern arose regarding ibuprofen’s use in patients with COVID-19. In March of 2020, French authorities were the first to investigate anecdotal reports of severe COVID-19 infection in patients who had taken ibuprofen. The initial concern involved the ACE-2 receptor. The…
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