As my last blog post (can’t believe I am writing that) I would like to reflect on a topic that has been discussed many times throughout this semester, Medical Voluntourism. As part of our class collaboration for the Final Course Statement, we addressed the issue of medical voluntourism and unpacked solutions to this matter. Volunteers are attending these trips for the wrong reasons of hoping to mix medical experience with traveling to different exotic locations. Continue reading “Solutions to Medical Voluntourism”
The Importance of Collaborating, “U-Knight-ed” as One
Professor McCoy sent out an email about an opportunity to earn extra credit by going to an event on Wednesday, November 29th, and then reflecting on our experience. Our school hosted Christopher Soto, aka Loma, a poet and activist, to address the issues of “incarceration, undocumented status, and non-binary identities” through his poetry reading as part of the Geneseo’s Cultivating Community. Continue reading “The Importance of Collaborating, “U-Knight-ed” as One”
What I Learned in English 101 class is…
Fair warning, the following blog post is about my personal growth as a writer from the beginning of the semester to the last and my overall view of this class. Also, while I was writing up this post, I just noticed Genna McCormack’s post and how we both had the same idea. Continue reading “What I Learned in English 101 class is…”
“Do Not Resusitate,” a Debate or an Order?
In the future, I would like to be a part of the medical field, giving my undivided attention in helping those in need, by trying my best to save lives, both ethically and morally correct. With that being said if CPR saves lives, why would anyone want a DNR order? I find this topic to be very interesting because I know that there is a clear answer, but my instincts and need of wanting to help others, go against that answer. After reading, “An Unconscious Patient with a DNR Tattoo”, I’m not sure if I’m left more aware of the topic or more confused.
Continue reading ““Do Not Resusitate,” a Debate or an Order?”
A Surprising Transition From Monday’s Class to Today’s
This week’s class was dedicated to our entire class to collaboratively work on the “Final Course Statement.” The collaborative course statement unpacks a specific problem we have discussed during class, in our case Medical Voluntourism, and follows-up with a solution. During our class Monday, we went over how that project is relevant to Geneseo’s Mission, Vision and Values and the Globe. We identified how medical voluntourism can be seen as a problem. That is if the volunteer were to lack adequate training/qualifications, then they can cause more harm than good to the underprivileged communities that they work with (Zakaria, 2014). Continue reading “A Surprising Transition From Monday’s Class to Today’s”
Unintentional Harm
Fair warning message: I have been meaning to write this blog post, but I just have not been able to get to it, which is why you are seeing some of my recent posts about topics that were already mentioned.
Prior to reading all the blog posts and articles about medical voluntourism, such as “The Trouble with Medical Voluntourism” and “The White Tourist’s Burden,” I have always admired students that were willing to spend their summers going abroad to give their service and time to help a country that is in need of assistance, rather than spending it lounging around somewhere warm, like the beach. However after reading these articles and discussing the topic during class, I now realize how it is an issue. I believe most students are taking this English 101: Literature, Medicine & Racism class because they believe it will help them gain knowledge that they can use in the medical field. Discussing topic like medical voluntourism is important because it allows us to ask ourselves, “If we lacked the training and expertise required, would we risk harming a patient’s life in the chance of helping them?” No, right? If we would not do it here in our home country, what makes us think it is right to do it in a foreign country?
Consent or Lack There Of
An important topic that we have discussed in class and that has been a common theme throughout the articles and books we have read is consent. Consent is the notion that a clear and verbal agreement is required from both parties prior to engaging in any activity. Without consent an activity may be considered to be a violent and/or criminal act. Although, typically when we think of consent we think of it in the context of sexual activity, we have seen it other cases as well. Throughout the semester we have found various examples of lack of consent in the following literature: “When Doctors Took ‘Family Planning” In Their Own Hands,” Medical Apartheid, Zulus, and Zone One. Continue reading “Consent or Lack There Of”
Exploring Curiosity With A Guideline
A couple weeks ago, in class we had a discussion about the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and its role in research. For a second I was like, where have I heard this acronym before, and then it clicked. Part of my major requirement is to take Psychology 452: Advanced Research Method, a senior seminar, which basically consists of learning how to conduct your own research, with real subjects, data, and analysis. Since we are using students in our research, we had to get our experiment approved by the IRB. The IRB is basically a “constituted group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects.” The IRB has the authority to approve, require modifications in, or disapprove research. Ultimately, it serves to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects.
A Search For Hidden Messages
Although we finished Zulus a couple of weeks ago, I have been meaning to write this post about Everett’s hidden work. Throughout the novel, there are many questions that go through our mind wondering, was this done on purpose? There are two things that stuck out to me in this novel, which I have never noticed before in any other literature work, thus, the purpose of this blog is to critique Everett’s writing choices. These include: using alphabets as chapters and misspellings throughout the novel.
Better Kept A Secret?
As my first blog post, I want to write about the question that Dr. McCoy asked us to think about after this week’s class. In Home, by Toni Morrison, during Frank Money’s time in North Korea, we were left with the mysterious question as to who shot the Korean child and why? Throughout the book, Morrison slowly reveals who Frank is as a person, and allowing the reader to come up with their own conclusions.
Before Frank went to war, he had negative feelings towards his hometown, Lotus, Georgia. Frank was curious of the unknown, and wanted more out of his life. He felt he would be able to fill in those gaps, by leaving town and joining the army. Although Frank was able to experience new things, it came at cost of losing his self-identity. At first Frank lies to the narrator about who killed the little Korean girl, blaming the murder on a guard. It was not until later in the book, when the truth of who shot the child was finally revealed. Sadly, it was Frank.
Throughout the book, as the reader we have noticed Morrison’s deliberate attempt at brevity. Allowing us to organize our thoughts and interpret the story for ourselves. Particularly about the shooting of the little Korean girl, which was inspired by Frank’s illicit sexual desire to the child. There could have been so much more Frank could have said about this. So why did he do it? After Frank confesses to killing the little girl, I believe it is because he was afraid of the possibility of what he is capable of doing. Thus, in order to prevent himself from ever acting on those desires, he eliminates it completely out of his life. It also saddens me to look at the situation through the little girl’s perspective. The fact that she was willing to give up her body, at such young age, in order to survive, tells us a lot about how she was raised. After returning to the USA, Frank carries this shame and it affects his relationship with his sister, Cee.