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USC Hosts Annual

University of Southern CaliforniaApril 11, 2012 Volume II | Issue IITrojanHealthConnection.com

— see THERAPY, page 7

By LESLIE WU

Editor

Last week, USC hosted events on both the University Park Campus and the Health Sciences Campus for the 4th an-nual Global Health Awareness Week, ti-tled “To Nutrition & Beyond,” which called attention to malnourished popula-tions, growing epidemics, and rising obe-sity rates around the world.

The week was coordinated by seniors Michelle Hyunh and Bonnie Chen, who oversaw committees responsible for allo-cating resources to the various events.

The kick-off event was a networking luncheon where guests interacted with faculty, pre-health students, and health care business professionals. Among the attendees were Dr. Jonathan M. Samet, Director of the USC Global Institute of Health, as well as Dr. Gene Bickers, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs.

Said Bickers of the networking opportu-nity, “The luncheon was terrific. I enjoyed getting a chance to talk with students from a variety of different majors and I also got to meet a faculty member from [the Physical Therapy program]. I took away a lot of useful information myself.”

The “What’s for Lunch” event on Wednesday allowed passing students to

sample international cuisine by spin-ning a wheel with different countries, and learn about the various problems plagu-ing each country. The underlying mes-sage, however, was that the majority of people in third-world countries “don’t get to choose what they eat,” said Huynh.

Global hunger was also an important emphasis of the “Nutrition Around The World” series, which took place on the Health Sciences Campus. HSC graduate students formed a panel and spoke about issues affecting a particular country. The aim was to bring awareness to these glob-al issues, and also to inspire thought.

“In Mexico, it’s more affordable to

By ANJLIE GUPTA

Editor

USC’s Office of Pre-Health Advisement kicked off Pre-Health Week 2012 with a workshop on “Writing Effective Personal Statements.”

The workshop was led by USC Associate Professor of Writing Erika Nanes.

Nanes recommends creating an im-plied argument in a personal statement. Within this argument, ethos, pathos, and logos should all be present.

“A lot of times people say that they want to help people,” said Nanes. “But why do you want to help people in this particular context, or this particular way?”

When it comes to actual-ly writing t h e

statement, Nanes advocates a three step process: digging for details, selecting de-tails, and arranging details.

“The first things you think of when you are brainstorming to come up with ideas for a personal statement may not always be the ones you stick with,” said Nanes.

After digging for details, “Careful se-lection of details is important,” said Nanes. Students participated in an ac-tivity in which they learned how to pick which activities to discuss based on what type of school they were applying to.

Nanes then discussed structure and the importance of theme/focus, frame, se-quence, transitions, and concluding ob-servation.

Sophomore and pre-medical student Abhishek Verma said, “What was really helpful was that we went over a sample essay,” said Verma.

Pre-health week events continue for the rest of this week. Monday also

featured Dr. Kenneth Geller’s “Joys of Medicine” lecture event. Tuesday was "Interviewing for Health Professional Schools," and today, Wednesday, from 2-3:30 PM

is "Prep for Entrance Exams: MCAT, DAT, etc." n

Career Spotlight t Occupational Therapy

Offbeat Courses for Pre-Health StudentsBy FAIZAN MALIK

Editor

Choosing which class-es to take at USC can be challenging given the wide selection. While many stu-dents want to sample the variety of fun and inter-esting classes at USC, they should also consid-er classes that also teach them skills they may need

Many students plan-ning on entering a health profession may usually only consider medicine, dentistry, and pharma-cy. However, other allied health professions are be-coming increasingly im-portant in today’s health care industry.

One of these professions

is occupational therapy. According to USC profes-sor and occupational ther-apist Kimberly Morris-Eggleston, occupational therapy is a rehabilitation profession interested in helping people fulfill their potential by helping them engage in their meaning-ful occupations.

In the field of occupa-tional therapy, occupa-tions are not jobs or ca-reers, but are defined as

meaningful activities that occupy one’s time, accord-ing to Morris-Eggleston. These activities could be anything people do for themselves, such as cook-ing, developing healthi-er lifestyles, learning to write, socializing with others, brushing your teeth, working, and so on.

According to Morris-Eggleston, the goal of

along their health careers.For those who are new

to the healthcare and are interested in acquiring a broad overview, MDA 110 and BISC 194 are a good start.

MDA 110, Contem-porary Issues and Cases in Healthcare, is a two-unit course directed by Dr. Kenneth Geller, the Director of the Pre-Health

Advisement Office. Each week, a different health professional visits and talks about his or her field and what the job entails. The lecture lasts about one hour, after which the class breaks up into teams to discuss a simulation case study.

Danny Lee, a junior at

— see CLASSES, page 2

consume beer and soda than to consume water. We have to ask why? What is this doing to the population?” said Huynh.

The committee also collaborated with UCLA and Western University to pro-vide free health screenings by doctors and pharmacy students from USC in an event entitled “World Health Day: Go for the Gold.” Drawing inspiration from the up-coming London Olympics, the joint effort brought together the Los Angeles com-munity with Olympic-themed events, in-cluding a race for children where former Olympians appeared to hand out medals.

Though entirely student-run, the week also received support from a variety of

organizations on campus, including Globe Med, the Global Health Club, and the USC Institute of Global Health.

Ivette Flores Guintu, program manag-er for the Institute of Global Health which helped fund the week, said that the goal was to “engage students from across USC [on both campuses] in discussions around these important issues.”

Though a new initiative, Global Health Awareness Week continues to grow. “We hope the tradition continues so that we can build partnerships that encourage the diverse, multi-disciplinary and innovative approaches that are needed to address the challenges we face,” said Guintu. n

C E N T E R S P R E A D F E A T U R E :Clinical or Research? County or Private? Howto pick the right medical school | PAGES 4-5 Image: citytowninfo.com

By JESSICA FRANKEBERGER & ROBERT HA

Writers

Pre-Health Week Kicks Off

Writer Michelle ChongGlobal Health Awareness Week The “What’s for Lunch” event featured meals from around the world.

pscinc.com

Global Health Awareness Week

Dear Reader,Welcome to our second spring

print publication of Trojan Health Connection.

As USC’s pre-health newspaper, we strive to provide informative articles for those of you pursuing or considering a career in health.

Many allied health professions do not get the credit and recognition that they deserve, and it is our mission to spread more aware-ness. Last issue, we had a spotlight on op-tometrists and compared ODs to MDs. This issue, we have a special feature on both oc-cupational and physical therapists on page 7.

In the future, we plan to bring you more in-depth coverage of the wide variety of different careers available in the health care field. Go online to trojanhealthconnection.com to vote for the next career we’ll feature in the fall.

As for the premeds: you’ve finally made it. You’ve taken the MCAT, all the prerequi-site courses, and now you are deciding which medical schools to apply to. Check out our centerspread on pages 4-5 for pivotal factors to consider when deciding on a med school that’s the “right fit” for you.

Or are you thinking of taking a gap year? Many students opt to take a gap year between college and professional school to fully devel-op their applications and explore other inter-ests. Flip to the back page to discover various opportunities including traveling abroad, vol-unteering, or conducting research.

In honor of Global Health Awareness Week, organized by USC’s Global Health Institute, we provide general coverage of the week on page 1 and feature prominent global

health issues on page 3.Page 6 will be permanently dedicated to

student organizations on campus and up-dates on up-and-coming activities. In this is-sue, we feature a quartet of new organiza-tions including FISH, FUELS, iGEM and the Pre-Med Mentoring Club.

This issue also marks the one-year anni-versary of our print publication.

Our paper would not be possible with-out our hard-working staff writers, many of whom have never written a single newspaper article prior to this issue, but are now writing front-page feature pieces. We are very proud of their growth this year. We also greatly ap-preciate our skilled photographers who make our paper all the more readable.

In addition, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of our dedicated editorial board and our talented group of managers.

To our founders, Hao-Hua Wu and Takanori Ohkubo, thank you for your hard work and effort spent into producing Trojan Health Connection. You have started a legacy which we will uphold for the future of our pa-per. We wish you the best in your future en-deavors and hope you will visit often.

Finally, we would like to thank you, our reader, for your continued support. We strive to provide you with the most credible and in-formative pre-health news, and we appreciate your continued feedback and patronage.

Letter from the Editors-in-Chief

Jessica Kuo

Rebecca Gao

April 11, 2012 Page 2

News Writers: SHELBY BACHMAN, LYNN BENJAUTHRIT, AIMEE CHANG, KRISTEN CHEN, KRISTINA CHIU, MICHELLE CHONG, DIANA CHUNG, JESSICA FRANKEBERGER, PURNIMA GURUNG, TALINE GUERVREKIAN, ROBERT HA, DIANA HANG, NIKI NOE, DOUG O'CONNELL, TIFFANY POULDAR, CHUKWUMA UZOEGWU

Feature Writers: KAUSAR ALI, ANDREA ALONSO, AMANDA CIOZDA, MICHAEL COOPER, ANNETTE EOM, PETER ESKAN-DER, KATHRYN FOWLER, ALINE HESSE, PRAGATI MAMTORA, HAIDI MATTSON, PALLAVI MYNAMPATI, ENA NIELSON, SEHAR SALMAN, ELAINE TANG, EM-ILY ZOLFAGHARI

Contributing Writers: JAMES ALURI, DAISY KIM, SUSAN LEE, ISRAEL ORTA, ALAN WONG

Photographers: MICHELLE CHONG, RUNXIN LIANG, DANIEL WANG, JESSICA WANG

REBECCA GAO & JESSICA KUOEditors-in-Chief

USC said, “After a pathologist came to speak to us one week, I realized that I’m really interested in that specialty and I plan on pursuing it.” “If it weren’t for this class, I wouldn’t have known maybe until much later,” Lee said.

“There aren’t many classes you can take as an undergraduate that directly deal with medicine or case studies like this. It’s a nice taste of what medical school may be like and could help undergraduates decide if medicine is right for them,” he said.

BISC 194 is similar to MDA 110 and is directed by Dr. Rahul Jandial, along with several guest lecturers. The class begins with a question and answer session in which Dr. Jandial either asks students questions or picks students to ask him a question to get the class comfortable with public speaking.

Victoria Chien, a USC sophomore said that Jandial presents about a wide range of topics, from neurosurgery to international medical work, his research, and even lectures on how to get into medical school. He tries to keep the class informal and emphasizes questions and speaking over note-taking and tests.

“I liked learning about the different surgeries Dr. Jandial lectured about. He made it easy to understand what was going

on and explained what it’s like to work as a neurosurgeon” she said. “Dr. Jandial’s lecture on how to get into medical school was really insightful as well and full of good tips.”

PPD 330 is called “Introduction to Health Care Systems.” The course goes over the major topics in health care economics.

Neil Bhattacharya, a USC senior said, “Students in PPD 330 learn about all aspects of healthcare economics and learn in depth about the major issues facing the United States. Even though some students may think they have a good grasp on how things work, many have a hard time articulating their opinions and showing they have some insight.”

REL 360, Medical Ethics is another class worth considering. Lee has taken this course as well and recommends its in-depth and informal style.

“REL 360 is great because you’ll most likely be asked questions about ethics in at least some interviews” Lee said. “In this class you go over ethical theories in detail and learn how to speak and write about controversial topics such as insurance and abortion.”

While USC offers more classes than any student can fit into a couple years, it is never too early to begin experimenting and tailoring your education to match your goals and dream careers. n

For more articles or to apply for our staff, please visitwww.TrojanHealthConnection.com

Sincerely,

Rebecca GaoEditor-in-Chief

Jessica KuoEditor-in-Chief

GURLEEN CHADHA Research Editor

FAIZAN MALIK Leadership Editor

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ANJLIE GUPTA Global Health Editor

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By KRISTEN CHENWriter

Beauty Bus, a non-profit organization that provides in-home beauty treatments to terminally and chronically ill patients, began in 2009 to raise patient’s spirits. Since Beauty Bus provides services throughout Los Angeles, USC students can volunteer to visit and interact with patients.

Melissa Nealy, who passed away at the age of 28 from a degenerative neuromuscular disease, serves as the inspiration behind Beauty Bus. Founders Alicia Marantz Liotta, Nealy’s cousin, and Wendy Marantz Levine, Nealy’s sister, noticed how a simple spa treatment provided happiness to Nealy and started Beauty Bus in hopes of lightening the lives of other patients.

Beauty Bus provides complimentary haircuts, facial treatments, manicures, pedicures, and makeup application to men, women, and children. But to those involved in Beauty Bus, their work means more than a day at the spa.

“It’s not just a manicure or makeup, it’s so much more. It’s bringing hope to people whose worlds are isolated and are constantly looked upon as patients rather than people,” Jacylyn Rosenson, Director of Program and Development, said.

Beauty Bus clients can attest to the power of pampering amidst many hospital visits and bills.

“It is the simple idea of someone coming to your home to pamper you at a time when all your energy is being expended to fight a

personal battle. It is much more than just feeling good about how you look,” Karen O., a breast cancer survivor and former client, said. “Beauty Bus gives its clients renewed internal strength to keep fighting.”

Ronsenson recounts a particularly touching experience at a couple’s home.

“The husband was about fifteen years younger than his terminally ill wife. While they were there, the husband kept telling his wife how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. But his wife kept on brushing the comments aside and saying that she was not beautiful,” Rosenson said. “But by the end of the visit, after a facial and makeup, she told everyone that she felt beautiful again.”

In order to fulfill their mission statement, Beauty Bus is looking for compassionate and energetic people for their team.

USC students can get involved as either Beauty Buddies or Beauty Ambassadors. As Beauty Buddies, students accompany Beauty Professionals at in-home visits and help create a warm environment where the clients can relax. Students may also serve as Beauty Ambassadors who volunteer at fundraising events and increase awareness about Beauty Bus.

“For our clients, our Beauty Bus visit was a break from the hardships of disease, from doctors’ visits, and insurance paperwork; for me, it was a magical day, a day that reminded me how simple acts of kindness go a long, long way,” Lindsay M. said.

Visit www.BeautyBus.org for more information. n

— from CLASSES, page 1

Free Beauty Treatments for Patients

Nontraditional Pre-health Classesrackcdn.com

A wealth of offbeat pre-health classes offer students many opportunities for learning

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and positions of Trojan Health Connection or its funders, advertisers, and sponsors.

By SEHAR SALMAN

WriterUSC offers a Masters in Public Health (MPH) which Dr.

Stan Azen, Professor and Co-Director of Biostatistics at the USC Keck School of Medicine, describes as “attractive to people from across different disciplines and because of the track based system, everyone can choose their courses and a practicum that keeps with their interests.”

Azen and Dr. Tess Boley Cruz, Assistant Professor and Director of Health Communications track of the MPH program, along with Dr. Genevieve Dunton, an Assistant Professor of Research, demonstrate the diversity of interests in public health.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics: Dr. Stanley Azen

Azen originally wanted to be a musician. However, his parents told him to get a degree in “something that pays.” And so he became a mat hemat i c i a n and worked on the precursor to the internet. He became interested in Biostatistics and eventually came to USC and to develop the Biostatistics program here.

“Biostatistics and epidemiology are closely linked,” Azen said. Biostatistics determines that there is a problem and epidemiology helps to figure out the risk factors behind the problem.

In his most recent studies funded by the NIH, Azen is looking at eye disease. He found that “there was a

prevalence for glaucoma [among Los Angeles Latinos] and then located what caused the prevalence. These are risk factors, including age, gender, whether or not you have a doctor, insurance, emotional support, and etc.,” said Azen.

He is carrying out multiple studies related to eye disease among ethnic groups, and is working with a colleague on a genetic study. Azen enjoys his career and feels that an MPH is a very versatile and successful degree.

Health Communications: Dr. Tess Boley Cruz

Cruz started out in counseling services working with adolescents who were having problems with the court system. She then decided to take a civil service job in community health communication and family planning. Eventually, after earning an MPH and a PhD, she came to USC.

She began by doing research on tobacco advertising and mass media influences. Her interest in Health Communications “stemmed out of [this] early work on tobacco industry marketing” and now she is trying to make health issues “more accessible to low literate communities” by “looking at medical literacy and how to communicate health issues.”

Her advice to students is to “cross the sidewalk, and get out into the community. Do volunteering work and do practical internships. Once you run up against the problems – the major challenge is to work with populations that are needy. Once you experience firsthand how tenacious their lives are, you become very dedicated to the field of public

health. It’s very humbling.”

Building Healthier Communities through Nutrition and Physical Activity: Dr. Genevieve Dunton

Dunton worked as a behavioral therapist in an outpatient treatment center for mental illness and became interested in “applying social psychological theory to understanding how people make decisions in engaging in healthy behavior and motivational factors – health behavior promotion.”

She then went back to school for an MPH and PhD. When she was young, she was a competitive figure skater and so has always had an interest in physical health. Her degree was a “great marriage of overall interests in physical activity and living an active lifestyle and trying to understand how we can get others to do that.”

Her research here is on obesity prevention, physical activity, and diet. She collects her data on a more individual level with mobile devices to learn “where an individual is, who they are with, and how they feel before, during and after eating and physical activity.” Dunton said that to “stop the spread of obesity, it will take a coordinated community effort that involves multiple organizations, government agencies, and policies. It is a public health problem that must be dealt with at the public health level.”

Dr. Dunton describes Public Health as “the science of preventing disease and promoting health at the population level”. For those of us who had and have dreams of “saving the world,” a career in public health seems to come pretty close. n

Examining Case Studies in Public Health Careers

Page 3www.TrojanHealthConnection.comApril 11, 2012 Global Health

ipr.usc.edu Dr. Genevieve Dunton, Assistant Professor of Research.

For more articles or to apply for our staff, please visit

ot.usc.edu/facultyDr. Stanley Azen, Professor and Co-Director of Biostatistics.

teamlab.usc.eduDr. Tess Boley Cruz, Assistant Professor and Director of Health Communications.

By KRISTINA CHIUWriter

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has been sweeping across international bor-ders and is a critical global health con-cern in the world community. In Los An-geles alone, six patients were diagnosed with drug-resistant TB in 2010.

Although drug resistant TB is not as prevalent in the U.S. as it is in other countries, steps can be taken to make sure it doesn’t spread.

Drug-resistant TB is caused by mu-tant strains of mycobacteria, which also cause regular TB. In many cases, drug-resistant TB can prove deadly because it cannot be treated with the usual antibi-otics.

Drug-resistant TB is divided into two categories: multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resis-tant TB (XDR-TB). MDR-TB is resis-tant to two of the most effective anti-TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin, often the first go-to drugs.

XDR-TB is resistant to both isonia-zid and rifampicin along with at least one of three second-line drugs, which are less effective against TB than first-line drugs. Patients infected with XDR-TB don’t have many treatment options available to them, and the options that they do have aren’t very effective and have other side effects.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, in 2010, there were 650,000 cases of MDR-TB world-wide. Approximately fifty percent of these cases are said to be in India and

China. A high burden country is one that has more than 4000 new drug resistant TB cases each year or one in which ten percent of all new TB cases are drug re-sistant.

MDR-TB has become a problem in high burden countries, many of which are developing nations, due to a lack of available funding.

“There is often a lack of laboratory support to help diagnose drug resistant TB in high MDR-TB burden countries,” said Dr. Brenda Jones, Associate Pro-fessor of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine. “Also, a lack of resources to pay for TB medications might prevent the use of the appropriate drugs and ad-herence to treatment regimens.”

Treatment for regular TB requires patients to take anti-TB drugs for six months. However, MDR-TB and XDR-TB require treatment for at least two years. Patients must also take TB medi-cations for two years, even if they recover within that time period. Otherwise, the disease may come back even more drug resistant than before.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the most important thing a person can do to prevent the spread of MDR-TB is to take all of his/her medications exactly as pre-scribed by his/her health care provider. Doses should not be missed and treat-ment should not be stopped early.

“It is important to provide resources for TB control and public health,” said Jones. “We also need to increase TB awareness and education in healthcare workers and patients.” n

By PAVITRA KRISHNAMANI

EditorThe Patient Protection and Afford-

able Care Act is a controversial piece of legislation. Among its most contro-versial aspects is the mandatory cover-age of contraception without charging a deductible, co-pay, or coinsurance, by all new insurance plans provided by all employers and educational institutions, excluding houses of worship.

Even though this contraception would only have to be provided through insurance, should religiously affiliated organizations and businesses be held to the same standards as other em-ployers in pro-viding health insurance that includes the op-tion for contra-ception?

S o p h o -more Hemal-atha Bhamidi, said that they should because “a woman should have access to birth control to pre-vent the feeling that she made the wrong decision after an abortion.”

Others, like sophomore Katrina Kai-ser, say that although contraception is advised against by some religions, “it’s best to not play moral politics with wom-en’s health, especially if the idea behind a lot of these religious institutions’ core principles is taking care of the family. If choice and freedom are so important, I don’t see why anyone would restrict the [right] to get contraceptives.”

Sophomore Bhavan Desai said that “Religious beliefs should be put aside in secular decisions like this in the interest

of serving the customer [employee] in the most comprehensive way.”

Other students believe that, just as the religious views are taken out of secu-lar contexts, secular views should be tak-en out of religious contexts too.

“I don’t think they should be mandat-ed to have it in their health plan because they are privately owned,” says Sopho-more Awadi Rathugamage.

A large part of these diverging views lies in whether this decision is secular or religious. Each person’s personal be-liefs may be his/her moral compass, but should not be that of the nation.

The Pa-tient Protec-tion and Af-fordable Care Act allows em-ployees to get contraception at an afford-able price, but it doesn’t force anyone to use this benefit.

It excludes houses of wor-ship, the only i ns t i t u t i o ns g u a r a n t e e d to solely have e m p l o y e e s that believe in

the faith they directly work to preserve. However, these institutions bring to-

gether communities that are as diverse in values those of other employers.

Hence, religiously-affiliated organi-zations should be held to the same legal standards in health care as other, secu-lar, companies and should be expected to provide their employees with health insurance that allow for the optional obtainment of contraception without ad-ditional deductible, co-pay, or coinsur-ance.

Anything otherwise would be an im-proper divide between church and state.n

Resistant Strains of TB

Obamacare Mandates Employee Health Insurance Coverage of Contraception

Journal Brasileiro de PneumologiaChest x-rays of patients with various stages of tuberculosis.

Loeb/GettyObama signs the health-care reform bill into law.

By CHRISTINE LEEEditor

Pre-med students interested in the humanistic and artistic aspects of medicine such as writ-ing, fine arts, and activism may want to con-

sider a medical school’s focus on these studies when applying to medical school. An increasing number of medical schools are integrating humanities and arts in their curricula including Brown University, Univer-sity of Iowa, and New York University (NYU).

As a liberal arts college, Brown University’s em-phasis on the humanities extends into the curriculum of its medical school, Alpert Medical School, with a required course for first and second years called Doctoring. This course provides students with an early op-portunity to observe and practice patient interviewing, history-taking,

and professional conduct along-side a physician mentor.

Doctoring also requires stu-dents to engage in reflective

writing about their experiences with patients, uncertain situations, and ethical dilemmas. This course aims to foster not only empathy but also a habit of thinking critically about diagnoses and ethics.

According to the article “Poetry, Painting to Earn an M.D.” in the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Hedy Wald, a clinical assistant professor of family medicine at

Brown, thinks that the writing component to this program is crucial in the development of a thoughtful, patient-centered physician.

“The act of writing helps you build reflective capac-ity so you can better understand the patient’s story and integrate it with everything you know as a doc-tor to have a more patient-centered-care relationship,” Wald said.

In addition to this program, Alpert Medical School offers more humanities courses with its Scholarly Concentration Program, which is an optional elective

that offers cross disciplinary areas of study between medicine and a topic in humanities. Currently, thirteen concentrations are offered including Advocacy and Ac-tivism, Caring for Underserved Communities, Medical Humanities and Ethics, Medical Technology and Inno-vation, and Physician as a Communicator.

For whatever subject is selected, a student collabo-rates with a faculty mentor and builds a four-year plan to create a final product. Examples of final products are pieces of literature, development of a bioengineering tool, or evaluation of an outreach program.

NYU School of Medicine also has a program that en-courages medical students to delve into intellectual and artistic interests outside of the core medicine curricu-lum. The Master Scholars in Medical Humanism Pro-

gram provides several opportunities for students to converse about medicine and humanities through seminars, lectures by writers and artists, concerts, and film screenings.

As another medium through which medical students can connect in the arts, “Agora,” an arts and literature magazine features the fine arts, photography, and writing of medical students.

Although humanities courses current-ly remain as electives at Brown Univer-sity and NYU, some medical schools are making humanities a mandatory part of their curricula. At the University Of Iowa

Carver College Of Medicine, students taking a humani-ties course are required to submit works to the medical school’s literary journal called “The Examined Life.”

This literary journal is published biannually by the Writing and Humanities Program at the Carver College of Medicine. The journal can be found online at its self-titled “blogspot,” and according to the blog, “the journal intends to deepen and complicate our understanding of healthcare and healing, illness, the human body, and the human condition.”

These three medical schools signify the growing tran-sition of medical school curricula. Pre-med students may want to consider humanities as a decision-making factor when applying to medical school. n

Growing number of medical schools increase efforts to integrate humanities into curriculum By GURLEEN CHADA

Editor

For most pre-medical students, dedicat-ing their lives to medicine is incredibly fulfilling in itself. There are others,

however, who seek to combine their passion for subjects like law or business with their pas-sion for medicine through medical college dual degree programs, the most common being MD/PhD, MD/MPH, MD/JD, and MD/MBA.

One of the best-known dual degrees is the MD/PhD degree, ideal for people looking to bal-ance medicine with research. Those who have completed MD/PhD programs (also known as physician-scientists) often become faculty at universities, medical schools, or research insti-tutes. On average, the degree takes eight years to complete, as opposed to four years of medical

Choosing the Right Med SchoolPage 4 April 11, 2012www.TrojanHealthConnection.com

New York UniversityNew York CitY, NY

University of Iowaiowa CitY, ia

These colleges are including humani-ties courses in their curricula to help develop critical thinking skills and create a more well-rounded education.

By CHUCK UZOEGWUWriter

Although all medical schools share cer-tain characteristics, there are enough differences between public and private

medical schools to warrant discussion. The most obvious difference is the cost. At face value, pri-vate medical schools tend to cost more than public medical schools for in-state residents.

According to the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), the median tuition in the 2010-2011 school year was $28,685 for pub-lic medical schools and $46,899 for private in-stitutions. Other data from AAMC showed that the total cost of medical schools in the 2010-2011 school year was $49,298 for public medical schools and $66,984 for private medical schools.

For nonresidents, the difference between out-of-state tuition and the private school flat rate is about $2000, according to AAMC.

Dual degrees allow med students to explore diverse fields

By FAIZAN MALIKEditor

Many premeds are so focused on get-ting into a med school that they overlook which medical school is

right for them.“It’s important to learn about the char-

acter and personality of different medical schools before you apply” said Alex Ung, a junior at USC. “But it’s hard to do that when you’re busy studying for the MCAT, writing a personal statement, or getting all of your letters of rec.”

While prestige, cost of attendance, and location are some of the more obvious char-acteristics, there may be other factors worth considering.

Dr. Rahul Jandial, neurosurgeon and pro-fessor at USC, believes medical schools have differences that might mesh better with cer-tain applicants.

“Though the curriculum is basically the same, medical schools do have different per-sonalities” he said.

One example would be whether a school has a research or clinical emphasis.

“I know the US News Rankings are split into two lists, one for research and one for pri-mary care” said Danny Lee, a junior at USC. “I’m interested in forensic pathology possibly with a research focus because I’m not sure I want to be dealing with patients constantly.”

Another point to notice is whether MD/PhD programs require research rotations.

On the other hand, some students apply-ing for medical school may feel they have had enough of the research world. In this case clinical exposure and hands-on experience are key.

While nearly all medical schools require clinical rotations or clerkships during their third and fourth years, some place a greater emphasis on early clinical exposure.

Schools like Loma Linda University and Drexel University provide clinical experience within the first year.

The Emergency Medicine Student Inter-est Group (EMSIG) at the Keck School of Medicine allows medical students access to the emergency department at the LA County Hospital during their first and second years. There, medical students can experience med-icine at a level one trauma center, the largest on the West coast, and learn techniques like suturing and airway management early on.

“Most American schools offer a reasonable balance of both. I think the goal should be to get into an American medical school” said Dr. Jandial.

“After that, one should try to get into the best school that fits them. Once you’re in medical school you will be exposed to all types of clinical practice. After this exposure, you’ll be positioned to best decide what to pursue in residency.” n

Brown UniversityProvideNCe, ri

“ “The act of writing helps you build

reflective capacity so you can better

understand the patient’s story...

-Dr. Hedy WaldAssistant Professor of Family

Medicine at Brown University

#1 Harvard University 709 enrolled#2 Johns Hopkins University 455 enrolled#2 University of Pennsylvania 636 enrolled

#1 University of Washington 951 enrolled#2 UNC – Chapel Hill 771 enrolled#3 Oregon Health & Science University 499 enrolled

M E D I C A L SCHOOLSby the numbers

Statistics courtesy of U.S. News & World Report (2012)

Top Research

Top Primary Care

Medical schools vary in the amount of research and clinical experi-ence offered; (From left to right) Keck School of Medicine, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Geffen, Stanford University Hospital.

By GURLEEN CHADAEditor

For most pre-medical students, dedicat-ing their lives to medicine is incredibly fulfilling in itself. There are others,

however, who seek to combine their passion for subjects like law or business with their pas-sion for medicine through medical college dual degree programs, the most common being MD/PhD, MD/MPH, MD/JD, and MD/MBA.

One of the best-known dual degrees is the MD/PhD degree, ideal for people looking to bal-ance medicine with research. Those who have completed MD/PhD programs (also known as physician-scientists) often become faculty at universities, medical schools, or research insti-tutes. On average, the degree takes eight years to complete, as opposed to four years of medical

school and four to six years of graduate school. It is offered at over 80 universities, including the Keck School of Medicine. The majority of these institutions fully fund program partici-pants, many providing a monthly stipend in addition to a full-tuition scholarship.

A dual degree in medicine and public health is for people looking to work in community medicine or public health. MD/MPH programs are offered at over 70 universities, including Keck. The curriculum usually takes around five years to complete and is made up of four years of medical school and one year focusing on public health. Depending on the institution, students either apply concurrently with their medical school application or after they are ad-mitted into medical school.

While somewhat less common, combined MD/JD programs are offered at just over 20

schools in the United States. A dual degree in law and medicine can prepare the bearer for several careers, from hospital legislation to medical malpractice, and programs take on average six years, as opposed to seven if the degrees were pursued independently.

While curricula varies from university to university, a general course plan may include a year studying law, two years studying medi-cine, completion of law curriculum in the next one and a half years, a half year of research, and finally, a year finishing medicine-based courses. All programs require applicants to gain admission from the institution’s law school and medical school.

At over 60 institutions, students can apply to joint MD/MBA programs that prepare stu-dents to work for venture capitalists interested in the health field, to work at health care firms,

Schools outside US offer nontraditional alternative

Choosing the Right Med School Page 5April 11, 2012www.TrojanHealthConnection.com

By KAUSAR ALIWriter

“Well, if I don’t get in to medical school in the United States, I can just go to the Ca-ribbean.” Many have heard this thought

floating around the pre-med sphere at least a few times.The practicality of medical school abroad in compari-

son to U.S. schools, such as cheaper tuition and rela-tively easier admission, may entice many pre-meds into considering it. The two most popular places students consider are the Caribbean and China.

The Caribbean houses numerous medical schools which have more lenient entrance requirements and later admissions deadlines than U.S. medical schools. The tuition is $10,000-$15,000 cheaper and the accep-tance rate is about 15% higher according to the National Association of Advisors for Health Professionals. China has similar programs, but there are a smaller number of medical schools that grant a transferable medical de-gree to the U.S.

Although training in medicine abroad is a viable op-tion due to cost-efficiency and accessibility, the primary reason many students consider it is as a backup option.

Sophomore Matthew Chen says, “My biggest fear is

being rejected by all medical schools in the country. I don’t want to go to the Caribbean, but it is still an option so I can pursue my passion for medicine.”

Despite the perks of lower price and easy admission, American students can encounter tremendous challeng-es when attending these foreign medical schools. Some overseas medical schools are not accredited by the U.S. because the schools do not offer the complete training required to obtain medical licensure in the U.S. Thus, students attending these colleges are not able to prac-tice medicine in the U.S. since their degree cannot be transferred over.

The level of medical training offered by foreign schools can also be questioned, which is an important point brought up by senior Jenny Adams.

“I’m not sure if Caribbean and Chinese medical pro-grams are up to par with the level of training and skills offered in the U.S.,” she said.

The biggest challenge that American medical students face after studying abroad is matching to residency pro-grams in the U.S. About 16,000 residency spots open up each year, 12,000 of which are given to graduates from U.S. schools. That leaves only 4,000 spots for roughly 30,000 foreign students.

To beat out other foreign-trained applicants and be

seriously considered by admissions committees, scores on the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (ECFMG) and United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLEs) must be high. These exams are required for all foreign-trained graduates who want to be eligible for a U.S. residency program.

Overseas medical schools may not be as highly es-teemed by residency admissions officers. Hospitals would much rather hire doctors graduating from the U.S. rather than foreign-trained candidates.

However, it is important to note that overseas medical schools, such as Ross University in the Caribbean and the Chinese Medical University, have recently devel-oped more rigorous and reputable training programs. In fact, students at these schools can complete their third and fourth year clinical rotations in the United States. Essentially, they obtain training from U.S. teaching hospitals while having the opportunity to study abroad.

Despite the unfavorable opinion of overseas medical schools, there are upsides. Encountering a new culture and lifestyle opens graduates up to new life experiences. Furthermore, graduates from international programs can establish practices in developing countries.

In the end, pre-med students must make a significant life decision on where to attend medical school. n

By CHUCK UZOEGWUWriter

Although all medical schools share cer-tain characteristics, there are enough differences between public and private

medical schools to warrant discussion. The most obvious difference is the cost. At face value, pri-vate medical schools tend to cost more than public medical schools for in-state residents.

According to the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), the median tuition in the 2010-2011 school year was $28,685 for pub-lic medical schools and $46,899 for private in-stitutions. Other data from AAMC showed that the total cost of medical schools in the 2010-2011 school year was $49,298 for public medical schools and $66,984 for private medical schools.

For nonresidents, the difference between out-of-state tuition and the private school flat rate is about $2000, according to AAMC.

Private medical schools offer to cover as much as 18% of the financial aid while public medi-cal schools offer about 12%. The median debt upon graduation was $150,000 for public medi-cal schools and $180,000 for private medical schools, according to AAMC.

Apart from cost, a medical school’s philosophy should be a factor when applying.

According to Dr. Antonio Funches , a recent graduate of Howard University’s College of Medicine, medical school philosophies do not depend on whether a medical school is public or private.

“Underlying every medical school’s philoso-phy is a theme of a commitment to do no harm and seek to improve the health of our respective populations,” said Funches. “Exactly how this particular theme is played out in schools’ phi-losophies does differ.”

Acceptance practices might also differ, as pri-vate medical schools are more open to alterna-

tive systems of admission policies whereas pub-lic medical schools tend to accept residents of the state.

According to Dr. Kenneth Geller, director of USC’s Pre-Health Advising Office, “A public school has to toe the line on laws that are estab-lished by the state.” Therefore, public schools have less freedom to use demographics as factor for admission, if doing so is expressly against state law.

Furthermore, public schools tend to favor state residents over nonresidents. According to the Amherst College guide for pre-medical stu-dents, “you should apply to the state medical school(s) in your home state, since your chances of acceptance are usually higher…It is futile to apply to state schools outside your own state of residence.”

However, “Some nominally private ones, e.g. Baylor and the University of Miami, receive state funding and therefore favor residents of

Texas and Florida respectively. Some nominal-ly public ones, e.g. the University of Michigan, Penn State, and the University of Vermont, ac-cept substantial numbers of out-of-state resi-dents.”

For students interested in research, private medical schools tend to rank higher than pub-lic schools. In the 2012 U.S. News and World Report rankings of the best medical schools in research, 16 of the top 25 medical schools were private medical schools.

“Generally speaking, most of the colleges of medicine that are highly ranked in the area of research medicine are private institutions. That being said, there are exceptions to that rule,” said Funches. “For students interested in clini-cal medicine only, their options are wide open.”

“Research is a big part of medicine but not for everyone,” said Geller. “As an MD you are required to still know how to take care of the patient.” n

or allow students a myriad of other opportuni-ties.

At Keck, the program takes five and a half years to complete, with students applying after completing their second or third year of medi-cal school, taking a year to focus on business-related courses, and finishing with two years of medical school and half a year to finish the business curriculum. At the majority of uni-versities that offer it, the program takes five years to complete. The majority of these pro-grams are highly competitive and include ad-ditional essays and letters of recommendation. Many of them also include additional test re-quirements, such as the LSAT or the GMAT, or require schooling during summers. They can, however, be perfect for students who see them-selves combining medicine with a different field and taking healthcare to new heights. n

Colleges in China and the Caribbean may present an appealing alternative to some students due to the competitive nature of the U.S. medical school application process.

Dual degrees allow med students to explore diverse fields

All photos courtesy of google.com

#1 Harvard University 709 enrolled#2 Johns Hopkins University 455 enrolled#2 University of Pennsylvania 636 enrolled

#1 University of Washington 951 enrolled#2 UNC – Chapel Hill 771 enrolled#3 Oregon Health & Science University 499 enrolled

M E D I C A L SCHOOLS

Statistics courtesy of U.S. News & World Report (2012)

Top Research

Top Primary Care

Follow Us on Twitter! @THCatUSCOrganizations April 11, 2012 Page 6

Pre-med Mentoring Club Brings Keck Physicians to Campus

By NICOLE BASLERWriter

USC students have taken a great-er role in global health care through the efforts of a new organization, Fellowship for International Service and Health (FISH). Founded last se-mester, USC FISH has been collabo-rating with UCLA FISH to conduct service day trips to a clinic in the city of Maclovio Rojas, Mexico every two weeks on Saturdays.

FISH members learn basic medi-cal screening pro-cedures and work alongside health-care professionals to provide services including taking vi-tal signs, measuring blood sugar levels, passing out tooth-brushes, vitamins, and mineral supple-ments, and provid-ing consultations.

Joseph Zikry, CEO and Founder of USC FISH, said, “The mission of FISH is to connect students with a pas-sion for helping oth-ers with the people who most need their help. We hope to effectively address the specific medical needs of various underserved commu-nities in Mexico, as well as disseminate and educate the residents on health initiatives.”

A typical service trip begins at 5:30 AM a Saturday. FISH volunteers meet at Leavey Library before leaving. After making a stop at San Diego near the US-Mexico border, they proceed to Maclovio Rojas. There, the clinic is set up and conducted for several hours. After the clinical sessions are conclud-ed for the day, volunteers get a taste

of authentic Mexican food and return to USC.

Zikry said, “The people there are ex-tremely kind and welcoming. They are all so appreciative of the work and ef-fort the students provide them… Just lending an ear to someone who may have a health concern or a family con-cern goes a long way.”

FISH believes that its organization offers a global health experience to USC students of various majors.

Zikry said, “Students are given an opportunity to be submerged in global

health issues without having to spend a semester or several weeks abroad and at a very low cost…FISH gives stu-dents valuable international medical experience as well as giving students an opportunity to experience a differ-ent culture.”

In the future, FISH Board members plan to expand the organization both on and off USC campus. USC FISH is currently serving the community of Maclovio Rojas with UCLA but is seek-ing to find other locations and com-munities in Mexico to serve as well. The club also hopes to serve target

underserved populations in nearby Los Angeles areas, attract more volun-teers, and hold an annual fundraiser.

Kausar Ali, FISH Chief Operations Officer, considers her experience with FISH rewarding. She said, “The most important thing I learned … is to nev-er take anything for granted. There are so many opportunities given to me that people in Maclovio Rojas can only dream about… I should use these op-portunities to give back to the commu-nity.”

Zikry also said, “As a premed stu-dent, it is very easy to get [so] caught up with school that you almost begin to lose sight of what is important. But with FISH, you have the means to communicate your desire and passion by help-ing those people who need it most.”

All students are welcome to apply as volun-teers. An applica-tion is required. Because FISH is a new organiza-

tion, the application process is subject to change, and an applicant interview is a strong possibility in the future. Applications are closed for this semes-ter, but will be available next fall.

All accepted members of FISH are expected to attend a mandatory train-ing session and monthly meetings, at which they are taught to perform dif-ferent health procedures and how to communicate with patients. All mem-bers must have a valid passport before they go on trips.

Email officers.fish.usc@gmail.com for more information. n

iGEM Combats Antibiotic Resistance with Genetic Engineering

By DIANA CHUNGWriter

The newly-formed Pre-med Mentoring Club allows undergraduates to gain a more hands-on approach to practicing medicine before entering medical school.

Formed by USC Junior Michael Cooper and Arielle Sommer, a second-year student from the Keck School of Medicine, the club invites guest doctors and medical students to explain basic procedures in general medi-cine, specifically emergency medicine cases.

A distinctive feature of the club’s first general meeting was the firsthand account from a medical student on how to apply for medical school and a general layout of what to expect from each year.

“Arielle is mentoring on the part about the medical school because she is a student and did very well. The first time was just a brief overview, but we’ll go into primary and secondary applications and then inter-views, such as on what you should be doing. But we’ll also keep the clinical side too be-cause I know students aren’t only interested in what [they] have to do to get into medical school but also what [they are] looking for-ward too,” Cooper said.

The first general meeting also fea-tured two doctors from the Department of Emergency Medicine of Los Angeles County, Kim Newton and Maureen McCollough, who lectured on common medical terminolo-gy and described their experiences as emer-gency medicine physicians.

Cooper said, “We have two physicians who are willing to not just give a short pre-sentation on what to do to get into medical school. In effect, what they’re telling you is exactly what they do every time a person comes in the ER: immediately check the vi-tal responses, check your air, breathing, cir-culation, etc. You’re actually kind of simu-lating cases.”

Using the information given in the lec-tures, the club plans on providing first-hand practice of common medical methods.

“I wanted to do a suture day using orang-es peels...I want to do more practical stuff like splinting, which is a really useful skill, or tourniqueting...We also want more med-ically-oriented [material] too, like a brief overview on a part of a system,” Cooper said.

By showing the types of work doctors

perform after undergraduate work and medical school, the speakers provided an ex-tra incentive for students learning material in their prerequisite classes.

For more information, contact the club at uscpremedclub@gmail.com. n

By PRAGATI MAMTORA

Writer

Since its founding three years ago, FUELS (Female Undergraduates Educating and Leading in Science) has achieved its goal in developing a close-knit environment for women in science and engineering to bond through their common interest in science.

According to FUELS’ Vice President Harmony Huyn, a USC sophomore, the club is a support group equipped to provide females the resources they need to be successful in their science career paths.

“We’ve been really focusing on social events this semester, [events such as ice cream at Coldstone’s Creamery, frozen yogurt at Yogurtland, and a dinner at the Lab to welcome new members] because we want to develop a community outside of just seeing each other in lecture,” says Huynh.

FUELS differs from other clubs focused more on spe-cific career paths such as pre-medical, pre-dental, or pre-pharmacy in that it offers diverse resources for peo-ple interested in many fields.

In fact, each semester they hold an Alumni Speakers Panel which features professors and doctors from var-ious fields of marine biology to researchers from the Health Sciences Campus.

“[The club] really inspires everyone, including young children, that they too can pursue science and engineer-ing [if they have the passion],” says Huynh.

The club hopes to inspire its members to pursue research. They hold events such as a visit to a HPV (Human Papillomavirus) lab in which the professor gave a speech about females in science. Members learn about lifestyle challenges in women who are considering starting a family and getting a Ph.D simultaneously.

“I went there as a freshman...and that really opened my eyes to research and that’s why I’ve been involved in research ever since,” says Huynh.

Besides social, educational, and research events dis-persed throughout the semester, FUELS meets regu-larly every 2 weeks. The club’s membership require-ment develops a close-knit family of female science and engineering majors educating and leading in science.

To find out more about FUELS or to learn how to get involved, readers can contact FUELS at fuels.usc@gmail.com. n

By ALINE HESSEWriter

Founded last year in the spring of 2011 through the ef-forts of Nolan Sardesai, a recent graduate of USC Viterbi School of Engineering, USC’s International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team has already experi-enced budding success.

Throughout this past sum-mer and into the fall, the USC team, headed by former Team Captain Percy Genyk, worked to develop strains of E. coli that would use their cellular defense mechanisms to deac-tivate foreign DNA, effectively removing those genes that con-fer antibiotic resistance from the E. coli strains themselves.

This project was intended to reverse the increasingly con-cerning pattern of drug-resis-tance which essentially coun-teracts bacterial ability to gain antibiotic resistance by destroying favorable genetic

material entering the cell from the environment. And it seems to have worked.

“And we noticed by hour four, there was a decrease in bacterial growth [in the antibiotic medium], so in the wee hours of the night, it was confirmed that our project was working and we were just celebrating,” Genyk, now a stu-dent advisor for iGEM, said. “It was so joyful because when you put in a whole summer of work, to have your

project work…it was an amaz-ing accomplishment.”

After hatching a project idea and then developing it, each iGEM team travels to the an-nual symposium held by the iGEM Foundation. This non-profit organization is dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, which involves the use of science and engineering to create biological functions and systems not present in nature.

For example, a team may present bacteria that can change colors in the presence of varying arsenic concentrations or bacteria engineered to serve

as red blood cell substitutes. At the conference, iGEM teams from multiple international universities present their work in this emerging field, not only to be judged, but also to be shared for the benefit of all.

Yet even after the symposium, USC’s iGEM team is still not done. Although the 2011 competition concluded at the end of last year, the team continues to work on per-fecting their results and anticipates sending in a prelimi-nary manuscript to a scientific journal this April.

The team is beginning to set-up the USC iGEM 2012 team, which has already been selected as a small group of close-knit members.

“The reason I like to keep it small is we work together so much and I think we can grow more as a small group of students tackling a big project,” he said. “When you have seven people who struggle together, think critically to-gether, and succeed together…you can accomplishmore.”

Genyk encourages future applicants, emphasizing that it is not experience and know-how alone.

“People think that you have to have experience in the lab, and a 3.9 to be an auto-in...but what we look for is the people who are imaginative because that’s what iGEM is all about,” he said.

“You have to have the heart to do it, because come the fall of competition year, it gets brutal...You have to pour a lot into it.” n

FUELS s Supports Women in Science

Courtesy of FISHFISH reaches out to underserved communities in Mexico to provide critical health services and education.

igem.org

Photographer Shoko Oda

FISH Performs Medical Screenings in Mexican Communities

By AMANDA CIOZDAWeb Manager

According to USC graduate student Sara Wallenrod, typically, when undergoing physical therapy (PT), unlike most physician visits, patients are scheduled for a series of appointments which allows the patient to form a more personal relationship.

“You are able to see the changes you are making in their lives and can watch and support them throughout their rehabilitation” said Wallenrod.

Dr. Jonathan Sum is the Director of USC Physical Therapy Associates and a specialist in Orthopedic and Sports physical therapy. Sum was exposed to PT after a series of sports injuries.

He played baseball in high school. But during the college recruitment period, he tore his knee ligaments.

“The physician only prescribed one [PT] visit and suggested icing to treat my injury,” Sum said.

A second injury sat him out. “I lost the chance to play baseball in college,” Sum says, “but my experience inspired me to pursue a degree in sports medicine instead.”

Although Sum considered a career in orthopedic surgery, he says that the working conditions in PT are much more appealing.

“The hours are better and I am never on-call. I get to

spend much more time with patients than a doctor would, and my work is very hands-on.”

The prerequisites for PT school are similar to pre-medical ones. Often a GPA of 3.3 or higher is considered competitive.

USC’s PT program is top-ranked in the country and graduates more Doctors of Physical Therapy each year than any other program.

Classes are a mix of lecture and labs and include anatomy and patient management

classes, as well as specialized courses in biomechanics and exercise physiology.

Most doctorate programs are three years long. PT students rotate in local clinics beginning in their first year, which Wallenrod values.

“Not only do you get to see how the material you are learning can be applied in a clinical setting, but it also reminds you why you chose

the career.”Just as in the medical

or dentistry fields, there is room to pursue research and academic teaching in PT.

And according to Dr. Lori Ginoza, a PT at USC Physical Therapy Associates, like medical residents, new PT graduates can specialize in a wide variety of clinical areas.

“My specialty is neurology,” she says. “I work with many patients that have neurologic diagnoses such as Parkinson’s disease…but you can go a lot of different directions, such as sports and orthopedics, pediatric physical therapy, cardiopulmonary treatment, acute care, and wound care.”

Dr. Erica Sigman, a PT at USC Physical Therapy Associates, said, “As a physical therapist, you are a coach as well as an educator.”

However, state regulations can limit the access a patient has to a physical therapist.

“In California, for example, a physical therapist cannot give a medical diagnosis, order images, or prescribe medication for a patient.”

But both Sigman and Ginoza agree that PT offers a degree of personal satisfaction that medicine cannot.

“[It is rewarding] to see smiles on patients faces because they are proud of themselves for all their hard work they put in.”

Visti us online at www.trojanhealthconnection.com for the full article. n

April 11, 2012 Allied HealthPage 7

Physical Therapy: A Hands-On Health Career

occupational therapy is to teach those who are facing physical or mental challenges to overcome their disabilities and live meaningful, engaged lives.

“We’re helping people do what they need to do and what they want to do in their life,” said Morris-Eggleston. “I’m hoping to help them optimize their independence and be able to do the things that make them who they are.”

As Morris-Eggleston said, patients tend to have an obstacle impeding their ability to live a normal life. This can be a physical injury, a mental disability, developmental delays, or anything that prevents the patient from living a rich, fulfilling life.

Patients range from young children with mental challenges to elderly adults going through cognitive changes.

The wide range makes for a variety of occupational therapists (OTs) with different specialties and work environments. Many

OTs work with children with disabilities, helping them to participate in social environments and adapt to school life. Others work in hospitals or rehabilitation clinics, aiding those with physical injuries. Most school districts also have occupational therapists to better accommodate the

learning habits of special education students. As Morris-Eggleston explained, the work

environments and types of patients are so vast that each case is highly unique.

“Occupational therapy is so broad...that I never get bored,” said Morris-Eggleston. “We work in acute care, intensive care. We’re in rehab; we’re throughout the whole hospital. We are sent to different work places like IBM to help do ergonomic assessments to see how they’re seating.”

This versatility is one of the many reasons why Morris-Eggleston finds this type of medicine rewarding. “We are trained to look at what a person can do instead of just what they can’t do and so that helps in therapy or in work but I see the whole world that way.”

Morris-Eggleston has worked with children with cognitive disabilities at a private sensory integration clinic. She worked to keep at-risk kids out of gangs, and to help cancer patients participate in normal activities.

Kaitlyn Trimarchi, a current USC pre-OT student who hopes to work as a pediatric occupational therapist specializing in Autism, explains, “You are truly making lives better, even in the simplest of things, like tying shoes can be such an accomplishment.”

OTs are generally in high demand. According to the US News & World report, occupational therapy has been consistently one of the top ten recession-proof positions.

Morris-Eggleston, for example, explained that almost every day she receives job offers through her email and voicemail to come work at the various organizations.

Many schools, including USC, offer a five-year Bachelor’s to Master’s degree program. OTs often obtain on-the-job training and, according to the American Occupational Therapy Association, can receive special training in hand coordination or speech, then later receive advanced certification.

Applicants to occupational therapy graduate schools must take the GRE and have competitive GPAs over 3.0. n

Spotlight: Occupational Therapy

“I get to spend much more time

with patients than a doctor would, and my work is very hands-on.

Dr. Jonathan SumDirector of USC Phyiscal Therapy

Associates

www.TrojanHealthConnection.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF REBECCA GAO, EHSUPDATE.COM

Web Manager Amanda CiozdaPhysical Therapy Licensed physical therapist Dr. Erica Sigman performs massage therapy on a patient.

Pre-OT / PT vs. Pre-Medicine

Data was compiled from American Association of Medical Colleges, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Employment Index, American Physical Therapy Association, American Occupational Therapy Association, and Payscale.com

Education Requirements:O: 2 years Master’s degreeP: 3 years Doctor of PT or 2-3 years Masters of PTOT National Certification ExamPT National Board Examination and State Licensure

Schools:Number of Schools: 322 (O), 210 (P)Average Size of Incoming Class: 26 (O), 42 (P)Applicants in 2010: 22,483 (P)Admitted: 5,954 (O), 11,421 (P)Average Admitted GPA: 3.38 (O), 3.49 (P)

Required Courses for Admission:One year biology (O,P)One year general chemistry (P)One semester psychology (P)One semester public speaking (P)One year anatomy (O,P)One semester statistics (O,P)Sociology or anthropology (O)Childhood development (O)

Application Requirements:Graduate Records ExaminationOT Centralized Application ServicePT Centralized Application Service

Average School Tuition (2011):O: $22,240 per yrP: $27,857 per yr

Median Salary (2011):O: $72,320 per yrP: $76,310 per yr

Normalized Lifetime Earnings:O: $1.6 millionP: $1.8 million

Projected Job Growth:P: Number of jobs in 2010: 198,600 Percent Increase: 39%O: Number of jobs in 2010: 108,800 Percent Increase: 33%

Lifestyle Regular hours with moderate stress.

OT / PT PHYSICIANEducation Requirements:

4 years medical school3-8 internship and residencyNational Board Examination

Board examination for specialty

Medical School:Number of Schools: 134

Average Size of Incoming Class: 136

Applicants in 2010: 42,742Admitted: 18,665 (43.67 percent)

Average Admitted GPA: 3.67

Required Courses for AdmissionOne year biology

One year general chemistryOne semester organic chemistry

One semester biochemistryOne year physics

One year statistics/calculus

Application Requirements:AMCAS application

Medical College Admissions Test Average School Tuition (2006-7):Public: $16,690/year for in-state $32,900/year for out-of-

statePrivate: $34,749 per yr

Average Debt Upon Graduation:Class of 2009: $156,456.

Median Salary (2008):Internal Medicine = 183,605/yr

Specialties = $339,738/yr

Normalized Lifetime Earnings:Internal Medicine - $6.8 million

Specialties - $11.6 million

Projected Job Growth:Number of jobs in 2008: 661,400

Projected number in 2018: 805,500

Percent Increase: 22

Lifestyle Depends on specialty; can

include emergency hours and night shifts. Moderate to high

stress.

utica.edu

Physical therapists help people recover from injuries. They work in a variety of settings and are in high demand.

— from THERAPY, page 1

By TALINE GUEVREKIANWriter

Research is common for pre-med students who take a gap year, and ac-cording to students who have chosen this alternative, the level of commit-ment and effort with which the re-search is conducted determines the value of the experience.

“Specifically for those who take a year off for research, [a gap year] could be a great idea or just a waste of time. It really depends on how much effort you put into the research,” USC alum-nus Josh Jang said.

The goal of most researchers is to publish their findings, and pre-med students who commit to research dur-ing their gap year should strive for this goal as well.

Jang is currently taking a gap year, during which he is working to-wards a research publication in the Molecular and Computational Biology Department at USC.

“I began like everyone else: I washed test tubes, maintained fly lines and did all the grunt work that was involved in research,” Jang said. “I slowly gained the trust of the graduate student that I was working under and started doing more complex research. Eventually, I even designed my own projects.”

Research is not just limited to lab work. Naomi Choi, a UCLA alumna, researched in Korea on the health ben-efits of Korean cuisine and worked on a medical journal translating project for the Ilsan National Hospital.

“Instead of being in school, I was able to build real life experiences and understand the relationship between the healthcare professionals and the patients,” Choi said.

The benefits of research can extend beyond publishing articles and into the realm of personal growth and prepara-tion for a future career in medicine.

“[Research] teaches responsibility. It teaches to think critically. It teaches humility,” Jang said. “But most impor-tantly, it empowers students to chase after their dreams by providing the

tools to deeply explore subjects that truly interest them.”

“Research helped me understand the different areas [of healthcare] and helped me choose the type of work I would like,” Choi said.

Research should be enjoyable but

not taken lightly.“If you truly enjoy the field of re-

search that you choose, it will be an amazing adventure that can shape the rest of your life. I consider this [gap year] not as a vacation but as training for my future." n

April 11, 2012Gap-Year Special Page 8

By LYNN BENJAUTHRITWriter

Medical scribes “assist physicians with docu-mentation of patient medical records,” described Dr. John Vowels, Senior Partner of Emergency Medical Scribe Systems (EMSS) and alumnus of the USC Keck School of Medicine.

In hospitals from Lakewood to Los Alamitos, many undergraduate and graduate students in-terested in medicine interact with physicians and observe medicine up close by entering the ranks of medical scribes.

Typing patient histories on a mobile laptop and acting as personal assistants to doctors in the emergency department, scribes have a unique op-portunity to see the inner workings of a hospital and the lifestyles of physicians.

Although medical scribe programs are not com-pletely new to the field, they recently have been gaining more traction. The increasing use of elec-tronic medical records has created a niche for ER scribes.

“There has been a push to bring medicine into the 21st century and use computers,” Dr. Vowels said.

Acting as bridges in the shift towards medical records, scribes allow physicians to focus on the patient without having to worry about documen-tation.

“They’ve been super helpful for me, especially in chaotic situations,” Vowels said.

Prospective scribes are required to undergo in-tensive training that consists of 50 to 60 hours of combined classroom and on-the-job training, during which medical terminology, elements of a medical record, and medical products are taught.

After training, the scribes are immediately im-mersed into the often hectic routine of an emer-gency room.

“Scribes get to see some pretty amazing things. They are in the ER seeing people who are sick and going to see patients with the doctor,” Vowels said.

For students who may be still unsure about medical school, being a scribe can provide person-al experience that can help them decide if medi-cal school is the right path. The experience can also prove beneficial for future medical school ap-plications.

“The last thing you want is to go and have a huge debt without being completely positive. Being a scribe allows you to make a decision with more information,” Vowels said.

To become a scribe, no previous experience is required. By Vowels’ standards, scribe compa-nies look for people who are “motivated, interest-ed, smart, and can do the job,” as well as those who with schedules that can fit this time-demand-ing job. n

By TIFFANY POULDARWriter

Taking a gap year can allow for some great learning experiences. One opportunity is just over at the Health Sciences Campus. The Master of Science in Global Medicine is a one-year program offers curriculum dedi-cated to analyzing and studying world health issues.

Global Medicine students address common diseases, including tuberculo-sis, tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and child health. Students delve into understanding the causes, mechanisms, and modern solutions.

“I’ve had the opportunity to look at

these familiar diseases in a new per-spective. We’ve looked more into the reasons why they're so prominent and how they could be stopped,” Benjamin Barmaan, a Masters student, said.

Another opportunity is to learn how to help people improve their English pronunciation through the Compton P-ESL Program. This program trains people to provide accent reduction les-sons. By improving the clarity of their speech, many people find that their self-confidence and job prospects are improved. This program is taught through a weekend seminar.

One alumna of the program is Derra Huxley, M.A., whose experience led to her current work as a Speech and

Language Pathologist.“I really love to meet and work with

intelligent people from all over the world who speak English fluently, but have difficulty being completely under-stood,” Huxley said.

So far, Huxley has had the opportu-nity to meet people from 29 countries.Huxley finds a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction in working with her clients regardless of nationality or profession.

“I find it most rewarding when my clients feel more confident in speaking [...] they feel more confident to achieve the goals they set out to accomplish,” Huxley said.

Visit us online at www.trojan-healthconnection.com for more. n

Conduct Cutting-Edge ResearchWork as a Medical Scribe

Travel Abroad for Eye-Opening Cultural ExperiencesBy JESSICA KUOEditor-in-Chief

After toughing it out four long years, many students end their college career feeling unprepared for profession-al school. Perhaps worse, some feel weary or “burnt out.” In such cases, a gap year can provide opportunities for USC graduates to explore, recuperate, and prepare for the next stage.

Traveling is one of the most popular options for stu-dents taking time off as it provides numerous personal rewards and can strengthen professional school applica-tions through health-related programs.

Students who have the opportunity to travel can ex-plore various interests and contemplate whether their pursued career path really is the best choice for them. For many, this is the last chance to travel unencumbered by responsibilities, especially once they enter profession-al school.

Critics of taking the gap year such as USC senior Hao-Hua Wu claim that students may lose motivation to re-turn to school or lose their study habits upon return. However, admissions officers find that most students pur-sue activities that would bolster their applications.

One program that offers health-related volunteering and immersion opportunities abroad is Gap Medics. Gap Medics encourages pre-health students to fully engross themselves in pre-med, pre-dental, or pre-nursing activ-ities in countries with large populations lacking proper health care.

Students can experience the diversity of health issues, from infectious diseases to health care systems. They also gain a better understanding of different cultures.

Traveling abroad can be a fresh alternative to spend-ing a year in research, since medical schools are increas-ing their emphasis in the humanitites and in personal characteristics such as conscientiousness, empathy, and heightened cultural awareness. n

Obtain Specialized Masters Degrees

Photo Manager Han DaoResearch Graduate students Dong Zhu Wu and Matthew Taylor examine an Erlenmeyer flask during their experiments.

wtvbam.comScribes A physician examines an electronic medi-cal record, which is becoming more popular.

Courtesy of Michelle ChongBorderless USC undergraduate Michelle Chong traveled abroad to Lima, Peru.

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