Semi-officially no longer a MS0

First day today. But not really. But really. :p

For the first time, my school is offering an optional class on disparities in health care during the week before orientation. Since it's a subject I'm interested in, I signed up. So did two-thirds of my classmates. :) So, while orientation doesn't begin for another week and actual official classes for another two weeks, I consider myself to have started medical school today with the first day of this class.

The course, which is the first of its kind, is intended to teach us about health care disparities, the reasons behind them, and potential solutions to them that we can incorporate into our own learning and eventual practice. It also gives us an opportunity to go into our community and to observe the facilities in which care is being delivered to a variety of populations that may be experiencing disparities in their health care.

So far I've enjoyed it quite a bit (though, again, it is totally up my alley). We had four lecturers today. Dr. Kim talked to us about cultural competency and how it affects quality of care and clinical outcomes. Dr. Chin gave us an overview of health care disparities with an emphasis on learning about the ways in which the problem is being examined, defined, and solutions formulated. Dr. Whitaker, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, talked about his path towards becoming involved in public health and the project he worked on in our community to address health care disparities for African-American males. Dr. Harper discussed health literacy and the effects it can have on health care quality and outcomes.

In the coming days we will be touring some community facilities and working in groups on a poster presentation about one of the facets of the disparity issue. My group is looking at Medicare and Medicaid, and the strengths and disadvantages of them as options for providing health care to Americans. We will also be having more didactic lectures, many of which will be presented by notable figures from around the area.

Of course, a good bit of the day was involved with meeting and talking with our new classmates. Of course, there were the standard "where did you go to undergrad" and "where are you living" questions, and some awkward silences, but I had fun. I met some really nice people and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

All in all, I have to call it a success. :)