Welcome

Articles on this site are written by medical students at the University of Minnesota, and are intended for the lay audience. As medical students, the writers have access to a lot of medical information, and are in the process of learning how medicine effects our everyday life. Medicine is called a practice for a reason. Medicine today is not perfect. We must discuss what we learn and how it fits in with our world.

Josh Mekler

April 24, 2020

During times of uncertainty, our community is challenged to think differently and to adapt to new situations. Understanding the potential outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic and adjusting to a new normal is critical toward reducing the spread of the virus and limiting the burden on our healthcare system.

These new normals come with inevitable difficulties. We collectively experience grief for our old ways of normalcy ...

Ryan Duff

April 24, 2020

Understanding the disease of racism during a pandemic, and what healthcare providers need to do to address it.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country and change every aspect of our day-to-day life in the wake of illness, death, and economic recession, frontline healthcare and hospital workers fight for the safety of their patients and themselves. Pharmaceutical companies race to find effective treatments and potential vaccines for a virus that has been described as the ...

Marie Wilson

April 24, 2020

For LGBTQ individuals, social distancing, quarantine, and isolation can feel especially – well – isolating.

As a medical student, I want to advocate on behalf of my LGBTQ peers who might benefit from mainstream recognition of these unique stressors and use this platform to share resources LGBTQ ...

Kim Lundeen

April 24, 2020

Considering the growing number of COVID-19 cases at hospitals, many expectant mothers wonder if they can avoid the hospital altogether. However, women need to know that home birth carries a many-fold increased risk of their baby dying during birth or shortly after. Giving birth in a hospital is still the safest choice. ...

Michelle Grafelman

April 3, 2020

Like many diseases before it, including Spanish influenza, HIV, Ebola, and SARS, the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic originated in animals. We need a synchronized effort from professionals of public health, medicine, veterinary science, environmental science, translational research, and public policy ...

Ashwini Arumugam

April 3, 2020

Do grades correlate to performance? This was precisely the goal of the 2019 Global Health Security Index, which assessed the health security of 195 countries in managing a theoretical future outbreak. Now, countries are facing the true test with combating COVID19 and their previous grades are not predicting their current performance.

Prior influenza pandemics of 1918, 1957, and 1968 have highlighted the dramatic social and economic impact of pandemics. However, we have not learned our lessons from history and most countries were deemed ill-prepared ...

Olivia Ondigi

April 3, 2020

COVID-19, or commonly known to social media folks as “Miss Rona,” has taken over the world like nothing we have ever seen or heard in the 21st century. What does the general public need to know about COVID-19? We need to know how to recognize symptoms, what to do about symptoms and what we can do to prevent getting or spreading the infection. ...

Gregory Thompson

April 3, 2020

1. Take steps to avoid becoming infected and transmitting the virus. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends washing your hands often, not touching your face, and avoiding close contact with sick people. If you are sick stay home!

Cover your cough and clean and disinfect ...