2021 Edition
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” -Harriet Tubman
ABOUT US Here at AMWA UTD, we want to do our very best to inform you of all of the issues relevant to women and healthcare, together and separately. We hope that our monthly newsletter becomes an enlightening source to you all as we learn about the multitudes of important topics and issues that we all need to be aware of.
IMPORTANT CLUB EVENTS 2/3 @ 5 PM - GBM #1
2/4 @ 6 PM- GBM #1
2/11 @ 7 PM- GALENTINES DAY SOCIAL W/ GIRLUP
2/18 @ 5:30 PM- GUEST SPEAKER EVENT
2/22 @ 5 PM- PERSONAL STATEMENT WORKSHOP W/ HPAC
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IMPORTANT NATIONAL EVENTS 2/2 @ 7 PM - AMWA LEADS PROGRAM COMMITTEE BIWEEKLY WEBINAR 2/4 @ 7:30 PM - ATS Webinar: A Breath of Fresh Air in Career Decision Making: the Thrill of Critical Care May be Your Perfect Match 2/6 @ 12 PM - All About DO Panel 2/9 @ 6 PM- The Legacy of Elizabeth Blackwell and AMWA
2/16 @ 7 PM - AMWA LEADS PROGRAM COMMITTEE BIWEEKLY WEBINAR 2/17 @ 7:30 PM- Careers in Global Health, Military, Public Health, Research, and Academia
2/17 @ 7:30 PM- The Truth About Stress: Part 3 of Reflection Series
2/24 @ 8 PM- Discover Your Inner Coach- AMWA LEADS 2021 “The Magic of Coaching” Networking Session
VISIT OUR NATIONAL AMWA INFO TAB FOR MORE INFO
NATIONAL OBSERVANCES - Black History Month
-American Heart Month
-Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
-World Cancer Day (Feb. 4)
-National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (Feb. 7)
-National Eating Disorders Week (Feb. 22-28)
THE SEX TALK YOU NEVER HAD: PLANNED PARENTHOOD
BY: JANVI PATEL & SHRADDHA TREHAN
When we, the authors, were coming up with ideas for paired columns where we could just talk with our readers about things that we felt were important, and unfortunately not talked about often enough, sex definitely came to mind. Not just sex, but masturbation, birth control, orientation & gender, STDs, education, care, etc., and so, “The Sex Talk You Never Had” was born. I (Shraddha) am going, to be honest, and give a shout out to Rohini Elyse’s podcast “Acting My Age” where I got this segment’s name from. I listen to her podcast almost every week and found that in her sex-talk episodes, she usually converses about a lot of things that I have not heard about before. This got all of us thinking, society does not really teach us about this aspect of being a woman. Hopefully, this column can help someone out there learn a little bit more. This week, we’re talking about Planned Parenthood.
Recently, Planned Parenthood has been in the news for Texas because on Monday, January 25th, the U.S. Supreme Court voided rulings from lower courts that were upholding a ban on most abortions in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic. Texas officials were arguing that the executive order prohibiting abortions was legal due to preserving medical resources for COVID-19, but the Supreme Court ruled against this claim. Though we won’t get into the politics about abortions, we did want to talk about all the reasons we believe Planned Parenthood delivers rights that we are all entitled to. Their services are not just surrounding abortion, and most can help us in so many more ways.
For one, Planned Parenthood offers affordable services for LGBTQ+, Men, and Women. For LGBTQ+ folks they offer a Drop-in Center, Education, Hormone Therapy for Transgender Patients, Resources, Service Referrals, and Support groups amongst other things. For Men, they offer most things to do with erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, male infertility screening, prostate cancer screening, vasectomies, and more. And for Women, Planned Parenthood offers affordable Breast Exams, Cervical Cancer Screenings, Colposcopies, Cryotherapy, Mammograms, Pap Tests, Vaginal Infections Testing and Treatment, Sexual Response Education, Pregnancy Testing and Education, and more!
As we can see, Planned Parenthood delivers vital screening, testing, and education that everyone should and needs to use. This isn’t just an abortion clinic, even though that is a vital part of what they do. More importantly, a safe, clean, and sterile abortion clinic is something we should keep around. For abortions, Planned Parenthood offers referrals, medical abortions, in-clinic procedures, sedation options, follow-up exams, other services. They offer vital information to those who don’t fully understand what’s going on and can help you make difficult but informed decisions during your pregnancy. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood offers some other very important pills: Birth Control and Emergency Contraceptives. Thus, in order to educate and keep many people safe, Planned Parenthood services are available.
Another service that Planned Parenthood offers is testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV is a virus that damages your immune system, leaving you more susceptible to illness. It is usually spread through contact with semen, vaginal fluids, and blood. HIV symptoms are often dormant, so it is crucial to get tested in order to prevent further spread and obtain the right medicine. Planned Parenthood offers quick and easy services to not only get tested for HIV but also HIV test education, referrals, case management, and prevention. Planned Parenthood also offers similar sex education and testing for other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Genital Warts, Herpes, and Syphilis. These diseases are spread through oral, anal, or vaginal sex along with any skin-to-skin genital contact. STDs also usually don’t have symptoms so it’s important to get tested in order to get the right cure or medication. Planned Parenthood further offers vaccines to help prevent some STDs such as the HPV, Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B vaccines. In all, Planned Parenthood provides invaluable sex education, testing, and vaccination services to its community.
Finally, Planned Parenthood offers us all general patient education. They impart judgment-free, medically accurate information on general sexual and reproductive health for teens, adults, and parents. Some services include Abstinence Education, Birth Control Education, Childbirth Classes, Fertility Awareness, Midlife and Menopause Education, Parent Education Classes, Safer Sex Education, and many more. In all, Planned Parenthood is a vital resource for judgment-free and medically accurate information. They provide a multitude of services and contribute to improving community health. In order to learn more or sign up for a service, please visit their website or contact a local Planned Parenthood center. There is one near UT Dallas at 600 N Central Expy Ste 601, Plano, TX 75074 ready to help serve your needs. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-care/our-service
BIRTH CONTROL AND WOMENS HEALTH
BY: MEGAN ZACHARIAH & ZARAH RAHMAN
The history of birth control in the United States is one that dates back further than one might think. Despite the vast medical history, birth control as a tool for regulating women’s health and wellness is still surrounded by considerable misinformation and stigma. After polling the AMWA UTD community, we discovered that these misconceptions are closer to home than we may have anticipated. However whether this miseducation stems from cultural stigma or insufficient sex education, we hope to debunk popular myths and normalize the use of birth control in such a way that we are not afraid to openly speak about our own experiences and support other women who do as well.
3000 B.C.E: Contraceptives such as condoms were first developed in ancient Egypt and Crete using materials such as fish bladders and linens.
1619-1870: Medications used to suppress menstrual cycles were first used by enslaved black women in the US, using their knowledge of traditional African remedies.
1914: The term ‘birth control’ is first introduced by Margaret Sanger
1953: First birth control pill is developed
1960: Only married couples have the right to use birth control, known now as “The Pill”
1972: Birth control is legalized for all
We asked, you responded! Here is a graphical breakdown of the responses we received to the myth: The primary use of birth control is to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
MYTH The primary use of birth control is to prevent unwanted pregnancies
TRUTH This would be true if the birth control was only used by individuals that were sexually active. In reality, many women and girls are prescribed birth control to regulate their acne, painful periods, or cramps.
MYTH Birth control prevents or decreases fertility in the long term
TRUTH No! There was a study conducted in 2011 by a team of pharmacists and research scientist that found there was not significant difference between the rate of pregnancies of women who had used birth control in the past compared to those who had not.
MYTH Using hormonal birth control can cause abortions
TRUTH No way! There is simply no correlation between hormonal birth control and abortions. Birth control is used to prevent ovulation. Ovulation is when a mature egg is released from the ovary and has the ABILITY to become fertilized. However, by preventing ovulation, fertilization will not occur, and thus a pregnancy has not begun.
MYTH Birth control pills can cause cancer
TRUTH No, the pill does not necessarily have the risk of cancer. Studies have actually shown that the pill can actually help protect against various types of cancer
STRENGTH NOT POUNDS: EATING DISORDER AWARENESS
BY: SHRADDHA TREHAN
“I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles.” – Laurie Halse Anderson.
In 2021, the week of February 22-28 is National Eating Disorder Awareness week. For some, eating disorders may seem like a trivial notion that little girls make a big deal out of when they are going through middle school/puberty. However, eating disorders are a serious mental and physical illness that can affect all kinds of people of any age, race, gender, and orientation. In fact, national surveys estimate that 20 million women and 10 million men in America will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives. The disorders that most people have heard about include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. However, there are up to 11 current classified eating disorders. As for the three aforementioned, though people may have heard of them, most do not truly understand what it means to live day in and day out with one. With social media glorifying these kinds of disorders, no wonder children/teens believe that the part of their brain telling them it is okay to purge via vomiting or laxatives, to binge eat, to count calories to the point that they are seriously below normal body weight, etc. is totally “normal” and what “everyone else is doing”. When researchers followed a group of 496 adolescent girls for 8 years, until they were 20, they found that 13.2% of the girls had suffered from a DSM-5 eating disorder. This statistic and others prove to us that eating disorders are very real, but there are more that prove people can heal from them.
Something empowering for us as the friend, colleagues, or associates of someone who has symptoms of this disorder is that we can help right away. Eating disorders can be prevented, and as such we don’t have to take reactive steps, instead, we can be proactive to stop a bad thing before it even fully starts. There are three kinds of prevention programs: universal, selective, and targeted. Universal programs are aimed at all people in a certain population and are designed to change cultural attitudes and practices. For example, calling out/shaming people who glorify eating disorders on social media. Selective programs target individuals who are at risk for it eating disorders due to biological, psychological, or sociocultural factors. For example, sessions that are given to middle-school aged girls with information about eating disorders so that they can notice potential signs/symptoms later on. Targeted programs target people who have been showing signs of a disorder. Since they do not have a full-fledged disorder yet, the goal of this program type is to stop development before it becomes a serious problem. If diagnosed with a full disorder, treatment addresses the physical eating disorder symptoms with medical monitoring and the psychological, interpersonal, and cultural forces that contribute to the disorder with psychiatric monitoring. Nutritional counseling educates the victim about nutritional needs and helps them plan for and make healthier choices. As we can see, a lot of time and research has gone into understanding, preventing, and treating these disorders. This type of illness is no joke and should not be treated as one, If we help to intervene at the right time and place, we can save a lot of people.
So, if you find that someone you know has restricted their caloric intake due to an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they are underweight, please do something. If you find that someone you know is eating an immense amount of food within any 2 hours due to a lack of control, and then they misuse laxatives or force vomiting in order to try and prevent weight gain, please do something. If you find that someone you know is body shaming themselves continuously and viciously, please do something. Though eating disorders are a real and scary disease, they are also a preventable, healable, overcome-able disease. At any time, feel free to contact the National Eating Disorder Awareness helpline at (800)-931-2237 or message NEDA to 741741 for crisis situations in order to be connected to a trained volunteer. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
THE FIRST OF MANY
BY: JANVI PATEL
February marks an important milestone for women in medicine as it Women’s Physician Month and the birth month of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female to receive a medical degree in the United States. Born February 3rd, 1821, Blackwell was inspired to pursue medicine by a dying friend who claimed her experience would have been made easier had she had a female physician. At the time there were few medical colleges and none that accepted women. Despite this, Blackwell found two Southern physicians who agreed to mentor her and began to apply to medical schools. She was rejected from every single one except the Geneva College. Her acceptance, however, was intended to be a practical joke. Despite this, Blackwell was determined to become a physician. She attended the school where she faced discrimination within the classroom walls and outside of them. Professors forced her to sit alone when
when they weren’t excluding her and townspeople shunned her for daring to defy gender roles. Blackwell overcame these obstacles, however, and graduated first in her class in 1849. She continued her training in London and Paris before returning to New York where she faced further discrimination starting her won practice. With the help of her Quaker friends, however, she opened a small clinic that treated poor women. Finally, in 1857, Blackwell opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with her sister and another colleague who had been able to graduate with a medical degree after her. Through this clinic, she was able to not only treat but provide training for female physicians. During the Civil War, the Blackwell sisters also trained nurses for Union hospitals. In 1868, Blackwell opened a medical school in New York City and then returned to London to be a professor of gynecology in London. Among all of these achievements, she also helped found the National Health Society and published several books.
Elizabeth Blackwell was able to overcome many obstacles that no one else dared during her time. She represented the potential all women have and paved the way for so many, including all of us. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell is an inspiration and someone to look to as many after she did such as Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Mary Jacobi, Ann Preston, Susan Picotte, and Gerty Cori. In their time these women accomplished incredible things. This is described in the graphic below.
HERMTAC: THE FACES BEHIND THE FRONTLINES
BY: MEGAN ZACHARIAH
“I thought of it as a war effort, if you could lift a hand and help, it was your job”.
It has been nearly a year since the first case of COVID-19 was reported to the World Health Organization and nearly 10 months since all fifty states reported a case of infection. In response to the growing number of cases and the strains put on the healthcare industry, the US government issued nearly 7 billion dollars in funding in order to provide essential equipment such as ventilators and masks to frontline workers and the most vulnerable in our communities. However, a startling reality has been realized since the onset of quarantine, the demand for this equipment greatly outweighs the supply. Last April, many hospital workers in a DFW hospital came forward revealing that many had to resort to reusing masks while treating patients due to the lack of available supplies. These issues can be traced back to several sources, whether it be slow production, former reliance on foreign sources for equipment that have since ceased international trade, or the sheer volume of cases that overwhelm both public and private hospitals. Witnessing the strain inflicted on frontline healthcare workers and their respective patient populations, Kevin Patel ‘06, computer science and M.B.A, UTD alumni, rose to meet the supply needs of the medical community by harnessing his experience as an entrepreneur and his passion for helping others through innovative solutions.
Kevin Patel founded HermTac in March 2020, a start-up company that is striving to address the critical needs in the community with the help of a team of dedicated engineers, healthcare workers, and manufacturers that volunteer their time to the effort. The first challenge the company addressed was the shortage of masks in the Veteran’s Affair hospital in the DFW area.
“We realized that it would take a long time for large and even small manufactures [to address the supply needs]. It would take them two-three weeks, and so in that time we hit a peak of 5000 face shields a day” says Patel. “Overnight, Emerus Hospital said they wanted 15,000 [masks] and we have 2 weeks to make it.” Patel continues.
whereas a face shield would normally take anywhere from 2 to 50 minutes to produce, HermTac developed a production method that cuts down the time to 5 seconds per face shield. Since then, the group has moved on to designing equipment such as ventilators, micro-factories, and telehealth equipment for national challenges, winning several including the Veteran Health Affairs Innovation Experience Award.
In partnership with Kevin is Thun Sanadi BSN CCRN of the Veteran Affairs hospital in the DFW area. Nurse Sanadi, having a background in engineering, joined HermTac in order to contribute to their fastidious efforts.
“Being an ICU nurse and being an engineer, this kind of platform was the ideal way for me to cope and to be able to fight back,” says Sanadi. After working long shifts in the ICU, Sanadi volunteers the rest of her time with HermTac, addressing the needs present by the VA community.
From late supply shipments to tireless days of contributing to the recovery effort, both Patel and Sanadi have identified critical issues in our current healthcare systems.
“We have to change our healthcare system”, says Sanadi, “ When people started to get laid off and not have healthcare, that had a very big impact on everyone’s life. I work as a nurse for the veterans, and I am glad my population did not have to choose between bread and medication.”
“We see here that America needs to actually pay more attention to how we source emergency products and healthcare items that would be needed during emergencies or pandemics,” says Patel. He continues “We have to make sure that if you know our borders are closed, or a state or Metroplex closes, healthcare workers and emergency personnel are still able to get the equipment, tools, and supplies they need to do their jobs.”
Patel cites the need for the government to revisit regulations on equipment manufacturing and incentivizing production on a local scale to supplement established supply companies. “After the first day of the shutdown, our first bill for plastic was $37,000. Most people aren’t in a position in which they can just say ‘I’m going to supply a hospital system’s needs’. Most people can’t afford to donate at that level”, concludes Patel.
HermTac continues its journey to addressing the challenges presented by the COVID19 pandemic, however, the group seeks to branch out to innovate solutions for a broader variety of social issues. This group of dedicated volunteers from around the DFW continue to inspire and innovate, working behind the scenes to keep both frontline and vulnerable
populations equipped with the necessary tools to continue the fightback to normalcy.
RACISM IN HEALTHCARE
BY: ZARAH RAHMAN
Diversity is the ability to empower others by “respecting and appreciating what makes them different, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin”. Diversity is more than what’s being presented on the outside, it tests personal boundaries in various relationships to differentiate between mere tolerance and real respect. In doing this, diversity seeps into our everyday interactions and meaningful experiences. Diversity allows us to cultivate and create, seek knowledge, and understand perspectives. It is the celebration of differing ideas, experiences, and in the end, people. From a medical perspective, we know that patient populations are never limited to just one generic model, so the question remains, what role does diversity have in healthcare?
February is black history month, a time for Americans to familiarize and recognize the hardships and triumphs African Americans faced in the fight for freedom and equality. “The fight” does not solely refer to civil rights justices such as voting, rather it encompasses the right to a formal education, the right to receive healthcare, and most importantly, the right to respect and acceptance within society. Historically, in the medical field, malpractice against black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) was extraordinarily rampant. Minorities were being used for studies without consent (HeLa gene study), researchers and physicians lied about cures or medications as a means of continuing a case study, and oftentimes, research participants/patients were kept in the dark about the true state of their condition. BIPOC, but more specifically, black Americans, were being used as test subjects and discarded without a second thought. All the resources and evidence collected from black individuals were used to benefit white Americans when it came to educating the newest group of doctors and health professionals. As time progressed, racism within the educational setting spread to the clinical setting and the implications cost minorities their life. The inability to provide unbiased medical care shifted the morbidity and mortality scale for black individuals dramatically. An example of this is black Americans being twice* as likely to die from preventable diseases today than white individuals. The educational gap generalized the treatment and care black individuals were being given, and personalized care tailored to the needs of black individuals has only recently come to light.
The healthcare system has a long way to go when it comes to addressing racial disparities in medicine. There is considerable distrust between healthcare systems and BIPOC, and until the proper measures are taken, the relationship will continue to remain strained and unbeneficial. A few ways to combat racial inequality in the healthcare system is to include a more diverse healthcare staff. People who share similar backgrounds may be able to relate to patients more or be able to identify “red flags” much quicker. Additionally, courses dedicated to diversity and inclusion in the healthcare setting need to be reformed and emphasized. By exposing new physicians and health professionals to these courses taught by BIPOC, they may be able to gain a deeper understanding of who the patient is and how to address concerns related to their health.
So why is diversity in healthcare important? It allows for open communication, the development of trust between patient and provider, and ensures a commitment to equal opportunity for treatment and respect.
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