2021 Edition
"It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent."
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.
COMMEMORATING OUR FIRST YEAR AS A NEWSLETTER
By: Esha Kudchadkar
When we first kicked off the semester with AMWA UTD, we wanted to have a newsletter to make a difference in our community by keeping our members informed on the things that matter. Education (even aside from an academic level) is a core value of our organization. In October of last year, we formed our Newsletter team consisting of Shraddha, Megan, Zarah, and Janvi. We were so excited to have a group of passionate girls ready to take our members and us through informative and taboo topics. We knew this would be difficult to conduct virtually, because a lot of this relies on collaboration. Our committee persevered and have worked together to form ideas, research, and put together these articles. Every single portion of the newsletter, down to the details, is all their ideas, making it so unique.
It has been so exciting to see the progression from our first newsletter to where we are now. In the months of seeing our committee produce numerous articles, I have come across some favorites (yes, it was tough to pick one), and I believe they deserve more recognition:
My Favorite Article By Shraddha Trehan:
"STRENGTH NOT POUNDS: EATING DISORDER AWARENESS"
My Favorite Article By Janvi Patel:
"I'M STRESSED"
My Favorite Article By Megan Zachariah:
"CONTINUING THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY"
My Favorite Article By Zarah Rahman:
"RACISM IN HEALTHCARE"
Reflecting on this school year, I believe we have published some fantastic articles about important topics. As women, we are told to keep quiet. As women, we are made to feel embarrassed about certain things. As women, we are not given any power to take charge. This newsletter has broken so many of the barriers that seemed to be holding many of us back. Allowing ourselves to normalize and talk about things that many of us (including myself) felt awkward about was a huge accomplishment. What makes me even more proud is that this is a newsletter run by women for women.
No matter the reader count or possible traction we could receive for publishing these monthly newsletters, I have remained proud of the work these girls have put forth. Every month, when discussing ideas or putting together the newsletter, I found myself immersed in their submissions. It became the best way to wind down each month through these beautifully written articles. Anyone can report about the topics we need to talk about, but not everyone has the passion it takes to make these articles what they are. It is an art that all four of these girls hold. What makes it so cool is that their writing styles and interests are so different, but compliment each other so well. And so when I say this, I know I am speaking on behalf of all our readers; it has been an honor getting to be on the receiving end of seeing their ideas come to life.
Thank you Shraddha, Janvi, Megan, and Zarah for bringing life to this monotonous school year.
TO THE NEXT YEAR, TO THE INAUGURAL YEAR, TO WOMEN IN MEDICINE
BY: SHRADDHA TREHAN
For this last edition of the newsletter, I wanted to talk about a pre-med girl who wanted to write and a club that offered her the opportunity to do so. Not often in this world of medicine are we allowed to talk or write about topics with much feeling. Usually, we need to get right to the point, explain all the facts, and make sure emotion does not get in the way, so that we may be rational and make the most effective decision. Because of this, creative writing is not something we do. I believe I have not written creatively since the summer of 2019 when I kept a travel blog for one month and spoke about my feelings there. For some time now, I have wanted to write about the two most important things to me: medicine and feminism. Feeling that I could never connect quite enough to my fellow pre-health professionals and knowing that there was so much I wish to learn and say about all the great things we are doing in medicine, I was given the perfect opportunity when the AMWA newsletter position was offered. I was given the opportunity to express.
Throughout my time here thus far, I have expressed opinions on epilepsy, drunk driving, mental health, female empowerment, sleep, stress, autism, sexual health, and my personal favorite article Strength Not Pounds. Eating disorders are not a pretty topic. I would know. Speaking about it is difficult. Remembering it happened is difficult. But writing about it, was sort of, cathartic. Though I was not deliberately telling my story, because giving that away to a bunch of strangers is something I’m just not quite ready for yet; telling a story, letting people know the truth, allowing people to open their eyes from potential ignorance, was a powerful thing to do. It made me feel like I was doing something. Knowing people actually take the time to read it, made the experience all the sweeter.
So, thank you to AMWA, and thank you to the readers, and thank you to medicine for giving me the opportunity to write about things that are important and know that someone out there finds it interesting and necessary as well. At the AMWA banquet, keynote speaker Dr. Wendy Harpham said, “Where there is life there is hope. Where there is hope there is life. Make sure to hope, more.” Well, I hope to bring even more hard but necessary talks to the newsletter next year. I hope that more women will inform us about topics they wish for us to write about so that greater understanding can be found throughout the community. I hope that after this board, the other authors, and I graduate, this inaugural year and newsletter of AMWA UTD will be looked back upon and give the new generations a reason to look forward to being in a club, being in healthcare, and being a powerful woman. I hope many, many more pre-med girls who like to write, do.
Maybe we didn’t do anything ground-breaking or inspiring or interesting or knowledgeable. But we did write what we like, what we find interesting, inspiring, knowledgeable. What we love. Here’s to the next year, here’s to the inaugural year, here’s to women in medicine.
A YEAR IN REVIEW
BY: MEGAN ZACHARIAH
My First Article My Favorite Article
The Article I Learned the Most From The Article I Enjoyed Writing Most
I worked for The Mercury, UTD’s student newspaper, for a total of 5 months my freshman year. I loved writing and meeting new people, but I quickly realized that journalism was well beyond my skill level. I like objective writing, but only to an extent. For most of my college journey, I only wrote out of necessity and my writing took the backburner to major classes and extracurriculars.
When UTD AMWA was established last semester, I was excited to join a community of women with similar aspirations and a diversity of experiences. When the newsletter committee was developed, I realized I could manifest my love of writing and my career interests through a supportive platform. Working with the other writers this past semester has been such a rewarding experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to transform informal conversations and ideations into a final product that could be shared with this community.
Thank you all for your engagement with us this past year. Whether through Ask AMWA or Mythbusters, we appreciate hearing your opinions on poignant topics related to healthcare. We hope, as readers, you walk away from each edition of the newsletter with at least one new thing you had not known before, and we look forward to your continued support next year!
REFLECTING THROUGH AMWA UTD
By: Zarah Rahman
With the semester coming to an end, the AMWA newsletter committee felt it was only right to reflect on our experiences this past year. As a writer for this organization, I felt privileged to be able to work with such an amazing group of women in STEM. Being a part of the newsletter committee allowed me to branch out and develop new skills to improve as a writer. With each article, I felt more confident in my ability to teach others about various topics in healthcare and introduce readers to new perspectives and findings.
Writing for AMWA pushed me to think creatively and encouraged me to write about topics that are taboo or discussed in secret. After researching and writing articles on various women’s health issues, social stigmas, and mental health, I developed a much deeper passion and appreciation for women as a whole. I feel more informed and equipped to tackle the disparities that exist in healthcare and hope to utilize this knowledge as a future medical professional.
While the majority of my articles were written with the intent of providing as much information as possible, I really enjoyed incorporating a few remarks on mental health in each piece. My perspective of mental health has greatly shifted in these past two years, and learning more about the way mental health plays a role in nearly every aspect of medicine has truly been an eye opening experience.
Being involved with the newsletter committee has taught me to be less critical of my own work and to appreciate the little bits of progress we see but often dismiss. I feel I’ve grown as a writer and have been able to touch base with an audience I didn’t know was out there. I’m truly grateful to have had this opportunity to voice my opinions, be an advocate for women’s health, and serve as both a student and a teacher through writing. Thank you to all the readers for the love and support you’ve shown this semester, we couldn’t have done it without you!
CLOSING REMARKS
By: Janvi Patel
It’s been an interesting school year. With the pandemic, online school, and other challenges the 2020-2021 school year was definitely a trying one. The good news is, summer is upon us. With that in mind, I wanted to take the time and reflect on my time at AMWA especially as a writer for their debut newsletter. This has been an amazing opportunity and I’ve been able to learn so much and express myself so freely. Here are my highlights:
The Best Article: I’m Stressed. This article was by far my favorite for a few reasons. The topic itself is extremely relevant to us as college students as stress is part of our daily lives. I also loved being able to give real tips to help combat this. I was also able to learn from writing this article myself and picked out some tips for myself.
The Article I Enjoyed Writing The Most: What’s In Your Food? I enjoyed writing this article the most because nutrition and diet are things I am extremely passionate about. I think there is so much misinformation regarding these topics and I was glad I was able to help clear some of these up!
The Article I Learned From The Most: When Will You Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? I learned the most from writing this article because this topic, though very relevant, wasn’t something I had looked into yet. I’m glad I was able to educate myself on this topic because I was then able to spread this information to friends and family and all of you!
Overall, being a writer for AMWA this year has been great. I want to thank the officer team for allowing me to choose what I want to write, how I write it, and for being so supportive in my endeavors. I want to thank my fellow writers for keeping me on track with deadlines and contributing great ideas to make this newsletter as great as can be. Lastly, I want to thank all of you for taking the time out of your day and reading these newsletters all of this is for you!
Have a great summer!
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