Throughout this year with Nick Cozzi as my mentor, I have learned so many important things and received advice that will help me throughout my life, especially on the path to becoming a physician. Each of our conversations have increased my desire to pursue a career in medicine, and I always end up feeling inspired. After speaking with Nick and hearing about the many things he has done in order to prepare for medical school and beyond, I decided that I want to bring other students at Marist a similar experience. I want to start a group consisting of students of all year levels who are interested in medicine. In this group, we could help answer each others questions, look at current medical news and hold discussions, and even have guest speakers once in a while. I mentioned this idea to Nick, and he believes this is a great thing to start. I plan to work with Ms. Brusky and others at Marist to begin this group, as I believe it will benefit other students the way that my mentorship with Nick has benefitted me.
My mentorship with Nick has been the highlight of my junior year. He and I have had so many conversations that have left me feeling so much more confident about fulfilling my dreams as a neurosurgeon. I have had so many opportunities over the course of this year that I would not have had without Nick as my mentor. I am extremely grateful that Nick has gone above and beyond to ensure that I am 100% prepared for the path ahead of me. I am also very grateful to Ms. Brusky for starting this project and giving me a chance to learn outside of the classroom. I plan to continue talking to Nick even after this school year ends.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Language and Power, Language and Freedom (Second Response)
In the article by Mark Memmot about the Germanwings Crash, he brings up a valid point that language is often misinterpreted and misused. When investigators called the crash a "suicide," they were not taking into consideration the literal definition, which caused many people to disagree. Since a large part of language is subjective, assumptions are often made, many of which are not legitimate. Often times this causes miscommunication and controversy.
When it comes to anonymity on the internet and social media such as Yik Yak, there should be limits. For example, each person should have to create a username, one that does not necessarily include the person's real name, that would appear on every post the person creates. In order to register, the person should have to put an email address. If that person is reported of harassing another person or people, the email address can be tracked, and the person may be punished. Although some might argue that this strategy is limiting people of their freedom of speech and expression of thoughts, it is in the best interest to protect Americans from harassment and potential harm. With that being said, it is difficult for an anonymous social media site, such as Yik Yak, to start out anonymous and then later have the anonymity taken away. That would make users feel like they have been stripped of their rights.
When it comes to anonymity on the internet and social media such as Yik Yak, there should be limits. For example, each person should have to create a username, one that does not necessarily include the person's real name, that would appear on every post the person creates. In order to register, the person should have to put an email address. If that person is reported of harassing another person or people, the email address can be tracked, and the person may be punished. Although some might argue that this strategy is limiting people of their freedom of speech and expression of thoughts, it is in the best interest to protect Americans from harassment and potential harm. With that being said, it is difficult for an anonymous social media site, such as Yik Yak, to start out anonymous and then later have the anonymity taken away. That would make users feel like they have been stripped of their rights.
Language and Power, Language and Freedom (Initial Response)
When asked about the relationship between language and power and language and freedom, the first thing that comes to my mind is the First Amendment in the Constitution of the United States which protects freedom of speech. This amendment allows for Americans to openly express their opinions without punishment and publish anything to the public, anonymous or not. When looking back on history, language has been such a powerful force that drove many of the events that shaped America into the country it is today. For example, when slavery was present in the United States, thousands of pamphlets and pieces of literature that expressed abolitionist opinions were released to the public. This demonstrates the freedom that citizens had regarding language, and the fact that these pieces led to the complete abolition of slavery demonstrates the power that language has in society. It is still this way today. Many people take advantage of the freedom of speech by using social media to express opinions and tell stories, by using the media to inform, and by writing or speaking publicly for any reason. Through these communications, people can become educated on specific topics, they are exposed to outside opinions, and their initial opinions can then be swayed. Language is important because it is how people communicate with each other. Without communication, there would be pure chaos in the world, and it would be impossible to connect with other people. Language does not necessarily indicate a person or group of people are not free, but it certainly can put them down and be derogatory. Language can restrict one's freedom in the form of threats. When a person uses language to hurt someone or seriously threaten them, they can be punished and not be given the same rights and freedom as others.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Should Vaccines be Required for Children?
Throughout my mentorship, I have been avidly reading medical articles and blogs to keep myself updated and informed on new discoveries as well as varying controversial issues. One issue that sparked my interest is the controversy over whether vaccinations should be mandatory for children. There is no law in the United States stating that every child must be vaccinated, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations upon enrollment in public schools. Most states allow religious exemptions, and some states even allow philosophical exemptions to the vaccine policy. This gives rise to the question "Should all children, regardless of religious and/or philosophical beliefs be required to receive vaccinations upon enrollment in schools?"Although some religions are against certain vaccinations, all children should be required to receive them for school in order to protect themselves and others from fatal diseases.
Many parents argue that the government should not intervene with their personal medical decisions. While it is agreeable that caregivers and parents have the right to make their own choices over their children's bodies, not vaccinating their children could cause a deadly outbreak of disease throughout the entire country, thus making it a governmental issue. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccinations. After being shown the statistics, it seems almost absurd to refuse vaccinations.
Vaccines also protect future generations. Vaccines are responsible for eradicating fatal diseases such as paralytic polio and smallpox, which means that they are most likely to eradicate or at least decrease diseases that are found today. Isn't that the main goal for those in the medical field, to put and end to horrible diseases? If parents refuse vaccination, then they are not allowing the field of medicine to do its job.
A large number of the people who choose not to vaccinate their children tend to use religion as an opposing factor to vaccinations. However, among the religions in the United States, there aren't any religions that state that they are against vaccination. In fact, many religions actually promote them as a way of respecting life. With that being said, making vaccinations mandatory for American children would not be denying them the freedom of religion.
If the government were to make vaccinations mandatory for all American children, that is one step closer to eliminating fatal diseases and protecting millions of lives. If people are still able to be exempt from vaccinations, then America is put at risk for a country-wide disease outbreak with many fatalities. So you decide: Mandatory vaccinations or disease and death?
Many parents argue that the government should not intervene with their personal medical decisions. While it is agreeable that caregivers and parents have the right to make their own choices over their children's bodies, not vaccinating their children could cause a deadly outbreak of disease throughout the entire country, thus making it a governmental issue. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccinations. After being shown the statistics, it seems almost absurd to refuse vaccinations.
Vaccines also protect future generations. Vaccines are responsible for eradicating fatal diseases such as paralytic polio and smallpox, which means that they are most likely to eradicate or at least decrease diseases that are found today. Isn't that the main goal for those in the medical field, to put and end to horrible diseases? If parents refuse vaccination, then they are not allowing the field of medicine to do its job.
A large number of the people who choose not to vaccinate their children tend to use religion as an opposing factor to vaccinations. However, among the religions in the United States, there aren't any religions that state that they are against vaccination. In fact, many religions actually promote them as a way of respecting life. With that being said, making vaccinations mandatory for American children would not be denying them the freedom of religion.
If the government were to make vaccinations mandatory for all American children, that is one step closer to eliminating fatal diseases and protecting millions of lives. If people are still able to be exempt from vaccinations, then America is put at risk for a country-wide disease outbreak with many fatalities. So you decide: Mandatory vaccinations or disease and death?
Thursday, October 30, 2014
What Are Your Goals?
Now that I had received most of the information about the process to become a physician, my mentor Nick Cozzi and I dove in a little deeper to talk about setting goals. Nick explained to me that setting goals is an extremely important aspect of medical school, and that it helps the candidates to understand exactly what they should know by a certain point in time.
Goal-setting techniques are not just used in medical school, however. Goal-setting is something that is used almost everywhere. Individuals have their personal goals, whether they were goals that were set consciously or not. Setting goals is one of the most important strategies to keep a person motivated toward achieving success. They keep our mind focused on the outcome that we strive to obtain and make us brainstorm on how we can obtain it.
Nick and I agreed that it would be helpful to me if I set a few goals for myself in order to become familiar with the process. They could be any kind of goals: personal goals, academic goals, future goals, etc. Nick said that when I come up with these goals, I will present them to him, and he will assist me in any way possible with fully achieving them. I came up with a few goals, which I will gladly share:
1. To work toward raising my GPA in order to be invited to the National Honors Society next year.
2. To listen more, and talk less.
3. To research and visit colleges in order to get a better idea of where I am interested in going, and how hard I need to work to get there.
4. To get involved in the community more through volunteering and service.
5. To "shadow" a physician, observing an average day on the job.
Now that I have set these goals, I am extremely motivated to work hard so that I may achieve them. I created each of these goals in order to better myself and improve my work ethic. I highly encourage my peers to consider creating a few goals like I did, and following them through until they are achieved.
Goal-setting techniques are not just used in medical school, however. Goal-setting is something that is used almost everywhere. Individuals have their personal goals, whether they were goals that were set consciously or not. Setting goals is one of the most important strategies to keep a person motivated toward achieving success. They keep our mind focused on the outcome that we strive to obtain and make us brainstorm on how we can obtain it.
Nick and I agreed that it would be helpful to me if I set a few goals for myself in order to become familiar with the process. They could be any kind of goals: personal goals, academic goals, future goals, etc. Nick said that when I come up with these goals, I will present them to him, and he will assist me in any way possible with fully achieving them. I came up with a few goals, which I will gladly share:
1. To work toward raising my GPA in order to be invited to the National Honors Society next year.
2. To listen more, and talk less.
3. To research and visit colleges in order to get a better idea of where I am interested in going, and how hard I need to work to get there.
4. To get involved in the community more through volunteering and service.
5. To "shadow" a physician, observing an average day on the job.
Now that I have set these goals, I am extremely motivated to work hard so that I may achieve them. I created each of these goals in order to better myself and improve my work ethic. I highly encourage my peers to consider creating a few goals like I did, and following them through until they are achieved.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
A Whole New Perspective
Ever since the young age of 9 or 10, I have known exactly what I would like to do with my life, something that is extremely rare at such a young childhood age. Even as a junior in high school, I receive reactions of shock and sometimes disbelief when I explain to people that I want to be a pediatric neurosurgeon. I have found this career to be thought of as far-fetched and unrealistic. Most people believe that you have to be a genius to achieve this, and I am not nearly a genius. Sometimes these reactions and inaccurate perceptions lead to waning confidence in myself, and I often worried, "What if they are right? What if I don't have what it takes to be a neurosurgeon? What if I'm setting my sights too big?"
The truth is that I did not know much about the process I will have to go through while I am on the road to becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon. The extent of what I knew was what I learned from watching Greys Anatomy. One thing I knew for sure was that it will not be easy. This is probably the main reason why I allowed people to lower my confidence. I was uneducated. I truly did not know if I am capable of having this career in the future, but I sure knew that I wanted to.
When Ms. Brusky explained that I had the opportunity of participating in a mentorship program, I became ecstatic. I was finally about to learn from a real person who could provide me with the proper education and help me determine whether this is really a life for me.
Nick Cozzi, a first year medical student at Central Michigan University who has a major in Neuroscience, gave me all the answers I was looking for and more. Nick is an alumnus of Marist High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a notably hardworking person. Upon our first phone conversation, once we introduced ourselves, we discovered that we are quite similar. We both come from supportive families, we are extremely motivated and dedicated, and we received the same high school education. This is something that I found extremely comforting, because it made me realize that if Nick is able to get to this point in his life, then so am I. He walked me through every step of medical school, described the work load, gave me advice on how to stay confident, and connected me to volunteer opportunities that I might be interested in. He explained everything so thoroughly, providing me with similes for complete understanding, causing every doubt in my mind to vanish. The best piece of advice that Nick gave to me was "If somebody tells you that you can't do something, prove them wrong, and prove yourself right." By the end of our conversation, I was instilled with determination and excitement for my future. I am eternally grateful for this new teacher, role model, and friend, and I cannot wait for our next conversation.
The truth is that I did not know much about the process I will have to go through while I am on the road to becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon. The extent of what I knew was what I learned from watching Greys Anatomy. One thing I knew for sure was that it will not be easy. This is probably the main reason why I allowed people to lower my confidence. I was uneducated. I truly did not know if I am capable of having this career in the future, but I sure knew that I wanted to.
When Ms. Brusky explained that I had the opportunity of participating in a mentorship program, I became ecstatic. I was finally about to learn from a real person who could provide me with the proper education and help me determine whether this is really a life for me.
Nick Cozzi, a first year medical student at Central Michigan University who has a major in Neuroscience, gave me all the answers I was looking for and more. Nick is an alumnus of Marist High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a notably hardworking person. Upon our first phone conversation, once we introduced ourselves, we discovered that we are quite similar. We both come from supportive families, we are extremely motivated and dedicated, and we received the same high school education. This is something that I found extremely comforting, because it made me realize that if Nick is able to get to this point in his life, then so am I. He walked me through every step of medical school, described the work load, gave me advice on how to stay confident, and connected me to volunteer opportunities that I might be interested in. He explained everything so thoroughly, providing me with similes for complete understanding, causing every doubt in my mind to vanish. The best piece of advice that Nick gave to me was "If somebody tells you that you can't do something, prove them wrong, and prove yourself right." By the end of our conversation, I was instilled with determination and excitement for my future. I am eternally grateful for this new teacher, role model, and friend, and I cannot wait for our next conversation.
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