Whether you’re looking to gain hands-on experience, build connections in the U.S. healthcare system, explore specific specialties, or strengthen your CV, securing the right clinical experience for your goals is easier than ever with AMO.

Here are four ways AMO can support your goals.

1. Access to Unmatched Clinical Opportunities

Whether you’re seeking hands-on experience through a clerkship or an externship, or an observership, AMO’s more than 500 clinical experiences in 70+ specialties helps you find the right experience for your goals all through a single platform.

2. Support Every Step of the Way

AMO provides one-on-one support from our dedicated AMO Advisors and Coaches, who assist with everything from application completion to travel arrangements.

The AMO team’s support comes with your reservation, so you’re getting the assurance that your goals and success are considered along the way.

3. Real-World Training that Prepares You for Your Career

AMO’s clinical rotations are designed so that you can learn first-hand how medical professionals work in diverse specialties, helping you feel more prepared entering residency or your first day on the job.

You’ll have the opportunity to gain letters of recommendation from U.S.-based physicians, an invaluable asset to residency applications.

4. A Platform Built with Your Success in Mind

Book learning can vary so much from reality. What specialties may be exciting in the classroom may not be so exciting in real life. AMO helps you explore multiple specialties, guiding you as you refine your career path.

Whether you’re pursuing a specific field or still exploring, this exposure can provide clarity and direction.

For Ģ����Ƶ members looking to enhance their medical education and gain a competitive edge in the U.S. healthcare system, get started by creating your free account .

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SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Stay Connected – to Resources, Community, and Radical Hope for Reproductive Freedom and Justice
– through the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project!

Written by Jeff Koetje, MD, Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Programming Strategist

Greetings from all of us at the (Ģ����Ƶ RHP)! With the start of the new academic year well under way, we are excited to share with you what we have planned for 2024-2025. But before we get into that, let’s pause to acknowledge that we are just a few days away from Election Day here in the US (Tuesday, Nov 5), and this year, reproductive rights are a central issue in the federal election and abortion rights, specifically, are on the ballot in 10 states. We encourage everyone who can, and everyone who is eligible, to get out and vote if you haven’t already, and we encourage you to invite your friends and family to do the same! We know that regardless of the outcomes of the imminent elections and ballot initiatives, the work of protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice must continue.��

Who we’re for and what we’re about:��

We also know that future physicians – that’s you! – have important roles to play in the movements for reproductive freedom and justice. And we’re here to support and help you figure out what that can look like for you. The Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project – and Ģ����Ƶ, overall – invites reproductive freedom dreamers and doers, like you, to consider us as one of your home bases for relevant and timely information, resources, connections to a growing network of activated medical and premedical students, and spaces for organizing for collective action. We work to nurture and support the next generation of physician abortion providers and the next generation of physician-advocates for reproductive health, rights, and justice. We are here for you – whether you are a premedical or medical student Ģ����Ƶ member, an Ģ����Ƶ Chapter Officer, or an Ģ����Ƶ National Leader!��

Read on to learn more about the Ģ����Ƶ RHP and how you, your Ģ����Ƶ chapter, or your school can get involved.

First things first – Some introductions! Who we are:

The Ģ����Ƶ RHP team includes Becky Martin, who is, as she says, “one of those old-school community organizers” who brings a unique perspective to our work. She got her start working to expand education and licensing programs for midwives in Florida and then around the U.S. A deep concern and care for pregnant and birthing people has been at the core of Becky’s lifetime of advocacy, activism, and organizing. She has a deep appreciation for history and what we can learn from our past – she knows we all stand on the shoulders of giants. And having worked with Ģ����Ƶ for over 20 years from allied organizations before joining Ģ����Ƶ staff, Becky knows many of Ģ����Ƶ’s giants personally. Becky reminds us medicine is both art and science, and how we grow our healers is vitally important. As Ģ����Ƶ’s Senior Manager for Reproductive Health Advocacy,�� she helps Ģ����Ƶ’s members, Chapter Officers, and National Leaders think and plan strategically for mobilizing future physicians for action on abortion access and reproductive healthcare equity. Dr. Jeffrey Koetje is a medical professional focused on transforming the systems and culture of education and training inside the House of Medicine. Utilizing critical theories such as intersectional feminism, queer theory, and Critical Race Theory, Dr. Koetje works to create transformed and transformative medical education, grounded in an absolute belief that spaces for education can and must be spaces for young people to more closely encounter and get to know their own power, agency, and capacity to be change-makers. The Project also works closely with , who is an OB/GYN abortion provider in the NYC area, and former Ģ����Ƶ Education and Advocacy Fellow, National Graduate Trustee on the Ģ����Ƶ Board of Trustees, and Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Programming Strategist. Two medical students also will be joining the Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project this year: Joy Udoh, M4 at Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, will be the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project Fellow, and Araam Abboud, M3 at Boonshoft School of Medicine will be the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project Intern. Joy and Araam will be introducing themselves in the next issue of this newsletter.

What we offer:

As a grant-funded project, we are able to offer an abundance of support to you, your Ģ����Ƶ chapter, your school, and your community in the form of informational resources, connections to subject matter experts and activists for chapter events, interesting and compelling films to view and discuss, clinical skills workshops, advocacy skills workshops, and several programs you can enroll in, including our Abortion Care & Reproductive Justice Institutes back in-person! (Read what a student from this summer wrote about his experience: Recharging Your Medical Passion: The Power of a Retreat . We also offer small chapter grants ($200 – $500) to cover food/beverage costs for Ģ����Ƶ Chapter events planned in coordination with the Ģ����Ƶ RHP! We can even help chapters with new member recruitment by providing Ģ����Ƶ RHP swag for tabling events and a limited number of free memberships for students who participate in RHP-sponsored chapter events!

We’ll highlight many of the RHP offerings here, but be sure to check out all the details posted to the , and keep up with all the updates and opportunities by reading the Ģ����Ƶ Repro Health & Justice eNewsletter.�� to start receiving the newsletter, delivered to your inbox every other Saturday – and catch up on what you’ve missed by reading current and past issues!

New & Expanded Offerings for Ģ����Ƶ Members & Chapters from the Ģ����Ƶ Abortion Care & Reproductive Health Project

Clinical & Research Skills:

• Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA, or “papaya workshop”)
• What Would You Do? Values Exploration & Clarification
• Pelvic Exam Best Practices Workshop
• Trauma Informed Abortion & Reproductive Health Care
• Self-Managed Abortion: A Safe Option for Many (SMA)
• Contraception Counseling & IUD Insertion
• Pregnancy & Abortion Care Options Counseling
• Understanding Mandated Reporting: What Is & Is Not Required
• Designing & Presenting Compelling Research Projects

Advocacy, Organizing, & Networking Skills:

• Effective Communication about Abortion Care: What & How We Talk Matters
• Lifting Your Voice: Writing Compelling LTEs,OpEds & Blog Posts
• Building Relationships with Reproductive Freedom Champions in Your State
• Understanding How Bills Become Laws & Regulations Govern Physician Practice
• Translating Data & Research Findings into Policy Recommendations
• Finding & Sharing Change-maker Stories in Your Community

Issue Education Teach-Ins:

• The History of Abortion: Roots of Stigma, Opportunities for Change
• Abortion as a Moral & Social Good: The Ethical Basis for Conscientious Provision of Abortion Care
• Religious & Spiritual Affirmation of Abortion
• Men & Abortion – Feminist Frameworks for Male/Masc Abortion Rights Allies
• Fetal Personhood & Criminalizing Pregnancy: Fast Tracks to Gilead
• Physicians as Enforcers: Urine Drug Screens, Mandated Reporting & Criminalization of Pregnant People
• Anti-abortion Laws & Maternal Mortality: Turning the Tide
• Birth Justice – A Framework for Improving U.S. Health Outcomes by Uniting Physicians, Midwives & Doulas��
• Reproductive Justice: A Movement & Framework for Equitable Health Care

Expanding Conversations with Film

Films offer unique ways to share information, generate conversations and move people to action, especially around difficult or challenging topics facing our communities. The Ģ����Ƶ RHP shares film access and provides expert speakers for facilitated, interactive conversations with Ģ����Ƶ members and Chapters. This year we are expanding our film offerings and focusing around key topics starting with:��

• How Stories Move People & Foster Change
  Ours to Tell, a short documentary film featuring several abortion stories
• Informed Consent: Vital for Patients, Students & Providers
  At Your Cervix, a documentary film about medical education and unconsented pelvic exams on anesthetized patients
• Forced Sterilization: What is it & How it is Still Happening?
  Belly of the Beast, a documentary film about the forced sterilization of women incarcerated in California’s prison system
• In the Time Before Roe: Lessons from Our Not too Distant Past
  The Janes, a film that tells the story of underground abortion providers in Chicago who cared for over 11,000 women in the years before Roe
• Moral Injury, Burnout & Suicide Among Physicians & Trainees
  Do No Harm, a documentary film that shines light on the crisis of medical student and physician suicide along with the toxic issues and environments far too many are facing today

***Everything listed above can be organized into an Ģ����Ƶ Chapter event!***

Courses and Programs:

• Ģ����Ƶ Abortion Care and Reproductive Justice Institutes
  for first dibs on registration
• Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health & Justice Mentorship Program
  Learn more and sign-up for the Winter 2025 Repro Mentorship Sprint (Jan/Feb 2025)
• Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Scholars Program
  Our next offering will be Fall 2025, for first dibs on registration
• Ģ����Ƶ-UM Elective in Abortion Care, Family Planning, and Reproductive Justice
  Explore the program description here, our next offering is planned for Fall 2025.��

Essay Contests, Poster Presentations & Scholarship Opportunities:

• Repro Poster Presenter Scholarships
  to present your abortion and repro-related poster at the 75th Annual Ģ����Ƶ Convention in Washington DC April 17-19, 2025 – Learn more at
• Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Essay Contests
  Stay tuned for details coming soon!

###

*Note: an excerpt of this Spotlight is included in Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project eNews #31: Say Their Names, Get Connected, Stand for Change, Nov 2, 2024
Find the current and past issues in the Ģ����Ƶ Repro eNews Archive.

Explore the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project
Find news, tips, tools, opportunities�� & more!

for Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project Updates

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Once a year, we come together as a diverse force of future physicians banded together with a common goal: to make positive change in healthcare. To dare to envision a better realm of medicine — to overcome barriers that stand in the way of health equity and accelerate lasting change. Justice. Inclusion. Dare to blaze the path forward with us as we become the architects of a brighter tomorrow, and we invite you to join us on this inspiring journey.

At Future Physicians for Change, we don’t just talk about change; we are the change. As you enter our world, you’ll find yourself on the forefront of a revolution in healthcare. It’s a place where the status quo is challenged, where barriers are shattered, and where dreams of a fairer, more inclusive medical field take flight.

This isn’t just a conference; it’s an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself. It’s a space where daring visionaries gather to craft a future where healthcare knows no bounds.

Join us, and dare to be the spark that blazes the path forward toward a brighter, more equitable world. Dare to dream, dare to act, and dare to be an instrumental part of the change. The journey begins at��Future Physicians for Change.

Conference Details

Date: May 30 – June 1, 2024
Location: Washington, D.C.’s Hyatt Regency Crystal City.

This year, Ģ����Ƶ is proud to co-host the Future Physicians for Change conference with six other prominent medical student organizations, American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS), Medical Students for Choice (MSFC), Medical Students for Sustainable Future (MS4SF), South Asian Medical Student Association (SĢ����Ƶ), Association of Native American Medical Students (ANAMS), including International Federation of Medical Students’ Association (IFMSA), and potentially more. By uniting our forces, we aim to create an event that transcends boundaries, fostering collaboration and dialogue among the brightest minds in the medical community.

Key Programs:

1. Residency and Specialty Fair

Engage directly with program directors, inquire about away rotations, application processes, and gain insights into what programs/specialties are looking for. This isn’t your average job fair for aspiring physicians—it’s a dynamic showcase crafted exclusively for future leaders in medicine.

2. Sim Challenge

Teams of 4-5 students will compete in a series of simulated clinical scenarios requiring medical knowledge, clinical skills, teamwork, and communication.

3. Poster Session

Present your research project to a VIP panel of Ģ����Ƶ experts and leaders at Future Physicians for Change. Showcase your work, hone your public speaking skills, network with influencers, and boost your CV. Plus, win prizes if you nail it!

4. Advocacy Day on the Hill

On May 30th, 2024, we will lift our voices as future physicians to the Senate, educating and advocating for the kind of healthcare system we want to work in and the healthcare we want for our patients, families, and communities.

AND WAIT–there’s MORE!

Collaboration with AMOpportunities

We are thrilled to announce an exciting partnership with AMOpportunities (AMO). This year, Ģ����Ƶ and AMO have teamed up to provide exclusive two-week clinical rotations to attendees of the Future Physicians for Change Conference. These rotations, available either before or after the conference, offer a unique clinical experiences in the medical field.

Key Details:

• Rotation Dates: May 13–24 or June 3–14, 2024
• Cost: $1500
• Registration:��

AMO will be offering 30 two-week rotations across the U.S. in over 70 specialties, allowing you to tailor your clinical experience to match your interests. This incredible opportunity is a chance to apply the knowledge gained at the conference in a real-world setting, further enriching your understanding of the medical landscape.

.

Be the Change

Future Physicians for Change is not just a conference; it’s a movement. It’s an opportunity to contribute to the transformation of healthcare, to challenge the norms, and to be an active participant in shaping the future of medicine.

As we converge in Washington, D.C., let us unite under the banner of change. Let us be the architects of a healthcare system that knows no bounds, where inclusivity reigns supreme, and where each voice, including yours, makes a resounding impact.

Dare to dream, dare to act, and dare to be an instrumental part of the change. The journey begins at Future Physicians for Change. We look forward to welcoming you to this unparalleled experience that promises to redefine the future of medicine.

Register for all the above and more at��.

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Statement from the Ģ����Ƶ Board of Trustees

Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA
Decision��Threatens Safe & Effective FDA-Approved Medication Abortion Across the Country
Appellate Court Ruling is Wrong on Facts, Science & Medicine

On the evening of Friday, April 7th, a federal district judge in Texas, Matthew Kacsmaryk, whose own anti-abortion ideology is well documented,, a medication that is part of a two-drug regimen for medication abortion. In ruling against the FDA-approved status of Mifepristone, Judge Kacsmaryk is making a direct attack against the universal human right to bodily autonomy and against the professional right and responsibility of healthcare providers to practice evidence-based, compassionate, person-centered care. The case in question, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, reveals the extent to which the anti-abortion movement – which fundamentally overlaps with white supremacist authoritarian movements – will weaponize the judiciary in order to enact deeply unpopular, undemocratic policies through ruthless exertion of power.��

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is the gold standard for drug safety and efficacy in the United States and its approval process is highly esteemed worldwide. Mifepristone has been FDA approved since 2000 and the attempt to invalidate its approval by way of a single judge’s decision has immediate and unprecedented implications for abortion care and beyond. The FDA approval process for medications is a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of safety, efficacy, and quality of drugs. It involves scientific research, clinical trials, and continuous surveillance after approval. Kacsmaryk’s decision directly undermines the valid scientific and regulatory processes of the FDA, and even opens the door to more politically and ideologically-motivated attacks against evidence-based market regulations in this country. This case should not have moved forward. The decision is not based on facts or science, nor medical evidence. The ruling is deplorable.����

Even though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld the FDA approval of mifepristone, the restrictive measures from 2016 were held. This includes restricting mifepristone use to 7�� weeks gestation, not being able to mail medication abortion pills, and in some cases, non-physician prescribers may not be able to administer mifepristone. The misoprostol-only method remains unaffected. The Justice Department has issued a statement immediately upon the release of the Fifth Circuit decision to seek an emergency relief from the Supreme Court to. Almost simultaneously to the release of Kacsmaryk’s decision, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in Washington State that directly contradicts Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision and ruled that the FDA must maintain access to Mifepristone, but Rice’s decision applies only to 16 Democratic states (AZ, CO, CT, DE, IL, HI, MD, MI, MN, NM, NV, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA) and Washington D.C. that were involved in the lawsuit before him. Consequently, we are in a legal standoff, with evidence-based abortion care, those who need it, and those who provide it, caught in the middle.����

As a community of future physicians committed to a progressive and humanistic vision for a just and equitable society, Ģ����Ƶ affirms the moral good of abortion care whenever and wherever it is needed, and unreservedly asserts that abortion care is a regular, essential component of reproductive healthcare, supported by the evidence upon which physicians base our standards of care.��

Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling is a direct attack against the bodily integrity of anyone who has the capacity to become pregnant, and is also an ideologically-motivated attack against the professional autonomy of physicians and healthcare workers to provide the standard of care that is our ethical, moral, and legal duty.����

Our nation was founded on the premise of justice for all, we claim honor in being a society governed by the people, for the people, yet despite say abortion should be legal in all or under most circumstances across the country, states and courts are now passing laws and issuing rulings that deny people the right to decide for themselves the care that is best for them.����

As future physicians, we condemn Judge Kacsmaryk’s ideologically-motivated, deeply uninformed ruling to invalidate FDA approval of mifepristone.�� In the face of this ruling, we affirm the universal human right to equitable healthcare, including access to comprehensive reproductive health services. We affirm the universal human right to legal and safe abortion care wherever and whenever such care is needed, for whomever needs it regardless of how much they earn, where they work, or what state they live in. This is a time in history where we choose what side we fight on. Do we let ourselves be complacent while we as a country are pulled into fascism or do we as a collective challenge and stand up to the unjust rulings?����

If you feel the same inner fire to fight against those who are systematically breaking down our rights, join us at our Reproductive Health Project to learn more about what you can do. We will certainly be fighting on the side of history that gives the due respect to science and autonomy of people.��

��

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Calling Out Scientific Misinformation

and Protecting Transgender Youth

Ģ����Ƶ Endorses an Expert Report: “Biased Science: The Texas and Alabama Measures Criminalizing Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents Rely on Innacurate and Misleading Scientific Claims”

By: Kyle Gavulic, Shamik Bhat, and Bassel Shanab

2021 set a dismal record: states across the country collectively introduced a total of, with many of these targeting transgender youth. A record against transgender youth became law, starting with Arkansas’ “” that prohibited physicians from providing medically necessary, gender-affirming care to youth on the false basis that gender-affirming care possesses greater risks than benefits.

Unfortunately, in 2022, the Human Rights Campaign is tracking an, a number of which persistently target transgender youth. Most notably, in February 2022, the Texas Attorney General introduced an that defines gender-affirming care as child abuse (the AG Opinion), and, in April 2022, the Governor of Alabama signed the “” (the Alabama Law) banning physicians from providing medically necessary, gender-affirming care to youth.�� Similar to Arkansas’ “SAFE Act,” the AG Opinion and the Alabama law are grounded in scientific misinformation that subject transgender youth to inequitable medical treatment and severely threatens their livelihood.

In response to these inhumane state-sponsored attacks on transgender youth, a group of medical and law faculty members from the Yale School of Medicine, Yale Law School, and University of Texas Southwestern joined to examine the claims made in the recent AG Opinion and Alabama legislation. In their report, “,” this team of medical and legal experts expose the multitude of errors in these two recent high profile anti-transgender policies.����

As medical students and future physicians, we, the Yale Chapter of Ģ����Ƶ, join with Ģ����Ƶ National to commend these medical and law leaders who have assembled this scientifically well-informed report. A large body of literature shows that transgender youth endure higher risks of,, and, not to mention greater to accessing health care. Out of consideration for the additional that these systemic acts of hate and scientific misinformation impose on transgender youth and their families, as well as on our ability as future physicians to properly care for them, Ģ����Ƶ endorses the report published by faculty members of the Yale Law School faculty, Yale School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern, and condemns the AG Opinion, Alabama Law, and similar attempts to limit and attack gender-affirming care.

As described in their , the AG Opinion and Alabama Law falsely assert that providers of gender-affirming care prescribe puberty blockers, sterilization procedures, and high doses of testosterone and estrogen to prepubertal children. These claims, if true, would run counter to the medical guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society that physicians follow. For instance, surgical treatments for gender dysphoria can only be considered after the age of majority. Meanwhile, medical treatments such as puberty blockers are only permitted for adolescents (once puberty has begun). As in most pediatric settings, a parent or guardian must consent to these treatments as well, and gender-affirming drug therapy is provided after thorough discussions and assessments by physicians and mental health professionals.

Moreover, the authors of the report describe how the AG Opinion and Alabama Law fail to accept scientific consensus by the world’s leading of pediatricians, psychologists, and adolescent and children psychiatrists as well as that of Texas and Alabama (e.g. Texas Medical Society and Alabama Psychological Association) by neglecting to correctly acknowledge and understand gender dysphoria. By denying and misstating established scientific evidence in the assessment and treatment of gender dysphoria, the AG Opinion and Alabama Law place transgender people’s lives at risk through the denial of timely life-saving gender-affirming care.

Finally, the authors emphasize the overstatement of the risks of gender-affirming drug therapy in both the AG Opinion and Alabama Law. Both falsely claim that puberty blockers cause irreversible infertility and loss of bone mineral density. These claims are contradicted by the scientific consensus: puberty blockers temporarily stall the development of puberty and reduce fertility, yet puberty resumes normally and their effects on fertility are reversed if the medications are halted. Meanwhile, the benefits of puberty blockers, and gender-affirming care more broadly, are invaluable to adolescents with gender dysphoria. By misrepresenting and exaggerating the effects of these medications, the AG Opinion and Alabama Law will make gender-affirming care harder to access; care that serves an important role in .

The full extent of anti-LGBTQ governance threatening rights to health care in 2022 is still yet to come; just earlier this month, signaled its to cover gender-affirming care, with a public hearing expected in Yet, there are many tangible, effective ways to counter these acts of hate that behold such harmful medical consequences. First, as members of the medical community, we can inform our peers, family members, medical institutions, and policy makers of the scientific consensus on gender-affirming care by referring them to the report: , among other expert sources. Already, last month, in Alabama, we witnessed the powerful voice of physicians when Judge Burke, after reviewing the scientifically sound medical guidance, on physicians providing age-appropriate gender-affirming care.����

Second, we call on all medical students, especially those within and from Alabama, Texas, Florida, and to call, email, or write to your state and federal congressional offices about the harmful consequences on the health and well-being of transgender youth and the dangers of the discredited claims within the AG Opinion, the Alabama Law, and other copy/paste anti-transgender policies.

Third, until the is passed, universal nondiscrimination protections for all members of the LGBTQ community will not be achieved. While calling and writing to your state and federal representatives, we ask that you as medical students and also signal your for the passage of the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to also include sexual orientation and gender identity among other personal characteristics, such as race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, by which discrimination is illegal.����

Fourth, we encourage medical students around the country to work with peer and faculty allies to identify gaps in the education and training of physicians in LGBTQ health, including gender-affirming care for transgender individuals, and to develop new curricula that will train the next generation of physicians how to better care for transgender individuals, as well as other gender and sexual minorities. Similar to the cross-sector effort and leadership of the medical, mental health, and legal experts that wrote the report that we endorse in this post, we advocate for collaborations across disciplines and institutions, including with our own Yale Chapter of Ģ����Ƶ.

As this year’s Pride month comes to an end, we remind you how dangerous hateful governance and scientific information are for transgender youth and other members of the LGBTQ community and to remain vigilant to the dynamic policy environment. Our voices, as well as our trust and understanding of science, are powerful. We must use them to promise equitable health care for all.��

For more information, once again, the full report can be found .

This is an official statement from the Ģ����Ƶ, written by Kyle Gavulic, Shamik Bhat, Bassel Shanab. Gavulic, Bhat, and Shanab are second year medical students at Yale School of Medicine and co-leaders of the Yale Chapter of Ģ����Ƶ.��

This statement was reviewed and endorsed by Michael Walls DO MPH, Ģ����Ƶ President.��

We would also like to thank Meredithe McNamara, MD, MS, FAAP, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Adolescent Medicine) at Yale School of Medicine and co-author of “Biased Science: The Texas and Alabama Measures Criminalizing Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents Rely on Innacurate and Misleading Scientific Claims,” for her thoughtful feedback and comments.

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Called to Care: Community, Passion Inspired My Pursuit of a Career in Cardiology

“Give back your heart to it��self.”

This quote from poet Derek Walcott resonated with me during my time in isolation in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time of shock and concern for the state of global health, prayer and meditation helped to better cope with what was happening within the walls that I would soon walk as a medical student. I was gifted moments to reflect on what I would do with the balance of my medical education and my future path as a physician. Though I remained still, there was an atmospheric shift. My path became clear: I would become a cardiologist. …

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A 16-year-old male is brought to the emergency department by his father following a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. He has had these seizures regularly since early childhood, though their frequency has increased over the past two months. As an infant, he had regular episodes of apnea, which resolved at the age of six months. He has a history of developmental delay and ataxia. On examination, the patient is alert and mildly disoriented. Mild generalized hypotonia and strabismus are present, and polydactyly is noted bilaterally. An MRI of the brain is performed, revealing the findings seen here.

Image credit: .

Answer: End-stage renal disease

This patient has Joubert syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive condition characterized by hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis. MR imaging of the brain reveals the pathognomonic “molar tooth sign,” resulting from the presence of prominent superior cerebellar peduncles. Clinical features associated with Joubert syndrome include neonatal respiratory dysfunction, developmental delay, ataxia, hypotonia, and abnormal eye movements, commonly oculomotor apraxia, strabismus, and nystagmus. The disorder is associated with nephronophthisis (NPHP), an autosomal recessive cystic kidney disease which is present in up to 30% of patients, and leads to end-stage renal disease.

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Explore cases, quiz yourself, and solve medical mysteries along with thousands of other medical professionals around the world on��, the free app where doctors expand their clinical knowledge.

The post What’s causing this patient’s seizures? appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

A 58-year-old male presents to the emergency department with dyspnea, and severe chest pain that radiates to his shoulder. He has a history of alcoholism and has just finished a 4-day drinking binge. On examination, crepitus is heard on palpation of the chest wall, and his pain worsens as he swallows. A diagnosis of Boerhaave syndrome is suspected and thoracentesis drains 800 ml of brown liquid.

Image credit: .

Answer: Left posterolateral aspect of distal intrathoracic esophagus

This patient has Boerhaave syndrome, a perforation of the esophagus. It is caused by a combination of increased intraesophageal pressure and negative intrathoracic pressure associated with vomiting. The most common site of perforation is the left posterolateral aspect of the distal intrathoracic esophagus. Rupture of this area contaminates the mediastinal cavity with gastric contents, usually resulting in a left-sided hydropneumothorax. Perforation of the midesophagus typically produces a pleural reaction in the right hemithorax.

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Explore cases, quiz yourself, and solve medical mysteries along with thousands of other medical professionals around the world on��, the free app where doctors expand their clinical knowledge.

The post A drinking binge leads to a surgical emergency appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

An 11-month-old male with a two-day history of irritability and lethargy is brought to the emergency department by his mother. She reports that he has vomited four times today and has had fewer wet diapers than usual. He is up to date with his vaccinations. On examination, he is febrile, and a slight bulging of his anterior fontanel and neck stiffness are noted. Laboratory tests demonstrate a serum glucose of 75 mg/dL, and blood cultures and a lumbar puncture are performed. Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reveals a predominance of neutrophils.

Image credit: .

Answer: Glucose of 18 mg/dL

This patient’s findings are consistent with a diagnosis of meningitis, an inflammatory disease of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The cloudiness of his CSF and the predominance of neutrophils present are suggestive of bacterial meningitis. Although there is some overlap in CSF findings for the different causes of meningitis, the CSF in bacterial meningitis typically has a low glucose concentration and a serum to glucose ratio less than 0.6.

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A 40-year-old male presents to the emergency department with sharp chest pain and palpitations. He says the pain is worse when he lies down and is exacerbated by coughing, but improves when he moves to a seated position. He was recently diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after investigation for recurrent cyanotic discoloration and numbness of his fingers following exposure to the cold, as well as small-joint polyarticular arthritis.��

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Answer: Pericardial friction rub

This patient’s presentation is suggestive of pericarditis, secondary to SLE. Pericarditis, an inflammation of the pericardial sac, is the most common cardiac manifestation of the condition occurring in approximately 25% of SLE patients. The major clinical manifestations of pericarditis include pleuritic chest pain, diffuse ST elevation and PR depression on ECG, and a pericardial friction rub. This specific finding—described as having a scratching, grating, or squeaky quality—is highly specific for the condition and should alert clinicians to investigate for the diagnosis.

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