SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTH & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Reproductive Justice & 15 Years of The Affordable Care Act

Written by Becky Martin, Ģ����Ƶ Senior Manager of Reproductive Health Advocacy

Sunday, March 23rd, marked 15 years since President Obama signed into law The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare as many call it. Since its hard-won passage have signed up for coverage through ACA marketplaces – that means now get their health care coverage via the ACA. An have gained coverage through ACA supported Medicaid Expansion in 41 states and DC.��

�ճ󲹳�’s who now have affordable health care coverage here in the United States — thanks to those who knew our nation could do better and
raised their voices for change, and didn’t take no as the answer.��

We still have a way to go to achieve Ģ����Ƶ’s long-time goal of high-quality, affordable, accessible, sustainable, and equitable healthcare for all in our nation, and join the rest of the countries in the industrialized world in providing universal health care ensuring the human right to health care (Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25).

At Ģ����Ƶ we believe reproductive rights are human rights. With our Reproductive Health Project we explore the connections between reproductive justice and health justice, and work to help students�� lift their voices for reproductive freedom and health care for all. ��We invite you to explore and share the resources below, to celebrate the gains we’ve made, and know that even in the face of the turmoil rising in our country today Ģ����Ƶ’s vision of HEALTH CARE FOR ALL is absolutely achievable & YOU can find YOUR people in Ģ����Ƶ!

– CBPP��

�� – KFF

Medicaid & ACA Medicaid Expansion in YOUR State & Congressional District��

– HealthCare.gov

: Importance & Impact – NWLC

: A Critical Policy That Must Be Protected – Guttmacher Institute

– KFF

Preventive Care Coverage for:

No gender-based premiums:
– KFF

Insurers Cannot Limit Coverage Amounts
– KFF

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SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Walking in the Footsteps of Courage��

Written by Joy Udoh, Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project Fellow

There are many exciting things about the field of OB/GYN that I am looking forward to as July approaches: the joy of supporting a patient through all nine months of gestation, providing counseling on contraceptive care, and helping a young patient understand the changes that her body is undergoing. But, there are also things that concern me. A friend of mine recently reached out to find out how I had been. They wanted to know if match day had happened already but also how I was feeling about the future of my role in OB/GYN under the present social and political landscape.��

The question perfectly encapsulated the mixed emotions that I have felt in the past months. In many ways, I feel eager to move on to the next milestone in my medical career but, this feeling is stymied by apprehension about the state of reproductive healthcare.��

What does it mean that hospitals are walking back their efforts to promote
diversity, equity, and inclusion?��

Will I have to step aside as ICE officials raid a labor and delivery unit?��

Can a state I don’t practice in file a lawsuit against me for
providing abortion care to a patient that requests it?��

I used to think that I would be able to look to medical institutions who have built the foundation of my training on the oath to Do No Harm for direction during times like these. This has proven to be wrong as I watch the medical institution inch closer and closer to crossing the line of harm in some cases and outrightly leaping over it in others either through complacency, inaction, turning a blind eye or demurring to authoritarian demands.

As Abortion Provider Appreciation Day approached this year, I kept feeling frustrated because in an ideal world, it shouldn’t be courageous to do the right thing: to provide abortion care as part of the spectrum of support that I am able to give to my future patients. But that world doesn’t yet exist. However, there are individuals and coalitions that not only understand the impetus to Do No Harm but also act in accordance with their beliefs. They understand that the ever changing chimera of legality is often a tool of racism, sexism and eugenics. I have long since turned my gaze from the institution to these groups of people who embody the values that I set out to uphold as a young physician.����

I recently watched , a documentary about an underground group of women that provided thousands of safe abortions in Chicago during the 1970s and something that one of the former Jane members said has remained with me:��

“We did this not just because of the need, but a philosophical obligation to
disrespect a law that disrespected women.”��

Sometimes, courage looks like a group of individuals answering a philosophical obligation and staring defiantly in the face of injustice masquerading itself as a respect for life.��

In reflecting on my friend’s questions, one of the enduring emotions during my turmoil has been hope.��

I draw my courage from the people who have come before me and faced the same things
and insisted on justice nonetheless.��

I have the path that they have paved and I will use it as my guide.

###

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

for Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project Updates

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SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE BOOK REVIEW����

What Addicted. Pregnant. Poor. Teaches Us About Reproductive Justice

Written by Araam Abboud, Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project Intern

In the United States, substance use among pregnant and parenting individuals often goes unrecognized and untreated due to misconceptions and systemic barriers. Within this landscape—where legal threats, stigma, and disproportionate harm to non-White families persist – Kelly Ray Knight’s Addicted. Pregnant. Poor. (2015) examines pregnant individuals in San Francisco’s Mission District, amplifying their voices and showing how poverty, racism, and punitive policies shape their reproductive lives far more than any single “choice” to use substances. Knight’s work aligns closely with reproductive justice principles, emphasizing the right to have children, not have children, and raising children in safe, supportive environments. Her findings demonstrate that decisions around pregnancy rarely happen in isolation but instead, unfold within systems of inequity. When healthcare providers use stigmatizing terms like “addict” or “substance abuser,” they foster climates of fear and blame. Knight’s account of ‘Tina,’ who avoided telling healthcare providers about her substance use because she feared losing custody of her child, shows how stigma and punitive assumptions can shut down honest communication.

If providers used person-first language (e.g., pregnant person with a substance use disorder) and created a more respectful, understanding environment,
patients like Tina would be more likely to seek help without fearing judgment or reprisal.
This shift in language and attitude can foster trust, ensuring that those needing care feel safe,
rather than threatened, when they reach out for support.

Nearly a decade later, Cecily May Barber and Mishka Terplan (2023) confirm these barriers remain. Despite growing awareness and research, care models for pregnant and parenting individuals who use substances often remain punitive and fragmented. Both Knight and Barber and Terplan emphasize that these patients are not “refusing” care but instead encounter systems that are either inaccessible or dangerous. Everyday challenges, such as finding transportation or childcare, often become insurmountable barriers, leaving patients without reliable treatment pathways. This highlights a need to rethink how care is delivered to meet patients where they are.

Barber and Terplan advocate for harm-reduction approaches that acknowledge patients’ unique circumstances, focusing on incremental progress rather than immediate abstinence. Tools like the 4Ps Plus allow providers to identify substance use risks in a nonjudgmental way, fostering open communication and trust. Knight’s ethnography further emphasizes addressing underlying inequities by integrating stable housing, mental health services, and culturally informed care into healthcare systems. These supports are especially crucial for patients like “Lisa,” who use substances as a coping mechanism for unresolved trauma. Co-locating perinatal and addiction services, offering transportation support, and partnering with community organizations can help break down the barriers that prevent patients from receiving compassionate, effective care. The lessons from Knight’s work and Barber and Terplan’s evidence-based recommendations provide a roadmap for improving reproductive healthcare. Making care more accessible includes replacing stigmatizing terms with respectful language, implementing nonjudgmental screening tools, and addressing practical barriers such as transportation and childcare. By adopting trauma-informed, harm-reduction approaches, providers can create environments where patients feel supported rather than judged.

As healthcare providers, policymakers, advocates, and students, we all have a role to play in building equitable care systems. This work begins by reflecting on our language, questioning policies that punish rather than heal, and advocating for accessible care models that meet the needs of all patients. By applying the insights from Knight’s ethnography and Barber and Terplan’s recommendations, we can move beyond outdated punitive frameworks and build systems that foster dignity, equity, and healing. Together, we can create environments where pregnant and parenting people who use substances feel seen, supported, and valued, ensuring that everyone can thrive.

References:
Barber, C. M., & Terplan, M. (2023). Principles of care for pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorder: The obstetrician gynecologist perspective.
Frontiers in Pediatrics, 11, 1045745.

Warren, N. (2018). Knight, K.R. Addicted. Pregnant. Poor. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 2015. £21 (pbk) ISBN 978-0822359968 £70 (hbk) ISBN 978-0822359531.
Sociology of Health & Illness, 40(3), 597-598.

*Note: an excerpt of this Spotlight is included in Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project eNews #35: 2025 is Here! Find Connections, News & Resources, Jan 4 2025
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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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

The post Stay Connected – to Resources, Community, and Radical Hope for Reproductive Freedom and Justice appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health National Town Hall

Reproductive Justice Points the Way:
Why & How Reproductive Health Medical Education Must Change

Thursday, September 28, 8:00pm – 9:30pm ET��

Livestream @Ģ����Ƶnational

Join Ģ����Ƶ National Leaders, Chapter Officers, members and allies across the country and around the world for a powerful and compelling Town Hall featuring:

, Activist. Public Intellectual. Professor. Co-founder SisterSong.
A Godmother to reproductive justice & survivor advocate.
As opening voice and moderator of a panel discussion with:
Pamela Merritt, Executive Director,
Dr. Kristyn Brandi, Board Chair,
Dr. Charisse Loder, Director,

This livestreamed discussion is sponsored by the and will focus on the current state of medical education pertaining to abortion care, family planning, and reproductive health. Looking directly at the historical and ongoing legacy of the white supremacist, heteropatriarchal foundation of modern Obstetrics and Gynecology, we call the House of Medicine to account for the violence and violation perpetuated by physicians and by the medical system against, in particular, Black and Indigenous women and birthing people.��

Responding to the moral and ethical call from the Reproductive Justice Movement for reparation and justice,��how must we transform medical education to ensure that we break these cycles of abuse and domination perpetuated by our chosen profession, and contribute meaningfully to the project for reproductive freedom and collective liberation?

This event will highlight findings from our multi-year survey of medical students regarding their experiences with abortion care and family planning related education at their medical school, pre- and post-Dobbs, and will lift up the work that is already underway to transform reproductive health medical education.��

We hope you’ll join us for a night of necessary, challenging – and inspiring – conversation!

The post Join Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health National Town Hall – Livestream Sept 28 at 8pmET appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

This September, I will join thousands of medical students applying for OB-GYN residencies in states across the country. For students like me, applying to residency programs is supposed to be an exciting step towards a career in providing quality healthcare to patients in need. After four years of medical school, I am excited to put my skills to use and offer patients quality, comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion care.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s decision to has dramatically limited our opportunities to learn. As attacks on reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy escalate, it becomes ever more challenging to provide the patient care that we staunchly believe our patients need and deserve.

Applications for OB-GYN residency programs nationwide after the Supreme Court struck down Roe, and in states where abortion is banned.

Like aspiring OB-GYNs, family medicine and emergency medicine physicians, I will not be applying to residency programs in states with stringent abortion bans. I need a residency program that will offer me an opportunity to build on what I have learned in medical school, and practice the skills needed to provide quality, evidence-based care—an opportunity that I would not get as a resident in any state that has banned or severely restricted abortion. …

The post I’m an Aspiring OB-GYN. Here Is Why I Won’t Do My Residency in Any State With an Abortion Ban. appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

As of 2020, 26% of documented immigrants and 42% of undocumented immigrants lacked health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Faced with striking statistics like these, the Georgetown University Ģ����Ƶ chapter held a panel to raise awareness of these issues so future physicians can better understand how to help vulnerable populations.

With panelists Dr. Eileen Moore and Dr. Paul Lozano, the Ģ����Ƶ e-board discussed barriers that prevent immigrants from accessing healthcare, including language, health literacy, and socioeconomic status. The e-board also shared their own stories related to immigration and healthcare. For example, Chapter President Inochi Gonzalez Calvo (see right, M.D. Candidate, Class of 2025) shared that when her family moved to the U.S. when she was 12, she had to act as an interpreter for her parents at appointments, underscoring the barriers to communication that many immigrants face today.

Although the Georgetown SOM Ģ����Ƶ chapter is relatively small, with less than 15 members, the dedicated chapter leaders put together a successful virtual event with roughly 20 highly-engaged attendees —��no small feat during this era of zoom-fatigue for medical students.��

Inochi credits the success of the event to these efforts. As a chapter, they:

• Started planning early
• Drew on their personal contacts to find experts to serve as panelists
• Emphasized the panelists as people to lend credibility
• Promoted the event widely through Georgetown’s weekly newsletter, class presidents, and their own friends and contacts.

Are you looking to plan an event on your campus? Let us know how we can help — Ģ����Ƶ’s national leaders have a trove of ideas to lend if you like. Email members@amsa.org��

The post How Georgetown University School of Medicine raised awareness of barriers to healthcare access for immigrants appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

Empowering a next generation of culturally-conscious leaders is central to our mission at Ģ����Ƶ —��which is why we were thrilled to team up with the ABIM Foundation, created by the American Board of Internal Medicine, on the Building Trust Essay Contest. Here, medical students were invited to lend thoughts and experiences on building, losing, or restoring trust in a healthcare setting.

Ģ����Ƶ and ABIM received essays that tackled topics like racism, attacks on medical expertise during the pandemic, health equity, and students’ relationships with mentors and faculty. A panel of judges chose four winners:

• Teva Brender from Oregon Health & Sciences University of a patient in the ICU whose spouse refused to get the COVID vaccine. Brender’s essay explored the medical community’s role in patient skepticism and what can be done to change it.��
  
• Howard Chang from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , drawing on a study he conducted with his mentor and his own experience with chronic pain.
• Sunil Joshi at Oregon Health & Sciences University with a patient who made racist remarks to him, but later apologized after Joshi treated him for several weeks and they developed a rapport.
• Meher Kalkat at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine – and even found a source of laughter – with a teenage cancer patient who was frustrated about missing his prom.��

The judges also awarded honorable mentions to six other students: Clarice Douille, Veenadhari Kollipara, Paul Lewis, Armaan Ahmen Rowther, Suman Vadlamani, and Nicholas Wilson.

Their essays were also published in the September/October issue of Ģ����Ƶ’s The New Physician magazine and are being showcased on the and social media channels.��

The post Building Trust Essay Contest Winners Explore Medical Skepticism, Racism, and Personal Connections appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a paradigm shift in the residency application process (the Match) to virtual interviews during the 2020-2021 cycle. Comprehensive evaluation of the virtual interview format requires collecting insight from applicants. Existing studies on the 2020-2021 virtual application process surveyed applicants before interviews occurred, asked residents in the context of fellowship applications, or assessed how faculty viewed virtual interviews. Residents applying for fellowship expressed mixed opinions about whether virtual interviews should continue.��

We aimed to evaluate applicants’ perspectives on the 2020-2021 virtual residency application cycle. To accomplish this, we surveyed 158 medical students from 24 states who applied to 31 specialties post-Match.��

Five common themes from qualitative analysis of free response answers were identified (Figure 1). Many applicants found it difficult to determine compatibility, or “fit”, with a program due to the lack of casual, in-person interactions. In addition, applicants could accept more interview invitations because of fewer geographical, financial, and time constraints. One applicant mentioned they attended two interviews on the same day for two institutions located across the country, which would not have been possible with in-person interviews.��

Resident interactions served as the most important interview day component for determining program fit within the virtual setting. However, the virtual setting hindered applicants’ ability to evaluate interactions among faculty, residents, and other hospital staff. In terms of resources provided to students, medical schools ranged from providing students with interview kits with laptop stands and ring lights to providing nothing. There was a shared theme that applicants would have accepted fewer interviews due to financial, geographic, and time constraints had interviews been conducted in-person.

Our surveys showed that most applicants were satisfied with the 2020-2021 Match and wanted residencies to continue providing virtual interviews. However there are equity concerns that should be addressed as virtual interviews continue for upcomingMatch cycles.

Figure 1: Supporting Quotes for Novel Themes

Affiliation:

1Shirley Chen, B.S, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.

2Melanie Schroeder, B.S., University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona.

3Natasha Topolski, B.S, Houston, Texas.

4Emelyn Zaworski, B.S., Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

5Kseniya Anishchenko, B.A., University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado.��

6Shyon Parsa, B.S., University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas.

7Christina Zhu, B.S, B.A, Texas Tech University Health Science Center School of Medicine, Lubbock, Texas.

8Esther Bae, B.S, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan.

9Whitney Stuard, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas.

10Jay Patel, B.S., University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee.��

11Shanon Quach, B.S., University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Fort Worth, Texas.

12Sahar Panjwani, B.S., University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Edinburg, Texas.

13Thomas Kun Pak, M.D, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas.

References

The post A Match Made in Cyberspace: Applicant Perspectives on Residency Application (2020-2021) appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

A social network is akin to a railroad; the more tracks comprising it, the more areas are accessible through it. This analogy holds true when it comes to the realm of professional endeavors: connecting with more individuals opens new doors to explore distinctive avenues through which one can fulfill their aspirations. Being capable of establishing such a network takes a great deal of training, a training that is not necessarily enclosed in academic curricula. However, there are plentiful resources that can aid in becoming a competent communicator, a person who can a initiate social relationship that might serve mutual interests. Through these relationships, a social network of tightly woven connections can be built and held as a valuable asset.�� Here are a few tips on how you can become an efficient communicator; and remember, you can always tailor these tips to suit your own communication style!

1. Be more than ‘just a face in the crowd.’

Joining a student or a professional club gets your foot into the door to a pool of new opportunities. However, membership itself is not going to gift you any benefits unless you decide to fish for them. Start by approaching local leaders and offer to help wherever help is needed. You can assist in planning an event or distributing materials for instance. Being the member who serves as a conduit between leaders and other members is going to make you recognizable by everybody. Familiarity paves the road to march towards people and extend the first handshake. And before you notice, your social network will be laid out beautifully before your eyes.

2. Find a case that challenges your passion.

Do not restrict yourself to one area of interest. While pursuing a degree in medicine entails commitment to health-related causes, there are numerous other causes which you can still adopt. Claim a social, political or even economic cause which triggers your interest. When you feel confident with the level of knowledge you possess about the cause, start spreading this knowledge to the outside world. Having a topic about which you can speak endlessly is going to lend you the ticket with which you pass any gatekeeper. It is rather an excuse to start a conversation with new acquaintances who can later become friends or colleagues. While a side gain is to expand your social network, advocating for a cause, genuinely, is going to raise your level of confidence and strengthen your communication skills.

3. Ascend the stage.

Being put under the spotlight is quite intimidating. Nevertheless, it is an occasion where communication skills are pushed to the forefront. Search for a circumstance where you can address an audience in a public speech. In this vicinity, TedTalks are not the sole option. You can begin by explaining a concept to a group of students in your class and move up to giving a speech at one of your school’s commencement ceremonies. The essence is to have a story to tell. Each one of us has a unique story and there is always an audience who is eager to listen.

4. Be the person who rings the bell first.

Professional platforms, similar to LinkedIn, are a great place to practice proactivity. The fear of denial is one force that hinders the ability to start a communication effort. It becomes less evident when your personal figurine is hidden behind the computer screen. On LinkedIn, for example, you can find an endless list of persons who share the same work and academic experiences. Starting a dialogue with any person would not take more than a press on a button. If that person does not respond, then the damage is negligible and a new attempt with another person can be undertaken. The goal is to test your own techniques in reaching out to strangers; to see what works and what does not work. With repeated occurrences, you will develop skillset which you can utilize in real life to approach strangers with no reservations.

5. Assume the role of a salesman.

Persuasion requires the prudent use of communication tools. To be placed in a position that requires the advertisement and promotion of an idea, an agency or a product is one method to enhance networking skills. Find a campaign whose goal speaks to you and become a part of it. A fundraiser event is one instance where you can employ communication to bring back benefits. This type of activity challenges your settlement in your comfort zone by exposing you to a task outside that zone’s borders.

6. Emotions are strength pillars, lean on them!

While the apparent portion of any communication material is words, there is an underlying portion that is of an equivalent, albeit a higher importance and emotion. To be emotionally smart is a prerequisite to succeed in communicating adequately; it is the ability to identify the emotional component of any message directed towards you and control for the emotions in the messages you produce. The aim is to always be attentive to hidden intentions and act accordingly. Anger might not be explicitly stated in the words of the other. The tone of voice, word choice and speed of speech are elements that can help you figure out the status of the speaker and work on encouraging or soothing it. In this way, you will be able to steer the conversation towards the destination you select. Being able to detect and maneuver the emotional elements in a conversation helps you gain the trust of the other and make any communication effort run seamlessly.

Mustafa Almukhtar is a medical doctor and��current MPH student at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Mustafa also serves as the 2018-2019 Trainee Development Coordinator for Ģ����Ƶ’s Professional Development Action Committee.

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