April 11, 2012
Page 2
Follow Us on Twitter! @THCatUSC REBECCA GAO & JESSICA KUO Editors-in-Chief EDITORS
MANAGERS
GURLEEN CHADHA Research Editor FAIZAN MALIK Leadership Editor
GURLEEN CHADHA, MATTHEW TAN AdvertisementManagers
LESLIE WU Feature Editor ANJLIE GUPTA Global Health Editor PAVITRA KRISHNAMANI On-Campus Editor CHRISTINE LEE Allied Health Editor JACQUELINE DINH Layout Editor
AMANDA CIOZDA, SCOTT WEY Web Managers PETER ESKANDER, DAVID LIBERMAN, ALISON YU, PR Managers HAN DAO, EMILY TAT Photo Managers GINA CAMELLO Advisor
HAO-HUA WU & TAKANORI OHKUBO Founders News Writers: SHELBY BACHMAN, LYNN BENJAUTHRIT, AIMEE CHANG, KRISTEN CHEN, KRISTINA CHIU, MICHELLE CHONG, DIANA CHUNG, JESSICA FRANKEBERGER, PURNIMA GURUNG, TALINE GUERVREKIAN, ROBERT HA, DIANA HANG, NIKI NOE, DOUG O'CONNELL, TIFFANY POULDAR, CHUKWUMA UZOEGWU Feature Writers: KAUSAR ALI, ANDREA ALONSO, AMANDA CIOZDA, MICHAEL COOPER, ANNETTE EOM, PETER ESKANDER, KATHRYN FOWLER, ALINE HESSE, PRAGATI MAMTORA, HAIDI MATTSON, PALLAVI MYNAMPATI, ENA NIELSON, SEHAR SALMAN, ELAINE TANG, EMILY ZOLFAGHARI Contributing Writers: JAMES ALURI, DAISY KIM, SUSAN LEE, ISRAEL ORTA, ALAN WONG Photographers: MICHELLE CHONG, RUNXIN LIANG, DANIEL WANG, JESSICA WANG
Letter from the Editors-in-Chief D ear Reader, Welcome to our second spring print publication of Trojan Health Connection. As USC’s pre-health newspaper, we strive to provide informative articles for those of you pursuing or considering a career in health. Many allied health professions do not get the credit and recognition that they deserve, and it is our mission to spread more awareness. Last issue, we had a spotlight on optometrists and compared ODs to MDs. This issue, we have a special feature on both occupational and physical therapists on page 7. In the future, we plan to bring you more indepth coverage of the wide variety of different careers available in the health care field. Go online to trojanhealthconnection.com to vote for the next career we’ll feature in the fall. As for the premeds: you’ve finally made it. You’ve taken the MCAT, all the prerequisite courses, and now you are deciding which medical schools to apply to. Check out our centerspread on pages 4-5 for pivotal factors to consider when deciding on a med school that’s the “right fit” for you. Or are you thinking of taking a gap year? Many students opt to take a gap year between college and professional school to fully develop their applications and explore other interests. Flip to the back page to discover various opportunities including traveling abroad, volunteering, or conducting research. In honor of Global Health Awareness Week, organized by USC’s Global Health Institute, we provide general coverage of the week on page 1 and feature prominent global
health issues on page 3. Page 6 will be permanently dedicated to student organizations on campus and updates on up-and-coming activities. In this issue, we feature a quartet of new organizations including FISH, FUELS, iGEM and the Pre-Med Mentoring Club. This issue also marks the one-year anniversary of our print publication. Our paper would not be possible without our hard-working staff writers, many of whom have never written a single newspaper article prior to this issue, but are now writing front-page feature pieces. We are very proud of their growth this year. We also greatly appreciate our skilled photographers who make our paper all the more readable. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of our dedicated editorial board and our talented group of managers. To our founders, Hao-Hua Wu and Takanori Ohkubo, thank you for your hard work and effort spent into producing Trojan Health Connection. You have started a legacy which we will uphold for the future of our paper. We wish you the best in your future endeavors and hope you will visit often. Finally, we would like to thank you, our reader, for your continued support. We strive to provide you with the most credible and informative pre-health news, and we appreciate your continued feedback and patronage.
Jessica Kuo
Sincerely,
Rebecca Gao Editor-in-Chief
Jessica Kuo Editor-in-Chief
Rebecca Gao
For more articles or to apply for our staff, please visit
www.TrojanHealthConnection.com
Free Beauty Treatments for Patients By KRISTEN CHEN
Writer Beauty Bus, a non-profit organization that provides in-home beauty treatments to terminally and chronically ill patients, began in 2009 to raise patient’s spirits. Since Beauty Bus provides services throughout Los Angeles, USC students can volunteer to visit and interact with patients. Melissa Nealy, who passed away at the age of 28 from a degenerative neuromuscular disease, serves as the inspiration behind Beauty Bus. Founders Alicia Marantz Liotta, Nealy’s cousin, and Wendy Marantz Levine, Nealy’s sister, noticed how a simple spa treatment provided happiness to Nealy and started Beauty Bus in hopes of lightening the lives of other patients. Beauty Bus provides complimentary haircuts, facial treatments, manicures, pedicures, and makeup application to men, women, and children. But to those involved in Beauty Bus, their work means more than a day at the spa. “It’s not just a manicure or makeup, it’s so much more. It’s bringing hope to people whose worlds are isolated and are constantly looked upon as patients rather than people,” Jacylyn Rosenson, Director of Program and Development, said. Beauty Bus clients can attest to the power of pampering amidst many hospital visits and bills. “It is the simple idea of someone coming to your home to pamper you at a time when all your energy is being expended to fight a
personal battle. It is much more than just feeling good about how you look,” Karen O., a breast cancer survivor and former client, said. “Beauty Bus gives its clients renewed internal strength to keep fighting.” Ronsenson recounts a particularly touching experience at a couple’s home. “The husband was about fifteen years younger than his terminally ill wife. While they were there, the husband kept telling his wife how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. But his wife kept on brushing the comments aside and saying that she was not beautiful,” Rosenson said. “But by the end of the visit, after a facial and makeup, she told everyone that she felt beautiful again.” In order to fulfill their mission statement, Beauty Bus is looking for compassionate and energetic people for their team. USC students can get involved as either Beauty Buddies or Beauty Ambassadors. As Beauty Buddies, students accompany Beauty Professionals at in-home visits and help create a warm environment where the clients can relax. Students may also serve as Beauty Ambassadors who volunteer at fundraising events and increase awareness about Beauty Bus. “For our clients, our Beauty Bus visit was a break from the hardships of disease, from doctors’ visits, and insurance paperwork; for me, it was a magical day, a day that reminded me how simple acts of kindness go a long, long way,” Lindsay M. said. Visit www.BeautyBus.org for more information. n
Accent Reduction Now Work with Calif. licensed speech pathologist, Derra Huxley, M.A., to reduce your accent Improve your intelligibility Increase confidence in your speaking ability
call Derra Huxley for more information (818) 385-1716 www.AccentReductionNow.com
rackcdn.com A wealth of offbeat pre-health classes offer students many opportunities for learning
Nontraditional Pre-health Classes — from CLASSES, page 1
USC said, “After a pathologist came to speak to us one week, I realized that I’m really interested in that specialty and I plan on pursuing it.” “If it weren’t for this class, I wouldn’t have known maybe until much later,” Lee said. “There aren’t many classes you can take as an undergraduate that directly deal with medicine or case studies like this. It’s a nice taste of what medical school may be like and could help undergraduates decide if medicine is right for them,” he said. BISC 194 is similar to MDA 110 and is directed by Dr. Rahul Jandial, along with several guest lecturers. The class begins with a question and answer session in which Dr. Jandial either asks students questions or picks students to ask him a question to get the class comfortable with public speaking. Victoria Chien, a USC sophomore said that Jandial presents about a wide range of topics, from neurosurgery to international medical work, his research, and even lectures on how to get into medical school. He tries to keep the class informal and emphasizes questions and speaking over note-taking and tests. “I liked learning about the different surgeries Dr. Jandial lectured about. He made it easy to understand what was going
on and explained what it’s like to work as a neurosurgeon” she said. “Dr. Jandial’s lecture on how to get into medical school was really insightful as well and full of good tips.” PPD 330 is called “Introduction to Health Care Systems.” The course goes over the major topics in health care economics. Neil Bhattacharya, a USC senior said, “Students in PPD 330 learn about all aspects of healthcare economics and learn in depth about the major issues facing the United States. Even though some students may think they have a good grasp on how things work, many have a hard time articulating their opinions and showing they have some insight.” REL 360, Medical Ethics is another class worth considering. Lee has taken this course as well and recommends its in-depth and informal style. “REL 360 is great because you’ll most likely be asked questions about ethics in at least some interviews” Lee said. “In this class you go over ethical theories in detail and learn how to speak and write about controversial topics such as insurance and abortion.” While USC offers more classes than any student can fit into a couple years, it is never too early to begin experimenting and tailoring your education to match your goals and dream careers. n
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and positions of Trojan Health Connection or its funders, advertisers, and sponsors.