Gender Discrimination on my Back Porch!

During my Sunday ritual of morning tea and news, I came across an alarming article in the Huffington Post titled, "UC Davis Professor asked Students How to Grade New Mother." I was excited to see my school in the news, but the title seemed quite red flaggish. Apparently a third year student at the UC Davis Vet School had recently given birth and "would be out for an unknown period of time." The article was mainly focused on an email that a professor sent the rest of the third year class asking for their help in grading this unnamed student. 

Yes, you read that right. A professor sent the ENTIRE third year class an email asking for their help in deciding how this new mother should be graded. Here were the options:

a) automatic A final grade
b) automatic B final grade
c) automatic C final grade
d) graded the same as everyone else: best 6 quiz scores out of a possible 7 quiz scores (each quiz only given only once in class with no repeats)
e) just take a % of quiz scores (for example: your classmate takes 4 quizzes, averages 9/10 points = 90% = A)
f) give that student a single final exam at the end of the quarter (however this option is only available to this one student, all others are graded on the best 6 quiz scores and the % that results)

The biggest problem I have with this, which someone kindly planted into my head, was that there was clearly NO pre-plan for this new student mother. Her academic advisors, and the institution itself have completely failed her. I mean having a baby isn't something that happens overnight! Both parties had 8-9 months to plan a new restructured academic plan for her so that they wouldn't be running around like chickens with their head's cut off (which is what this email insinuates). 

Now the reason for both parties not reaching a mutual agreement is the second problem. Was this student scared to contact the administration at her school? Or maybe, just maybe she plans on continuing on, regardless of the situation? It is hard to know the exact situation, but it is very clear that such an email is gender discrimination. It is an attack on this student's welfare and dignity. 

What is most scary is that it is happening in my own back yard. Thumbs down Davis Vet School...thumbs down... :-(

Quote of the Week!

While studying digestion...


"So when starving, is it more effective to cut off a part of your body and eat it? Or is it better to let your body eat itself?"

"Corrective Rape" for "Curing Lesbianism?!?"

So i've thought a lot about whether or not to share information about some of the campaigns I'm involved with, here on my blog. Other than helping raise money for our student-run clinics, i've pretty much held my tongue. However, over the past week i've received THREE emails regarding an issue that apparently has been making international headlines. Anyone who is also a member of Change.org may know that they NEVER send out more than one email per issue. So ya'll know I HAD to go get the dirty deetz!

Apparently the "Declare 'Corrective Rape' a Hate Crime" (in S. Africa) campaign has officially become the MOST successful campaign ever launched on Change.org (and lemme tell you, they have tons of campaigns to support on their site). To KISS (keep it simple stupid) the issue, the campaign is calling to put an end to "corrective rape." This term literally means to cure lesbians of their disease by having a male rape them. DISGUSTING, I know. The website can give you more information but here are some facts that caught my eye:


In the last 10 years:
 -31 lesbian women have been murdered because of their sexuality
 -More than 10 lesbians a week are raped or gang raped in Cape Town alone
 -150 women are raped every day in South Africa
 -For every 25 men accused of rape in South Africa, 24 walk free


Sign the petition if your heart desires....

                                     Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

UCD-SOM Investing in Primary Care Physicians!

My school was recently (well back in November) featured on PBS in its series on Health Reform. This video was about the shortage of primary care physicians in California, and what our school is doing to inspire medical students like me to go into primary care! It's actually very interesting...check it out!

PBS: In California, UCD-SOM Faces Down a Shortage of Primary Care Physicians

P.S. Sorry I couldn't embed the video :-/

Megavitamin Therapy?!?

A recent reader left me a comment asking me about "megavitamin" therapy. Although I have only heard of it briefly, here are the things I know about it. Megavitamin therapy has been proposed to be successful in treating depression, gout, and even cancer. However, I don't exactly know if there exists any HARD evidence to support this.

In the US, drugs/treatments need to go through an extensive list of tests before being put on the market. This incudes a wide array of clinical trials on a rodent, non-rodent, and than of course, humans. I am almost 100% certain that many of these megavitamin therapies are currently undergoing these tests, but as far as I am concerned, I don't beleive any of them have passed.

I think the biggest criticism of megavitamin therapy came with an array of clinical trials proving that megadoses of Vit C did nothing to help prevent or alleviate the common cold.

Once again, I have only briefly heard of this, and would love the input of someone with more knowledge! There is also a documentary my reader mentioned about this, and hopefully we can get that link out soon!

Check back for more deetz!

Why Can’t our Past Stay Where it Belongs?

In light of my recent hacking by my ex, I thought I would write a piece on "stalking" and the categories of stalking that exist in today's society. In the American Journal of Psychiatry, PE Mullen develops 6 categories/types of stalkers. They are:

1) Rejected Stalker

2) Resentful Stalker

3) Predatory Stalker

4) Intimacy Seeker

5) Incompetent Suitor

6) Cyberstalker

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), over 1 million women and over 370,000 men are victims of stalking each year in the United States. Furthermore, a study done between the years of 1992 and 1996 showed that most stalking occurred in the workplace. According to the United States Justice Department, these “stalkings” included,

• 1.5 million assaults
• 51,000 rapes
• 84,000 robberies
• Over 1000 homicides (disgruntled employees--usually resentful stalkers--are responsible for 
most workplace homicides)

So how do we protect ourselves?!? Well the NCVC website has some amazing resources that you should check out here. They also have some real simple steps to get you started, here are my top 5:

• Don’t be afraid to report suspicious activity. Even if no crime has been committed, at least there will be a police record of inappropriate behavior on file, in case further action needs to be taken.
• If you are being cyber-stalked or harassed online, save and print all conversations and messages as evidence.
• Travel in groups as often as possible. There’s safety in numbers.
• File a restraining order.
• Don’t show fear. Stalkers prey on victims who are easily intimidated, so it is important to keep your guard up.

Most importantly, don’t ignore the problem! If you sense any anti-sexy/fishy activity please take some action. Chances are the activity will continue or get worse. So take control of the situation and bee safe! 

Return of Sexy4Science!

First and foremost...Happy New Year!

After a long hiatus by choice, due to finals, and by force, due to a hacker....The blog is back. I have many new topics for all of you and maybe even some guest bloggers!

Thanks for the 2,000+ hits over the past months!

Happy Reading :-)

Quote of the Week!

I thought this quote was appropriate during finals week. Enjoy!

Student 1: "Can you imagine what it would be like willingly running as fast as you can and knowing you'll get pummelled?" [in regards to football]


Student 2: "Yeah, I can...it's called medical school."

The Latina Health Paradox

Another cross post from my time at NLIRH. ENJOY!

The Latino Paradox does not have a robust definition but refers to statistical trends in which health outcomes do not match race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. For Latinas this means that in some cases, despite our low socioeconomic environments, our health is comparable, or even better, than that of our non-Hispanic counterparts.

It has been commonly known that Latinos suffer lower incidences of cardiovascular disease and have overall lower rates of infant and maternal mortality. However, when looking closer, we still see that Puerto Ricans have the second highest infant mortality rates in the country, falling just behind non-Hispanic Blacks. A recent study conducted by Luisa N. Borrell, and Natalie D. Crawford, has highlighted the importance of looking within the data to get to the truth. In their paper, they highlight that Latinos between the ages of 22-44 actually have a 31% greater overall mortality rate when compared to non-Hispanics with the same age.

On the other hand, a study by the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA has shown that Japanese women no longer own the title of “longest-lived” group (at 83 years), but in fact, women living in southern Californian Latino communities have the longest life expectancy, at an average of 86 years.

It is also commonly known that Latinos suffer from diabetes at almost twice the incidence of non-Hispanic whites and that Latinas have five times the AIDS rate as non-Hispanic white females.

So, does the Latino Health Paradox exist? And if it does, what does that mean for Latinas and our work here at NLIRH?

Our conclusions show that Latinos do in fact have better or equal health outcomes in some key areas compared to non-hispanic Whites, but they also have worse health outcomes in other areas. The key to advancing our work in medicine, public health, policy and advocacy is in understanding new data on the paradox and conducting our own research. It also means promoting the health benefits of our diversity while highlighting some of the major problems that in deed do exist within our communities.

Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

In light of finals, I must focus all my energies on studying, BUT some of you have asked me what the deal was with the USPSTF and their breast cancer screening guidelines. Well, I won't have time to write a new blog on it, but here is one I wrote earlier in the year while at NLIRH (check out their blog here). I actually had the opportunity to hold a brown bag lunch on it! Enjoy!

In November 2009 the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new recommendations for the screening of breast cancer. The most alarming changes where that women should not begin mammography screening until the age of 50, and that they should be done every other year instead of annually. The USPSTF also recommended AGAINST self-breast exams.

So, what does this mean for Latinas? Well, seeing as how very little public education was done to communicate these new guidelines to the general public, chances are, these new guidelines have yet to reach our constituencies. We can also be sure that these guidelines did not take into account Latinas and our social economic status or our access to equitable health care.

Although it is true that two thirds of breast cancer in Hispanic women are found through self-exam, according to a study presented in the US News, Hispanic women also tend to wait at least one month to see a doctor about it; the main reason being little to no access to health care. Also, of these two-thirds of Latinas, how many of them were able to access affordable and equitable treatment? As most articles have stated, detection is not prevention.

The biggest problems with these guidelines were the way they were communicated and the timing of their release (during the tumultuous health care debate). In December, the USPSTF promised to update the language of the recommendations, but the damage had already been done.

The bottom line is this: continue doing what you think is best for you! Talk to your doctor and come up with a screening schedule that you and your provider are 100% comfortable with. Last, trust your instincts because you are the only one who knows your body, so be your own health advocate!

The Latina Institute

Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity of interning at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. NLIRH is an amazingly progressive institute at the forefront of reproductive justice issues. Their mission is to ensure the fundamental human right to reproductive health and justice for Latinas, their families and their communities through public education, community mobilization and policy advocacy.

Not only did I get to live in NYC but I also got to travel occasionally to DC to lobby on Capitol Hill or attend real fancy shmancy events! 

Working for NLRIH couldn't have come at a better time since our nation's politicians were trying to pass health care reform. I learned a lot about the bill and even more about the legislative process. 

But the reason for this blog isn't about my experience, but to promote all the resources NLIRH has to offer. Also, many of you have asked me about NLIRH and have already asked me to send you some of their publications. So here are some useful links:

Main NLIRH website

A list of some of their publications

Feel free to browse around since they have very significant resources for researchers, policy makers, and even the media! I will also keep you all updated for job/intern openings at NLIRH!

Enjoy!

Quote of the Week!

"After the 5-6 cycles of chemotherapy there are about 100 cancer cells left and you hope that they just die from boredom since they have no one to play with anymore." -One of our professors