Positive Vibes

Earlier this month, myself and a group of other Pharmacology Masters students began volunteering for the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) program where we perform many different tasks related to supporting the administrative staff and teachers in the efficient running of the school. During our first week working at KIPP, Mashli, Arielle and I worked together to create an effective organizational system for the dispensing of activity T-shirts. What at first seemed to be a mundane and relatively straightforward task became a team-building exercise that required us to combine our different skill sets to create a plan of action which we then implemented to good result. Subsequent weeks have required similar collaborative efforts on our part, and this had inevitably brought us all much closer, from peers to friends.

As a lifelong student, I am very used to and comfortable with operating independently to tackle whatever educational challenges I may face, but volunteering and KIPP has helped me to better appreciate the value of working with a team of people you can trust and depend on. The group of us have conquered many tasks that would overwhelm an individual acting alone. In many respects, working in our group of masters students seems to bring out the best in all of us as we encourage and challenge each other to succeed and aspire to even greater heights. Maybe it is the fact that we respect and trust each other that is responsible for the positive effect we have on each other. Either way, I am grateful to be surrounded by such an amazing group of people, and I look forward to more shared experiences between us.

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Total Hours: 12

New Beginnings

As the weather here in New Orleans transitions from being unbearably hot to only mildly hot, it is beginning to dawn on me that my experiences with the seasonal patterns of the northeast are a thing of the past. And with the difference in climate comes a host of different public health concerns that I had never had cause to think about before now.

One such health concern is the prevalence of lead in the soil in the New Orleans area. Lead poisoning can cause severe and sometimes fatal neurological effects, particularly in children. Dr. John McLachlan (a Tulane Pharmacology professor) lectured to our class regarding the high degree of correlation between the number of children exposed to areas of concentrated lead levels and the number of young adults charged with violent crimes some years later. His report is a compelling one and it speaks to the need for cheap and efficient methods of detoxifying lead-heavy areas.

In contrast to rates of lead poisoning, another rather random public health concern in New Orleans is what has been conveniently dubbed the “Syphilis Epidemic” by NOLA news stations. I am curious as to whether these high levels of syphilis are linked to the similarly high rate of individuals living with HIV in New Orleans or if this is simply a coincidence. Either way, the Infectious Disease medical staff here clearly have their work cut out for them as they face challenges from multiple fronts.

Coming from upstate New York where vitamin D levels are low and rates of seasonal affective disorder are high, it has been pretty disorienting to be confronted with the sun-soaked streets of New Orleans. But with the sun and the humid climate comes a host of unique and different challenges that medical personnel here must face on a daily basis. This transition has helped me to see firsthand that the field of medicine is as dynamic as the individuals who come in for treatment, and I look forward to learning even more about both the medical field and this city as I continue my journey in the Masters of Pharmacology program here.