Topic of Choice 2025

After being told this blog could be about truly anything, I considered writing about my family dog Georgie (legally Giorgio and usually just George). Then, I thought surely I have more to talk about than just my dog. Then, I accidentally cried in medchem at the shock that we had Dr. Beleh’s last lecture and didn’t know it until the end, so I thought I’ll write about adapting to change and surprises poorly. All of this to say, Dr. Beleh and my dog are very important to me (I cry over him too). I’m not writing about either of these things! Consider this my personal campaign for everyone to spice up their life and love the little things just a little bit more. Life is so hard. Add pharmacy school and that’s hard too. I won’t begin to wonder what’s hard in your personal lives, but I know it’s not always easy. I’m a pessimist. But if I worried and pessimist-ed every hard thing in my life, I don’t think I’d get out of bed in the morning. Or I’d become the worst combination of the Grinch and ...

       Giovanna (Gigi) Caprathe is a female mackerel tabby American shorthair cat whom I picked up from the shelter in 2017 after her previous family dumped her there when she was eight months old. (They named her "River"...what kind of cat name is that...) The name Giovanna came to me immediately after I saw her, and her last name is that of my husband's. As soon as peeked into her sad little shelter cage, I knew that Gigi and I were going to be best friends. Of course, I was right, and now we're inseparable.      Though some might think that cats are fickle while dogs are loyal (and thus superior), I couldn't disagree more when it comes to Gigi. Following a messy breakup, she snuggled with me and provided me comfort. When I get home, the first one to greet me at the door is always Gigi. She comes when called! She demands to be in the same room as me at all times (and yes, this includes the bathroom), and looks at me with the most loving gaze.  ...

  Introduction      Past           Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) injections (TCMIs) are preparations of herbal extracts formulated for injection. Compared with traditional forms such as pills, powders, and decoctions, TCMIs emerged relatively late. During the 1930s, TCMIs were developed in order to address the shortage of medical resources and the limited efficacy of traditional preparations.   TCMIs are characterized by high bioavailability, definite therapeutic effects, and rapid onset of action, making them widely used in the clinical treatment of acute and severe diseases.        Now           Currently, in China, TCMIs are regulated as traditional chinese medicine products because their approval numbers begin with " 国药准字 Z" (indicating a TCM drug), while those for chemical drugs begin with " 国药准字 H." Till July 6, 2022, data from the National Medical Products Admin...

 There was a point in time (according to my father) when you couldn't turn on the TV without hearing about the AIDS epidemic. People were scared, and not without reason - very little was known about this mysterious new disease. Add to that all the stigmatization, the fear mongering, the outlandish misinformation, and it makes a pretty good recipe for a public health crisis. It's strange to look back at this period, especially taking into account all that has transpired since. For this piece, I wanted to take a look at where we are today, both the progress that has been made and the setbacks that we still face, and evaluate the lessons that we've learned along the way. On the bright side: treatment has come a long way, and as a result an HIV infection is no longer a death sentence. With current combination antiretroviral therapies, a patient's viral load can be maintained at such a low level that it is undetectable in the plasma. This means that the patient is not only a...

     Why hello fellow Wicked fans, and today we will be discussing the healthcare of Oz. One important key note to keep in mind is that I will be referring to the movie, broadway show, and Gregory Maguire’s book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West . Firstly, it is important to note that there are four main regions in the land of Oz that all have diverse geography, traditions, and communities. The northern part of the land is called Gillikin, which is an urban and progressive land where Shiz University is located. The eastern part is Munchkinland and consists of rural, agricultural, and a politically focused community (this is where Elphaba was born). The southern part is known as Quadling Country which is a marginalized and impoverished area that is known for its red swamps that are often exploited by the Wizard of Oz for resources. Lastly, the western area is known as Winkie Country which is a remote tribal community where Elphaba retreats to later...

When I first started working as a medical scribe in the emergency room, I saw everything through fresh eyes. The adrenaline, the urgency, the impact - every case mattered. Every symptom was a mystery to be solved, every patient a life in need of saving. I wanted to take it all in, to learn, to help. And I did...for a while. But over time, something began to shift. Slowly, subtly. The days blurred. The traumas piled up. The stories overlapped. You start mentally counting how many deaths you've seen and after 200, it's hard to remember where you left off. What once felt like a calling started to feel like a cycle. It was all very predictable, relentless, and emotionally expensive. I didn’t stop caring, but I started to feel the distance growing between who I was when I walked into the ER for the first time and who I had become. One of the hardest days I’ve ever had came in the form of a 3-month-old baby who had had arrested due to suspected SIDS. We ran the code the moment she ...

You’d be surprised how often I get asked if the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) has internet. Yes, we have internet, just like we have healthcare. And while we might not have the same abundance of healthcare options as large cities, the community is resilient, and the providers are dedicated to making the best of what we have. Since I’m most familiar with Escanaba, I’ll be focusing on the healthcare scene here, though many of the issues are common across rural areas in the U.P. In Escanaba, we have OSF St. Francis Hospital, which offers a variety of services, from emergency care to oncology. However, when it comes to more serious trauma cases, we often have to transfer patients to larger cities like Marquette or Green Bay, Wisconsin. This lack of specialized trauma care is a challenge faced by many rural areas, where smaller hospitals are unable to provide the advanced services larger hospitals can. One common issue we see in our local hospitals is the overuse of antibiotics like vancomycin and...