(2006) Right now I'm in the midst of my third year of medical school at Loyola University in Chicago. I spend most of my time in the hospital - calculating drug doses, generating differential diagnoses, and learning how to take care of patients. My sociology background has helped me tremendously - both in my work after college as a Child Advocate at a homeless shelter, and in my current role as a medical student. Each day I see examples of the larger societal trends I learned about at Dartmouth played out in the lives of my patients. It's been a tremendous help to step back and realize that my patients are living their lives in the context of a complex and changing world, and the society they exist in dramatically influences their ability to access healthcare and follow their physicians' advice. As I progress in my training as a physician, I'm hopeful that my sociology background will continue to help me understand my patients not just as victims of random disease, but as people who health is inexorably linked to health of society.
