Being raised in a Christian Pentecostal household, this was a phrase I commonly heard after sharing with my family that I wanted to become a physician. Sadly, some perceive science and religion as oil and water, they are two things that do not mix well with each other. I often heard: “in school they will try to separate you from God”. I knew this wasn't going to happen since my connection with God is pure and strong, but it was still in the back of my mind. I remember during my first semester of college this was one of the topics covered in Bio.151 and I felt an immediate relief by knowing that I wasn’t the only one being told this and that it was possible to have a good relationship with God while being a scientist. I believe Robert did a good job portraying this perception that a lot of people, including me, have.

I believe we should respect other cultures and take them into consideration before claiming that individuals from those cultures, such as Arab and Muslim communities are being oppressed. Such assumptions can often lead to misinterpretation, confusion, and even conflict among individuals. Just because a behavior or belief is considered appropriate in your culture does not automatically mean it holds the same meaning in another. Understanding cultural context is essential before judging or imposing external values, such as Western beliefs.

I found it really sad how this person had to face the sad reality of living through the death of multiple family members including her own childrens. I believe no parent should live the death of their children, especially if it's traumatic such as the death of her daughter who was killed. But she did not only live the death of two of her childrens but also her husband who passed away shortly after the death of her daughter.

This analysis challenges the simplistic idea that women in the military are victims of the patriarchy, but can also be radical disruptors of it. They embody multiple contradictions, one being how they both embrace their femininity while conforming to a masculine practice or institution. This is interesting because it mirrors how women often navigate spaces that weren't built for them. They are constantly balancing resistance and survival. It makes me reflect on how we shouldn't assume that empowerment is defiance. Sometimes it is just "grappling" with the situation at hand.

Its sad to see how important activities, such as conducting preclinical and clinical trials, have been slowly shifting towars the private sector. It’s risky to have most of these trials being done by private companies, as they expect to profit from the drugs developed. This puts those suffering from diseases that offer a low return on investment due to high trial costs or the rarity of the disease at a disadvantage. I look forward to a future where the government plays a larger role by increasing the number of trials and being more involved in funding research.

Sadly, we have seen disparities in the mortality rate of Black babies as well as maternal health outcomes. For this reason, I understand why there is repeated mention of the death of Twin B and the next steps for the mother as she navigates this devastating experience. However, I believe the most critical issues are not being addressed. This mother is in obvious pain, and mental health professionals should have been involved in her care as soon as she received the tragic news. If left unaddressed, this experience could impact her relationship with Twin A, ultimately affecting his well-being as well. This is a clear example of the ripple effect in healthcare.

Our healthcare and education systems have been created on the foundation of a patriarchy. For a long time, our sanitary system lacked cultural and race representation overall. Nowadays, books still lack representation of conditions in black vs white patients. Even the medical equipment being used have been noted to be discriminative towards some races. For example, the pulse oximeter has been noted to give higher values to patients with high melanin levels(black patients).

!!!!

I had firsthand experience with this and I wonder if it's the same. I remember back in the Dominican Republic it would be pretty common for young kids to have a distended belly and reduced appetite, we would call this “Emparchao” and as part of the non-conventional treatment, the provider would pull some of the muscles in the patient's back and would make you drink a hot herbal drink like a tea. Kids would recover fairly quickly and they would be back to normal in less than 72 hours.

Clinical trials can also decrease the productivity of prescriptions as some of them have shown the inefficiency of some medications. If a drug is released into the market, other studies are conducted to make sure the drug is safe. In the case it is not, then the drug is removed from the market. This includes but is not limited to medications, vaccines and procedures. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine being an example of this.

Just because a lot of things have been normalized, it doesn’t mean that they are right. Being overweight is normal as long as it doesn’t affect your health and life. On the other hand, having high levels of cholesterols is a risk factor for a wide variety of diseases that can lead to death. Therefore high cholesterol levels should be taken seriously and interventions should be done. I understand that some people might prefer a non-pharmaceutical approach which is perfectly fine as long as it’s followed correctly. Exercise, balanced diets and avoiding other dangerous behaviours are just some of the non-pharmaceutical interventions that can have an impact on decreasing these levels. This is assuming that the cholesterol level being spoken about is LDL.

I think this challenges the way we often judge people from outside their circumstances. For example, when we see a mother making decisions that seem unthinkable to us, it's easy to assume she's cold or uncaring. But could it be that the lack of resources, along with cultural beliefs about life and death, shapes her actions? What if we shifted our focus from blaming individuals to addressing the systems that lead to these difficult choices? It makes me wonder how many of our assumptions about “right” and “wrong” are influenced by our own privilege, and how different the world would look if we looked deeper into the larger forces that continue to shape people’s lives.

This makes me think of the stigma against euthanasia or assisted suicide. I noticed it is common in a lot of religious families, where suffering is sometimes seen as a test of faith or a part of God’s plan. Many religious traditions emphasize the virtue of life, believing that only God has the right to give or take it. Because of this, choosing to end one’s own life, even in cases of extreme pain or terminal illness. is often viewed as morally wrong or even selfish.

This is one of the main things I think about when thinking about field work and I am glad that ethics are being taken into consideration.

Personally, this practice deeply unsettles me as it raises a lot of ethical questions about human rights. While I respect cultural traditions, I believe it is hard to accept an act that causes such physical and psychological harm. However, I understand this is their 'normal,' and sometimes trauma from these methods are part of that norm. If I were an anthropologist, I feel that I might try to advocate for education and change. I would attempt to discuss topics about human dignity and the negative health outcomes that come from FGC/FGM.

This is honestly commendable. These anthropologists (or student anthropologists) are quite literally placing themselves in these situations for the sake of fieldwork and learning more about these communities. I think this is important, as it removes former privileges and luxuries in order to respect the community you are researching.