Students passionate about medicine and interested in the roles it will play in the future can now find community in the Medical Ethics and Issues Discussion Panel.
The panel provides a “forum to discuss various medical ethical dilemmas and issues that physicians are facing today and will face in the future,” said Niekia Franklin, co-president of the panel and zoology sophomore.
Franklin and fellow co-president Yi Yang, zoology junior, agreed to create a forum for pre-medical students to discuss medical ethics and issues after competing in an event called OK Ethics, Franklin said.
Both founders will try to “bring serious, high-achieving pre-medical students devoted to medicine together to explore their interest in medicine,” said Franklin.
By joining the panel and attending meetings, members will get a chance to hear from medical professionals along with medical school faculty members and OU Health Sciences Center students, Franklin said.
Andrew Do, zoology and physics sophomore, was once a member of the pre-med club and said, “[The pre-med club is] geared more toward freshmen students that don’t have a clear direction.” Now a member of the panel, Do said, “It’s for people who have decided they want to go into medicine and want to look deeper into the issues the medical field is facing.”
In order to ensure that members are committed to learning about medicine, the panel requires a minimum 3.5 GPA and at least two semesters of college coursework. In preparation for meetings, members are also encouraged to prepare for meetings with readings and research to guarantee educated discussions with speakers.
As members of the panel, students will also have an opportunity to get involved in the OUHSC Peer Mentoring Program, shadowing partnership programs and volunteer opportunities.
The panel is also arranging a medical brigade to visit Honduras. Ganga Moorthy, director of the medical brigade and microbiology sophomore, said she is excited to have the opportunity to interact with another country.
By partnering with medical professionals, brigade members will help establish a clinic and provide medical services to a community that lacks available health care, Moorthy said.
