COM Outlook Winter 2021

12 | DR. KIRAN C. PATEL COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE For second-year student Ted Fredric, Student Govern- ment Association (SGA) mental health chair and SNMA vice president, the pressure of being a Black man in the United States further adds to the stress many minorities are feeling in these difficult times. “The amount of support I received from other NSU medical students was overwhelming,” Fredric recalled. “It was overwhelming because, to me, this wasn’t anything new. I battled between feeling frustrated that it took so long for people to acknowledge that police brutality is an issue and being very grateful for everyone’s support.” While Fredric was a part of the SNMA’s call to action, he also wanted a platform that focused more on the students’ mental health as they cope with a series of national events. As a result, his project DOs Connect came about to help students deal with the increased isolation during the pandemic. “I really wanted to start a student-led support group to create a safe space for students to have open discussions amongst one another,” Fredric said. “With the pandemic, we decided to fast-track the idea. We started in May 2020, and we’ve had multiple game nights, open discussions on coping with stress and anxiety, and talks on suicide awareness via Zoom.” DOs Connect furthers the conversation of racial in- justice alongside the SNMA by hosting a diversity panel for students to speak freely about their experiences with racism and to help other students gain a better understanding of the everyday obstacles associated with being a minority. Medical Message The first step in changing the racial sphere has been laid out as government, businesses, and even the medical field are being forced to wake up and acknowledge inequality toward BIPOC communities, but it can’t stop there. In an effort to keep the conver- sation going, aside from posting a black-square photo on social media to raise awareness, there needs to be a plan for further change. “There are still racist physicians and structures that are embedded in medical education and culture,” Khalifa explained. “It starts with learning disease expression on Black and Brown bodies, having more physicians who resemble the general population, universal health care, and getting rid of racially biased insurance algorithms. That is how we actively fix injustice in medicine.” The medical community is slowly listening and taking steps to address the matter. In 2020, the American Members of the Student National Medical Association unite to foster positive change regarding racial injustice and intolerance. STAND TAKING A (continued from page 10)