Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are among the higher ed institutions involved in a U.S. Supreme Court battle over affirmative action that is expected to be decided this spring or summer. As a former appellate defender in the Gratz v. Bollinger affirmative action case in 1993, as well as an emergency medicine physician serving under-insured patients, I know firsthand how affirmative action …
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Five-hundred and fifty-five. That’s the number of first-year emergency medicine (EM) residency spots that went unfilled in the Match. Before discussing the implications for nationwide residency programs, applicants, and patients, we must ask how we got here?! Emergency medicine used to be a “sexy” specialty. The TV series ER ran for 15 seasons. Emergency medicine was once a part of the infamous E-ROAD (EM, radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, dermatology) lifestyle specialties. …
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As student loan forgiveness awaits a decision from the Supreme Court, the Department of Education has launched a program that can forgive student loan debt for over 40,000 Americans and ease student debt burdens for up to 3.6 million borrowers. As this news circulates, what is less discussed is how student loan debt affects doctors and everyday citizens’ health – especially those who are underrepresented minorities.
Excessive student loans are …
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