Expression in Medicine Scholarship

Free expression is a diminishing privilege in the field of medicine. As a health care provider, you are expected to prescribe and treat your patients as promoted by the majority. As for the patient, you are supposed to agree with whatever is prescribed and avoid having opinions in regard to treatment. Both sides are equally damaging and have created an environment that is incapable of change or progress. I have personally experienced this in doctors' appointments, education, and expressing my own opinions in relation to medicine. For this reason, I look to approach healthcare with a more holistic view to protect this freedom of expression I value. I grew up in a home where discussions around the dinner table usually consisted of questions as diverse as how viruses are different than bacteria or how morphine would affect my aging grandpa. These questions were fielded at my Dad who would patiently explain the answers based on his knowledge after many years in the medical field. I found that the basic answers never appeased my curiosity, and I was always striving to learn the why. This environment nurtured my desire to not just believe the newest medical fad, but to instead understand and have my own opinion. I believe you must educate yourself so that you can open the doors for others to also have opinions. All it takes is one person who is brave enough to express their opinion, for others to have the courage to do so as well. I plan on being that person. There is never just one right way to live healthily, and it is so important that we protect this freedom of expression for others. As a nursing school student, I plan on carrying this mindset with me through school and after I graduate so that I can enable others to do the same. Thank you for this opportunity to apply for the Expression in Medicine scholarship! I recognize that in order to make a difference in health care, I will need support along the way.