Category Archives: Healthcare

Health & Wellness

Advisors, Authors A-H, Healthcare

Renewing Diversity Part 17: Rethinking Patient-Centered Approaches to Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés

I’m sometimes amazed at how thoroughly my thinking about health equity has changed since I became part-time co-director of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism curriculum a little more than six years ago in July, 2020.

Throughout several decades prior to that appointment I had given numerous talks and workshops about cultural competence in health care, including at such places as M. D. Anderson in Houston.  On my own campus, I had been delivering an annual required cultural competence lecture for first-year medical students, augmented by a smattering of faculty.  So when I said yes to the dean’s invitation, I felt reasonably confident, particularly since I was teamed up with one of the school’s clinical professors of pediatrics.

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Authors I-Q, Healthcare, Neuro-diversity

Beyond the Curve: Redefining Giftedness and Neurodiversity in Healthcare – by Dr. Veronica Palladino 

For decades, human intelligence and cognitive development have been measured through a rigid statistical lens. In clinical and educational settings, the Gaussian bell curve has dictated who is considered “normal,” who is “deficient,” and who is “gifted.” However, as explored in my research essay, Beyond the Curve: The Neurobiology and Psychology of Giftedness in the 21st Century, this binary approach to human minds is proving to be outdated. To truly understand the human brain, modern healthcare and advocacy must look past statistical models and embrace the profound reality of neurodiversity. 

Continue reading Beyond the Curve: Redefining Giftedness and Neurodiversity in Healthcare – by Dr. Veronica Palladino  →

Authors A-H, Healthcare

Healthcare Systems: After Treatment Ends – by Andrew Drasen

For many individuals, completing a treatment program is a milestone filled with hope, relief, and anticipation. Residential programs, intensive outpatient services, and structured recovery tracks provide a framework for learning new skills, managing triggers, and building a foundation for change. Yet the moment a person leaves structured care is also the moment the safety net thins, and many find themselves navigating complex social, familial, and environmental pressures without the scaffolding that previously supported them.

Healthcare systems and programs designed to address substance use or mental health challenges often focus on stopping harmful behaviors and managing relapse risks. These approaches are critical. They teach clients to recognize triggers, practice coping strategies, and adhere to care plans. However, behavior-focused programs address only one side of a larger equation. Without guidance on who they are becoming beyond the behavior, individuals often struggle to sustain change once the structured environment is removed. Old patterns can resurface, not because the person intends to fail, but because they lack a coherent framework for their evolving identity.

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Authors I-Q, Healthcare

The Future of Fitness – by Tor Arne Jørgensen

In 1997, at age 23, I took my first bodybuilding photos for B&K Sports Magazine. My only goal was to look as muscular as possible. I had trained seriously for three years. Bodybuilding was not just something I did; it was a big part of who I was.

Two years later, I entered the Southern Norway Bodybuilding Championship. I competed again in 2000, and that was my last competition. The physical results were visible on the outside, but I paid less attention to what was happening inside. I rarely thought about my health or how I would feel years later.

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Authors A-H, Healthcare

The Power of Collaboration – by Andrew Drasen

In tackling complex social challenges, collaboration is not optional. The National Coalition for Drug Legalization illustrates this principle at every level. Founded by Veronica Wright, the coalition brings together law enforcement veterans, educators, nonprofit leaders, and recovery advocates to create a unified platform for research-informed policy, public education, and actionable change.

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Authors R-Z, Healthcare, Immigration

DEI Cutbacks and Immigrant Mental Health – by Diane Storman

Research increasingly links the erosion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, alongside rising anti-immigrant rhetoric, to a significant decline in the mental health of immigrant populations (Lopez et al., 2017). This crisis is the direct result of a convergence of systemic hostility, and the withdrawal of institutional safeguards converge. The impact manifests as increased discrimination, reduced access to culturally competent care, and a pervasive fear of law enforcement intervention. As vital safety nets are dismantled, immigrants are left to navigate a landscape where institutional support is replaced by the constant threat of detention or deportation.

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Authors A-H, Healthcare, Storytelling

Your final job interview is with yourself – by Martin Kimeldorf

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Writing your Final Resume

“It’s hard to know when to respond to the seductiveness of the world and when to respond to its’ challenge.  If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy.  If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem.  But, I arise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.  This makes it hard to plan the day”.
 ~  E. B. White

Somewhere around 1970 I came across the notion of  self-help support groups for the unemployed. They reported remarkable results so I set the task of translating this into a workbook for young adults: Job Search Education. The success of that title brought me some 20+ book contracts of various topics from leisure wellness, to intergenerational programing, to mixology. It’s been a grand trip…and now as I take step back in the last quarter of my life I have found the value in writing one last “resume”. It is directed not at future employers; it is simply a summation for myself. It may inspire you to do the same.

I plotted out an outline that contained the following categories:

  • Student & Early Accomplishments
  • Adult Work Experiences
  • Fun or Humorous (magic, theater, paintings)
  • Volunteer Work
  • My Favorite Saying

Without further ado about nothing (See Shakespeare’s play with that title), I’ll proceed with samples and words.

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Healthcare, Levine articles

Ultra-Processed from Halloween to Thanksgiving – by Deborah Levine

Every year, we struggle to resist the temptation minute to minute to over-sugar ourselves.  It begins with Halloween candy and proceeds to Thanksgiving dinner, exploding with holiday eating extravaganzas with the year’s tastiest foods. By the New Year, the scale shows our over-indulgence. It’s no coincidence that 12% of gym members join in January. And it’s discouraging that 80% of New Year’s resolutions disappear in February.

Advisors, Healthcare

Renewing Diversity #2: Teaching Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés, Adwoa Osei

In July, 2020, the two of us became the inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative.   Since then the teaching of health equity to medical students has been a journey of continuous renewal.   

Publications about health equity emerge nearly every day.  Each year’s student cohort provides new pedagogical challenges.  Every module we teach raises new issues regarding learning and assessment.  We can’t stand still. 

Continue reading Renewing Diversity #2: Teaching Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés, Adwoa Osei →