Jerry and Hannah Get Deep

Jerry’s 20^th Birthday Adventure

The first thing we did today was visit the South Carolina State Museum. There were many interesting exhibits made up of four floors. However, it was not necessarily the content that was intriguing, but the presentation of the information. For example, they organized South Carolina’s civil history on the fourth floor, which implied the lack of emphasis on that exhibit. On the fourth floor, we noticed that several key pieces of information about the Civil War and secession were either omitted or very brief and condensed. One experience I had was when a group of kids and a parent chaperone were looking at the display case containing the Confederate flags that were on display in government buildings. One of the kids asked the parent why they took down the flag, and the parent clearly avoided the question and gave a vague answer. This struck a chord with us because it made us realize that U.S. history is taught very differently in the South. Also, the museum’s coverage of slavery was very underwhelming, which reflected that most Southerners did not learn the significance of slavery in the Civil War.

At the next event, we visited the USC School of Medicine where we attended a seminar on End of Life Care. Unfortunately, we were late to the seminar due to miscommunication. Overall, we discussed the importance of understanding the many factors of end of life care. In discussion groups, we debated the importance of preventative measures impacting emergency situations relating to end of life care. In addition, we talked about the many different factors that need considerations when ending a patient’s life. Specifically, the patient’s families’ opinion, patient safety, patient’s comfort and considerations must also be considered. We also had the opportunity to discuss the idea of medicine with an M4 student who recently just matched. She answered questions relating to passion for medicine, classroom curriculum for pre-med students, useful study tips and tricks, and residency after med school.

We also reflected about the current situation that many people in South Carolina are experiencing. In particular, we talked about the policy making process and how many people’s opinions are not accurately represented by the politicians in D.C. In addition, we talked about possible solutions for this issue. Two possible solutions we came up with are public outreach and political efficacy. We look forward to the rest of the trip!

Best Regards,

Jerry and Hannah and frens J