The PNWU Health Blog offers insight and first-hand accounts of life here at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.
It includes contributions from current and former PNWU medical students, physicians and various members of an ever-expanding community aimed at highlighting care for the rural and underserved. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or ideas, or if you’d like to pitch a blog idea of your own, please contact us at publicity@pnwu.edu.
When second-year PNWU student Mary Bradsky left home for medical school, she had no idea that it would be the last time her favorite person in the world would know her.
The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 5.8 million people have Alzheimer's disease in the United States. Tearing through the haziness that accompanies such a staggering statistic, Bradsky shares the story of her grandma’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, illustrating the devastating effects of the irreversible brain disease.
Read MoreAs a husband and a father of two, PNWU second-year student Ashton Dyck is often asked: “How do you balance medical school and family time?”
In his PNWU Health Blog debut, Ashton reflects on his first-year experience, offering insight into one of the most challenging components of the medical student experience: embracing and maintaining a balance between life and medical school.
Read More“I held a brain in my hands today,” muses second-year medical student Annika LaVoie, diving right into her first appearance on the PNWU Health Blog.
Join LaVoie for a journey through the mind — and the mind of someone holding “the mind” — and see how one osteopathic medical students’ insatiable curiosity and boundless excitement is leaving us all in good hands.
Read MoreHow do you stay positive when you know someone’s cancer is terminal? For PNWU medical student Polly Wiltz, that question — and many more — became a defining factor in her quest to become an osteopathic physician.
In one of our most soul-stirring blogs to date, Wiltz examines the loss of her beloved uncle and, in the process, redefines resiliency by revealing the power of vulnerability.
Read MoreIn her first appearance on the health blog, medical student Cassidy Johnston examines her experience at Sundown Ranch, a drug and alcohol treatment center just a short drive from our campus, and offers insight into the importance of asking the right questions — even if they’re difficult to ask.
Read MoreAs PNWU second-year medical student Aubrey Euteneuer scrubbed in for her first case as a surgical first assistant, a lifetime of dreams seemed to be coming true. With that, however, came a lifetime’s-worth of anxiety.
Reflecting on her experiences, Euteneuer offers 10 pieces of advice to medical students preparing to enter into their surgical rotations.
Read MoreThe word “dermatologist” is often associated with Botox injections and superficial beauty treatments. As a medical assistant in a dermatologist’s office, second-year medical student Jenna Seeley quickly saw beyond that common misconception, coming face-to-face with the social stigmas associated with skin disorders.
In her first appearance on the PNWU Health Blog, Seeley takes readers on a journey through the experiences of three patients whose lives were dramatically shaped by their skin disorders, illustrating why dermatology is so much more than a skin-deep branch of medicine.
Read MoreSecond-year PNWU medical student Jorge Parra still vividly recalls the moment he was introduced to Steven-Johnson Syndrome. Frantically rushed out of his high school by his mother, he quickly found himself alongside his family, absorbed in the horrific mystery of the rare disorder that threatened to take the life of his sister.
New on the PNWU Health Blog, Parra reflects on those distressing moments, and educates readers on a skin disorder that affects 1 to 2 million people each year.
Read MoreFive years ago, a single phone call changed PNWU medical student Christopher Walker’s life forever: he was going to be a dad.
As he prepares to enter into his second year of osteopathic training, Walker — now a proud father of two — reflects on the moments that surrounded that momentous call, and offers insight into the challenges and rewards of life as a father in medical school.
Like many of her peers, PNWU student Kat Lundeberg suffered from imposter syndrome during her first year of medical school. Unlike many of her peers, however, she had plenty of past experience as an “imposter” to provide perspective to her struggles.
As she prepares for year two of her osteopathic medical school journey, Lundeberg describes the challenges of being an HPSP student, offering rare insight into a path that few have ever traveled.
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