MedEd Connect Blog: Exploring Medicine Based Careers

Orthopedic Surgery Zayd Shariff  Orthopedic surgery focuses on the musculoskeletal system which includes your bones, joints, and ligaments among other things. It is a key part of medicine that helps individuals stay fit, mobile, and active leading people to live a healthy lifestyle. It encompasses conditions such as arthritis, sports injuries, and spinal problems. Despite its importance throughout the world, access to the speciality remains unequal across the globe. In affluent countries such as the United States orthopedic surgery continues to rapidly improve. Innovations include techniques that utilize robotic assistance, procedures that are minimally invasive, and patient personalized medicine. As a result patients recover in shorter times and stay healthier for longer periods of time. While these improvements are obviously beneficial, in less developed countries the most basic forms of orthopedic surgery are out of reach. For example, a fractured femur can be treated within hou...

Neurogenetics Alishba Abbasi Neurogenetic disorders are genetic and chromosomal alterations that affect the nervous system, affecting brain development, nerve function, and overall neurological well-being. Early intervention is crucial for a child's ability to acquire essential skills and independence.  Along with lifelong healthcare management, which can only be achieved via a collaborative approach involving a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, scientists, psychologists, social workers and administrative staff in order to meet the specific needs of the individual and their family. The establishment of an integrated service that includes clinical assessment and diagnosis, molecular genetic testing and follow-up consultations would all need to be in place.  Yet for many, this is unavailable. Either due to the expenses required, the ethical issues related to it, or due to the pace at which this field is advancing, which proves hard to keep up. Despite increased funding, the...

  Throughout the past seventy years, scientists have worked with psychostimulant medications to help patients with ADHD, also known as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. ADHD affects peoples’ lives all around the globe. Its symptoms include hyperactivity, impulsivity, and issues with attention. Through a multitude of scientific research on the causes and effects of ADHD, researchers have found a solution to aiding those who struggle with daily functioning due to ADHD. Psychostimulant medications have been known to alleviate symptoms of ADHD and improve attention by increasing dopamine levels and norepinephrine in the brain. Once these neurotransmitters are boosted, the psychostimulants work to increase a patient’s ability to concentrate. However, neuroimaging has recently allowed scientists to discover how long-term psychostimulant treatment affects the brain structure of adults with ADHD. Specifically, scientists used brain MRI scans from 26 adults, with 13 who had been tre...

  The Heart of Global Healthcare Inequality: Cardiac Surgeries Access Crisis While cardiac surgery has witnessed remarkable technological advances, from robotic-assisted procedures to minimally invasive techniques. A stark reality persists: the world's most vulnerable populations remain largely cut off from these life-saving interventions. Cardiovascular diseases claim 20.5 million lives annually, making them the leading cause of death worldwide (World Heart Federation). Yet the burden falls disproportionately on those least equipped to handle it. A staggering 80% of cardiovascular deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 93% of the population lacks access to safe, timely, and affordable cardiac surgical care (Vervoort et al.). Source: 2016 peru via Wikimedia Commons  This isn’t just about geography, it’s about justice. Even in developed nations, disparities persist along gender and socioeconomic lines. Recent studies reveal that women and patients from ...

  General Medicine Bellamy A. General Medicine, also known as internal medicine, serves as the backbone of adult healthcare, focusing on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases (American College of Physicians, 2022). Unlike specialists who treat specific organs, general physicians, also known as internists, are trained to diagnose and manage a wide spectrum of conditions ranging from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses to endocrine, infectious, and rheumatologic diseases. This broad scope makes them crucial for patients with chronic, complex, or overlapping health issues (Cleveland Clinic, 2025). In hospitals, general medicine plays a central role. Internists often serve as primary care providers and oversee inpatient care, using lab results, imaging, and patient history to make evidence-based decisions (American College of Physicians, 2022). Additionally, they offer routines, checkups, long-term conditions management, and coordination with other specialties...

  Caption: Photo taken from NPR, “Anesthesiologist at work”, Caiaimage/Sam Edwards/Getty Images (2009) In the moments before surgery, as a patient slips into unconsciousness, there is a trust that is placed in the hands of an anesthesiologist. For billions, that trust is a privilege they’ve never known. Anesthesiology is essential for safe surgery and patient comfort, yet it is one of the most overlooked fields in global health. While public health campaigns often focus on vaccines, clean water, and infectious disease, access to safe anesthesia remains severely limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICS).  “Of the 315 million surgical procedures performed each year, only 6.5% are performed in low- and middle-income countries” — a fact recognized both by the NIH and the 68th World Health Assembly. Caption: Graph from Medicus Healthcare Solutions, “There are approximately 52,400 active anesthesiologists within the United States; however, workforce projections indicate a ...

  Dermatology is a branch of medicine dedicated to diagnosing and treating conditions that affect the skin, hair, and nails. As the body’s largest and most visible organ, the skin not only reflects overall health but also plays an essential role in self-esteem and emotional well-being. Within dermatology, psychodermatology is a growing subspecialty that examines the intricate connection between the skin and the brain. It focuses on how psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression can both trigger and worsen skin disorders, and how chronic skin conditions can, in turn, harm mental health.  Research has shown that mental health and skin disorders create a cycle that is difficult to break. Stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, releasing cortisol and other stress hormones that influence the immune and endocrine systems (glands). This can lead to inflammation, flare-ups of acne, eczema, psoriasis, and even stress-induced hair loss. Conve...