那是一个周三的晚上，我和50位健康专业人士坐在会议室里。我们都刚刚结束了一天的漫长工作，但我们没有回家去陪伴家人，而是在这里一起讨论国家政治会如何影响我们的病患的健康。
我的导师站了起来，对一屋子人说：“万物自有其运作规律，因为系统也自有其运作规律。如果你希望改变事物的运作规律，那你首先需要改变相关系统。”我赞同地点了点头，思考着我的那些病患，他们负担不起所需的医疗服务，不能获得健康食品，还要在医生的办公室遭到歧视，他们需要相关系统做出改变。
我是一名研究生，打算以后既当医生，又当公共卫生从业者。在取得医学博士/公共卫生学硕士学位的过程中，我将学会如何照顾单个病患和如何思考人口健康。我2019年毕业时，也就是我在正式的学校学习24年之后，仍然需要完成3—7年的毕业后培训。
我至少要到35岁的时候才能完成所有的培训，很多人听到这事都十分震惊。有时，当我看到其他朋友得到了带薪工作、买房和组建家庭时，我也会感到不耐烦。但我认为，这些年的工作是值得的。我热爱我所做的事情。
目前，我工作和居住在美国种族隔离最严重的城市之一。我们了解到健康差异——基于人们不能控制的系统层面的问题而造成了人们的健康差异。在美国的少数种族社群和穷人之中可以看到大量的健康差异现象。
如果人们受到歧视，并且不能找到好工作时，他们就更难以购买健康食品，或者付钱让家人住上安全的房子了。当他们受到高血压的困扰来到医生的办公室时，他们需要的不仅是药物。他们需要更好的日常饮食、可供锻炼身体的安全场所，而且需要减少生活的压力。我相信，作为一名医生，我应该可以做到的不仅是给他们开药而已。
我相信，作为一名未来的医生，我有责任参与政治。在美国，医生是最令人信赖的职业之一。即使是医科学生，我们的声音也是强有力的。我正在学习如何拨打当地政府办公室的电话，给当地报纸写信，以及在我的医学院安排与行政人员的会议。如果我不为我的病患而奋斗，还能有谁会这样做呢？
我们将改变这个系统。
- Brittany M.，29, 岁医学院学生, 威斯康星州密尔沃基市
What I learned from attending medicalschool
It is aWednesday evening and I am sitting in a meeting room with fifty other healthprofessionals. We all just finished a long day of work, but instead of goinghome to be with our families, we are coming together to discuss how nationalpolitics will impact the health of our patients.
My mentorstands up and addresses the room: “Things are the way they are because thesystem is the way it is. If you want to change the way things are, you firstneed to change the system.” I nod my head in agreement, thinking of all mypatients who cannot afford the healthcare they need, who cannot access healthyfood, who face discrimination at the doctor’s office, who need the system tochange.
I am a graduatestudent, studying to become both a doctor and a public health professional. MyMD/MPH degree will teach me about how to take care of individual patients andhow to think about the health of populations. When I graduate in 2019 after 24years of formalized school, I will still have 3-7 years of post-graduate trainingto complete.
Many people areshocked when they learn that I will not finish all my training until I am atleast 35 years old. And sometimes I also feel impatient when I watch my otherfriends take jobs with salaries, buy houses, and start families. But I think that all these years of work areworth it. I love what I do.
I am currentlyliving and working in one of the most racially segregated cities in the UnitedStates. We learn about health disparities – differences in people’s healthbased on system-level problems they cannot control. A lot of health disparitiesin America are seen in racial minority communities and with the poor.
When people arediscriminated against and cannot find good jobs, it is harder for them to buyhealthy food and pay for safe housing for their families. When they come to thedoctor’s office with high blood pressure, they need more than just medication.They need a better diet, a safe place to exercise, and less stress in theirlives. I believe that as a doctor, I should be able to do more than just givethem a pill.
I believe thatit is my responsibility as a future doctor to be politically engaged. InAmerica, doctors are one of the most trusted professions. Even as medicalstudents, our voices are powerful. I am learning how to call my localgovernment offices, write letters to the local newspaper, and schedule meetingswith the administrators at my medical school. If I don’t fight for my patients, who will?
We are going tochange the system.
- BrittanyM., 29. Medical School Student. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
要想了解更多此类故事，请访问: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/zh/education-culture-zh/xin-jiao-liu-magazine-zh/every-day-americans-zh/
For more stories like this, visit: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/education-culture/xin-jiao-liu-magazine/every-day-americans/
