MedEx Day 19 - July 23, 2021

Today was the final day of Week 4 of MedEx. We began today by finishing the Tier III presentations on different healthcare topics. Afterwards, we received a new assignment to do Stalker presentations. Following this, Tier III became recertified in QPR, a method to prevent suicide prevention named "Question, Persuade, Refer." These are the three simple steps that one person can take, even if they are not an expert, to save a life from suicide. During our talk we became QPR certified and learned how to use this method, while addressing common myths about suicide. Some common pervasive myths are that it is not good to ask someone if they are suicidal because then they will become angry and that people who say they are suicidal are just joking/ won't take any action. In both cases, the fact is the inverse of these statements. QPR training has meant a lot to me over the years as I have used a variant of this method to remind friends at college/ in my college life group that life is worth it, when they have been discussing suicide openly. During our meeting, I reflected on a lot of these conversations and how I didn't realize having this training in Tier I/ Tier III would help me out while in college.

After QPR training, Tier III had an interview workshop with some of our program advisors. I loved hearing the different interview questions, but I especially enjoyed sharing my "why medicine" answer while on the "hot seat". (Someone came up and gave an interview answer in front of the whole group). I feel that this helped me to further refine/ think about my "why" for medicine. To conclude today, a lady from the Greenville Free Medical Clinic came and spoke to our Tier. This was one of my favorite presentations of Tier III because I was involved with the Taylors Free Medical Clinic while in high school and am now very involved with the Columbia Free Medical Clinic. I enjoyed hearing about the similarities between all 3 clinics and seeing how the residents of Greenville are served by this free clinic. I know that volunteering at a Free Clinic will be in my long-term plans as a resident and a physician.