Famous Last Words: AVENGERS: ENDGAME was AMAZING!

I wanted to write about what was going on in my life sooner, but I guess I got caught up in studying for midterms, so I decided to wait until after I finished with my exams and assignments.

To start off with, I wanted to make an update about my Marvel movie marathon. At the beginning of the semester, I wrote in my Introduction ("Introduction to an Incoming Marvel Fanatic") that I was watching all of the Marvel movies in release order with my sisters. At the time, I had just finished watching Captain America: Civil War. After finishing Avengers: Endgame last week, I can now officially say that I am a Marvel fanatic! I loved all of the movies and it feels bitter-sweet that I am done with all of the action, humor, and amazing storytelling that is the Marvel universe. I can't wait until Black Widow comes out so I can continue my Marvel journey!

Avengers.... Assemble!

Beyond that, I am hard at work in my other classes. Last week, I submitted my first essay for my biomedical ethics class; I wrote about the importance of patient autonomy and informed consent. Often, we think that informed consent IS patient autonomy, but we forget that we can still do better in actively engaging patients with making their own healthcare decisions, rather than merely consenting to a doctor's already predetermined healthcare plan (which, as we often notice, is not always in the patient's best interests as the doctor may possess particular conflicts of interests). Therefore, consent should not be the end goal for guaranteeing patient autonomy, but instead, we should educate patients about their health and encourage them to make decisions for themselves based on their personal preferences. Here is a link to an amazing TED talk by Dr. Leana Wen that talks about the importance of doctor transparency in ensuring patient autonomy and fostering more meaningful patient-doctor relationships.

In the next week, I hope to catch up in all of my work for my classes and stay on top of everything, so I can be ready to tackle the next cycle of midterms in a couple of weeks!