MSFC Conference

Went to the Medical Students for Choice conference this weekend with some fabulous girls. It was a great trip, both before and during the conference. Some highlights for those who wanted to come but couldn't:

• Pro-choice students who want to continue to be involved with reproductive choice need to pick a good residency
• Religious hospital mergers may prohibit you from performing procedures that are the medically indicated standard of care
• Hostile work environments won't give you the family planning training that you need
• Conservative communities will lack the staff to help you deliver the indicated standard of care. Here are some actual cases that have been reported:
  
• A pharmacist who refuses to fill a minor's prescription for Plan B and who won't give her back the prescription to bring to another pharmacy
• An ER doc won't give a rape victim EC even though she asks for it
  
• A nurse won't provide a patient with an emergency cesarean because she believes it would result in the death of the fetus, and leaves the patient "standing in a pool of blood" instead
• A fertility specialist denies seeing your patient because she doesn't believe that a lesbian should have babies
• The ultrasound technician believes your patient will get an abortion once she sees how serious her pregnancy complications are, and preemptively gives your patient a lecture on how abortion is morally wrong
• Student Health wont' give your HIV (+) patient condoms
  
• How do you pick a choice-supportive residency?
• Look at MSFC's residency guide
• Ask up-front during your interview what their curriculum covers in the area of family planning and reproductive choice
• Ask how long your family planning training is (1 week is NOT enough)
• Ask if the hospital is religiously affiliated and if so, what restrictions come with it
• Get a feel for the politics of the people you will be working with most
• A good place to find a list of pro-choice religious denominations is through the Religions Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC)
• Dr. Middleton -whom I worked with at Feminists this summer - gave a wonderful talk on reproductive healthcare for the primary care doctor. I highly recommend doing the MSFC externship, and having an opportunity to work with her yourself. Through the externship, you will learn first-hand
  
• Laws regarding abortion care in Georgia (sneak preview here)
  
• How medical and 1st and 2nd trimester abortions are performed
• Who pays for abortions (hint: probably not Medicare)
• How pre- and post-abortion counseling works
• Who are the women who get abortions?
  
• IPAS Workshop on 1st Trimester Abortion
  

Also, a recommended reading list (which I myself need to get to at some point):

• Sacred Work: About the history of Planned Parenthood and supportive clergy
• Random Family: A good look at how difficult it is for disadvantaged women to get the family planning they desire

Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done before pro-choice beliefs become pro-choice policies here in America. However, it was great to see so many thoughtful young people committed to the cause.

*Disclaimer: All these opinions are mine, and mine alone, and do not represent MSFC or any other organization*