Dominic Moog, BA (1 Posts)Medical Student Guest Writer
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Dom Moog is a fourth-year medical student at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a transfeminine individual of nonbinary experience. Dom hails from the Twin Cities of Minnesota and attended the University of Southern California, where they received a Bachelor of Arts in Gender and Sexuality Studies. This educational background and a lifetime of personal experiences inspire their interest in psychiatry with emphases on marginalized peoples, economic justice, substance use disorders, and community building as a pillar of psychiatric wellness work. Dom co-founded The Shades Project St. Louis in 2022, a grassroots non-profit organization focused on the intersections of health, community, and art, and serves as Director of Development at the School of Opulence in Chicago. Dom also sings with the St. Louis Chamber Chorus and is an avid participant and budding leader in the queer Ballroom community.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 protests against systemic racism, efforts toward eradicating the effects of bias and discrimination in medicine has reentered the national consciousness. While this is a good start, it may be better to try to overhaul — or at least make deeper efforts to heal– medicine’s social environment to foster safety and reduce disparately harmful effects of chronic social stress. For this, we can look to the queer community.
When was it that the newest woke thing to do was to ask for pronouns? In the queer communities in which I have been a member, it has been fairly common parlance to do so — but in regular life, I can’t place when it happened.
“You could help us with our diversity efforts. If you came here, you could be a part of building up our diversity program.” Who said I wanted to help with your diversity efforts? Why hasn’t it been built up already?
Content warning: The following article is about sexual assault and rape. I think it is time to be honest with myself and the world and say that I am a survivor of sexual assault, not a victim. I have taken the power away from my abuser and given it back to myself by speaking out.
Michael A. Belmonte, MD (1 Posts)Resident Physician Contributing Writer
Indiana University School of Medicine
Michael is a PGY-3 in obstetrics and gynecology at Indiana University in Indianapolis. He completed his BS at Northwestern University and his MD at University of Illinois in Chicago. He is dedicated to minority medical education, reproductive justice and health equity. In his free time, he enjoys all things travel, food, and games. He is currently applying to fellowships in family planning.
