Welcome to my NSC ePortfolio!

 My skates, and the rink that is my "second home" (photo from personal collection)

My skates, pictured above, represent my love of the athletics and artistry that are necessary in figure skating. When preparing for a major competition, hours are spent perfecting each arm movement and leg extension. In the end, all of the hours of practice come down to a four-minute program. I thrive on the challenge of portraying to an audience a story in such a condensed and accessible format. My experiences in figure skating shape my view of science as a storytelling art. This portfolio is my “four-minute program,” and encompasses my four-year journey in science communication. In the future, I want to use health communication as a tool to empower patients as well as to advocate for minority groups in medicine.

In my early coursework, I mastered the basics of science writing, learning to gather data and craft a cohesive argument. Similar to learning the fundamentals of figure skating, these skills, demonstrated in my PWR 1 and PWR 2 papers, laid the foundation on which I was able to translate basic communication principles to new media. Through my coursework, I also developed an interest in health psychology and the social determinants of health. Building upon this interest, I created two podcasts, an experience which pushed my creativity in science as a storytelling art. Finally, I created a poster presentation synthesizing 10-weeks of biological research, a discipline outside of my area of expertise but one that relied on the same fundamentals of science communication that I developed in the classroom.

My experiences outside of the classroom have taught me the importance of science communication as a tool of empowerment, particularly from clinicians to patients. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I joined the Stanford Health Advocacy and Research in the Emergency Department (SHARED) program, an undergraduate community on campus dedicated to addressing the social determinants of health. Through research and service in the emergency department connecting underserved patients to social resources in the community, I was able to practice science communication at an individual level, much like I would prepare for local skating competitions. I helped one patient write a letter to her landlord, urging him to eliminate the mold in her apartment that was contributing to her son’s asthma condition. This kind of experience is a living example of the complex interactions between social needs and physical health that I was learning about in class and has shaped my interest in the intersection between public health and medicine. Included in this portfolio are SHAR(ED) training materials and a research poster synthesizing my experiences in patient empowerment outside the classroom.

My portfolio also demonstrates my commitment to using science to support policy change and educate public audiences. Included in my portfolio is a research paper exploring the impact of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion on patients at the Stanford Emergency Department, as well as a briefing on foster care policies and their effects on the health outcomes of foster youth. In addition, I have included a discussion paper on technology and the law, and an infographic aimed at educating the public about the social determinants of health. Writing for policymakers and public audiences who do not specialize in science pushed me to examine my rhetorical strategies and formulate targeted arguments grounded in rigorous methodological research. This kind of communication builds upon the basic skills I learned in my coursework, as well as the practice in individual communication I gained through SHAR(ED). In this way, educating public and policy audiences is similar to competing my four-minute program in front of judges and a large audience. My experiences in science communication to support policy change and educate public audiences shaped my understanding of the broader societal impacts of scientific research when communicated to the public.

The satisfaction of completing a skating program at a major competition, knowing all the practice that has led up to those four minutes, is hard to put into words. Throughout this portfolio, you will follow my journey as a science communicator, which parallels my competitive figure skating career. I will first demonstrate my skills as a scientific researcher – gathering the facts and crafting an argument. In later work, I will use these foundational skills to empower patients in healthcare settings. Finally, I display my scientific communication skills by conveying this body of work to non-technical audiences using graphics, audio, and other rhetorical devices. As a science communicator in the future, I hope I can translate scientific research to affect the health of others at both the individual and policy levels as a physician and public health advocate.