No one complains about this creative outlet for medical students
In fact, most are telling editors Brooke LaDuca and Rachel Scheuring that the current issues of The Chief Complaint are among the best ever.
The newspaper/literary magazine/creative outlet that has been a tradition for USC School of Medicine students since 1994 is published quarterly. "It's not easy," admitted Scheuring, noting that most Complaint deadlines are close to exam time. "But we get such good feedback, that it seems students really want to see the issues."
Although the circulation is small (600, distributed mostly in and around School of Medicine buildings), the Complaint has a long reach - a noirish serial that appeared in the Complaint , written by medical student Jeremy Goodman about a medical investigator doctor (named Trent Marker) won the short story competition of the Americal Medical Students Association last year.
"It's a wonderful creative outlet for students," says LaDuca, noting that Chief Complaint is short on news stories but long on literary pieces, photographs and personal updates on class members. "We fill a vaccuum," added Scheuring, who calls Cheif Complaint a "general interest magazine." "Many students love to do the literary work, to contribute pieces. Brooke and I do some of the writing, as well."
That's not to say the magazine has no news. Scheuring, who was a television reporter and news anchor before entering medical school, tracked down rumors that fitness personality Richard Simmons was applying to the USC School of Medicine for a recent issue, and editorials discuss many of the issues facing students on campus. "It's one way students have for voicing their concerns," noted Scheuring. "We'd like to see more discussion, more opinion pieces."
The publication is put together on medical school computers, using PageMaker and a lot of volunteer "staph" members, said Scheuring. The publication's budget was cut this year, and with just enough money for printing, "we're doing some of this out of pocket," said LaDuca.
"We'll continue to publish no matter what," LaDuca vowed. "But it wouldn't hurt to get a little help."
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USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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