To UCSD PRIME HEq Students. Sleep. Walk in Nature. Eat Your Vegetables. Oh yeah, also help me save the earth. – Dr. Plastic Picker
 

To UCSD PRIME HEq Students. Sleep. Walk in Nature. Eat Your Vegetables. Oh yeah, also help me save the earth.

| Posted in Climate Advocacy (AAP/Climate Reality/ClimateHealthNOW)

Better. The first picture I put Riley’s eyes were closed. Now they are open! My eyes are open as well.

November 19, 2021

by drplasticpicker

It was really fun yesterday. Riley Gilbertson our advocacy intern and I got to stop by to the UCSD PRIME HEq program, and we even had designated parking spots at lot #603 which is the end of Osler Lane! Riley got his spot. Someone was parked in mine! I parked in the pharmacy school’s spot. I hadn’t been at that area at UCSD since interviewing as a medical student over 20 years ago. San Diego is really a big city now.

The UCSD PRIME HEq program is part of a larger University of California program, and each campus (UCLA, UCD, UCSD ect ect) has a different emphasis. I learned this yesterday because my old medical school friend and friend Dr. Luis Castellanos is the director of PRIME HEq at UCSD. He even agreed to be features in my blog about a year ago! Here is the blogpost https://drplasticpicker.com/dr-luis-castellanos-cardiologist-doing-his-part-for-the-environment-7/

We stopped by to give a talk entitled “Finding Meaning in Medicine: Advocacy, Environmetnal Health, and Mentorship.” We re-presented some of the talk on leaded aviation gasoline pollution and it’s neurodevelopment and health economics implications. Riley gave that part. He know his stuff and presented it really well. Plus he just got published in the San Diego Union Tribune. I turned during the presentation and asked Luis if he had ever been published in the Union Tribune, and he said no and I haven’t either. So it’s a big deal, especially for a local kid like Riley Gilbertson.

Our opening slide.

I had the easier part. Mostly I reorganized some of the previous talks I have given, but made it more fun. I didn’t talk as much about the origins of my burnout years ago, but more about how advocacy especially climate advocacy gives me meaining in medicine. It’s always fun to list one’s credentials. [PAUSE] LOL. I updated my Doximity resume again!

The best part is that I got to show some of the fun slides I made for the Ted Talk at work. It was a completely different audience and live, and I’m so tickled to say that I had the kids laughing but also thinking the entire time. I never thought I was that funny, but now that I think about it – I always make jokes in clinic with my patients. Here are some of the fun slides.

Fun slide!

The student had such great questions. Actually really challenging questions, that had me thinking a lot afterwards. A good about five students connected with my afterwards wanting to know more about the AAP, offering to help with our Youth Arts Exhibition, and all of them want to come to the Rewild Mission Bay fun project that I’m thinking up with our group.

And that is it. Two or three times the students asked me how I decide on bills or projects that we do, and I honestly told them that it has to be fun. It has to be something that is locally affecting my patients and that I care about. And it has to be working with people that bring me joy. I’ve already been sad, and now I’m happy. I’ve worked really hard for that happiness. And yesterday was a very happy day.

Happy day! We spent two hours together!!!

Plus I got to hang out with Riley and my medical school friend Luis! Talking climate is a lot of fun.

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