At a time when diversity among Americans – in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and many other factors – has never been greater, it’s imperative the University prepare future health professionals who can provide effective, culturally competent care to all. But what does “cultural competency” entail?
DMU Library’s Kendall Reed Rare Book Room maintains marvelous collections of some medically relevant botanicals, from sweet-scented water lilies to the narrow spathed skunk-cabbage, at times in history valued for their power to heal wounds, cure disease, increase the appetite and induce vomiting.
For Elizabeth and Greg Schmick, the weighty concepts of faith, the environment, poverty, employment and human relationships are tied together by Eisenia fetida, the red wiggler worm. This humble creature’s remarkable ability to process organic matter into compost fertilized an idea for helping people help themselves.
Of all the journeys represented by all the people on DMU’s commencement stage on May 26, that of Jaap Jan Lind is perhaps most epic. Also epic are the accomplishments represented by the 529 graduate degrees the University recently awarded, all properly celebrated with a gamut of graduation festivities.
As a molecular biology undergraduate at the University of California-Berkeley, Hiral Patel had no idea how much some arm-twisting by a friend would change her life – and, subsequently, the lives of hundreds of people in Honduras as well as many of her DMU classmates.
On June 30, Steve Dengle concluded 33 years of service to DMU, during which the institution changed its name twice, he had eight different bosses and held eight different positions. He ponders his favorite memories, his future plans and the song lyrics that best describe his tenure at the University.
Every year, approximately 358,000 women around the world die in childbirth. Poised to change that tragic statistic is a low-tech, low-cost instrument, the “Odon Device,” that has journeyed from its invention in Argentina and its successful testing at DMU in …
Mary Mincer Hansen has benefited many in her careers: individual patients, residents of underserved communities, millions of Iowans and even more Americans with her advocacy for public health. She’s far from sitting back on her achievements and accolades, however.
A DMU faculty member and her colleagues on an Institute of Medicine committee say the “abysmal investment” in public health is creating a health crisis in America, from rising rates of diabetes to major spikes in childhood obesity. That crisis could decrease lifespan for the first time in the nation’s history.