The Global Pulse

by Tyson LaGrow

recent posts

I am a high school student looking to change the future of medicine.
  • Healthcare Access Among Young Adults Research

    Healthcare Access Among Young Adults Research

    One area of healthcare that I have become more interested in is why some people have an easier time getting medical care than others. For this research project, I studied healthcare access and healthcare literacy among young adults ages 18–25. I looked at barriers like cost and transportation, as well as how confident young adults are in understanding health information and navigating the healthcare system.

    This project was a great experience for me because I was able to present my research at SAEM, and I will also be publishing a paper about the study. It was exciting to take a question I was interested in, actually research it, and then have the opportunity to share what I learned with others. This experience showed me another side of medicine and made me more interested in research and the problems that affect people’s health.

    Tyson Healthcare PosterDownload
  • What Shadowing Anesthesiology Taught Me About Patient Safety

    What Shadowing Anesthesiology Taught Me About Patient Safety

    Before I shadowed anesthesiology, I thought anesthesiology was all about making a patient sleep during surgery. I quickly learned that the job is much more involved than that.

    An anesthesiologist has to pay close attention to the patient before, during, and after a procedure. The operating room may look calm from the outside, but there is constant monitoring and communication. Small changes can matter, and the team has to respond quickly.

    Patient safety depends on teamwork. The anesthesiologist does not work alone, and safe care requires communication with surgeons, nurses, and everyone else in the operating room. Everyone has a specific role, and everyone needs to connect.

    A patient entering surgery is in a vulnerable position. They are depending on people they just met to keep them safe. Technical skill is obviously important, but so is explaining what will happen and helping the patient feel informed.

    Anesthesiology showed me that stopping complications during medical care through planning, monitoring, and communication is another type of prevention I hadn’t thought about.

  • How Are Doctors Actually Using AI Today?

    How Are Doctors Actually Using AI Today?

    Check out this article… More than 80% of physicians use AI professionally: AMA survey

    A recent survey from the American Medical Association found that 81% of doctors surveyed use AI at work. Some doctors are using it to summarize medical research and keep up with new information. They are also using it to help document patient visits and create discharge instructions.

    This surprised me because when I thought about doctors using AI, I pictured a computer diagnosing a patient or looking at an X-ray. I didn’t really think about all the other work doctors have to do.

    What I find interesting is that AI doesn’t have to replace a doctor to make things easier. It can help with some of the work that takes up doctors’ time. In fact, 70% of physicians who took the survey said they see AI as a tool that could automate daily tasks that contribute to burnout.

    There are still concerns though. Doctors in the survey were worried about things like patient privacy, the doctor-patient relationship, and doctors losing skills if they depend too much on AI.

    Since I’m interested in medicine, I think this is really interesting. By the time I become a doctor, using AI might just be a normal part of the job. The challenge will probably be learning when AI is helpful and when you shouldn’t depend on it.

  • Which Doctors Could Be Most Affected by AI?

    Which Doctors Could Be Most Affected by AI?

    I found this State of Clinical AI Report 2026 interesting because it looks at how AI is actually developing in healthcare. One thing that stood out to me was that AI can be extremely good at some tasks, but there are still concerns about how reliable it will be in real-world situations. Take a look at the article: State of Clinical AI Report 2026

  • Will AI Ever Be Better Than Doctors at Diagnosing Disease?

    Will AI Ever Be Better Than Doctors at Diagnosing Disease?

    AI is becoming a bigger part of our everyday lives. But I never really thought about AI being used by doctors until recently. I read about a study where AI was tested on difficult medical cases and even emergency room patients. In some of the tests, AI did as good as or better than doctors at figuring out what could be wrong with a patient.

    This was pretty surprising to me. Doctors go to school and train for so many years, so it’s kind of crazy to think that a computer could sometimes figure out a diagnosis better than they can.

    At the same time, I don’t think this means AI will replace doctors. There is a lot more to being a doctor than just figuring out what disease someone has. Doctors have to listen to patients and explain things to them. They also have to understand that patients can be scared or nervous.

    AI also isn’t always going to be right. Researchers are still trying to figure out how well AI will work in real hospitals and with actual patients. Some AI systems have done really well on certain medical tests, but researchers say more real-world testing is still needed.

    I think AI will probably become another tool that doctors use. Maybe it could catch something a doctor missed or give them another idea to consider. But I would still want a real doctor making the final decision about my health.

  • The First Time I Realized Health Is About More Than Medicine

    The First Time I Realized Health Is About More Than Medicine

    I used to think healthcare was mostly about what happens when you get sick. You go to the doctor, they figure out what’s wrong, and then you get medicine or some kind of treatment. I didn’t really think much about what happens before that.

    Then I worked on a project involving families in Bauchi, Nigeria. It made me realize how many other things can affect whether someone stays healthy. Something as basic as clean water can make a huge difference. So can being able to get to a doctor or afford basic healthcare.

    It seems obvious now, but I hadn’t really thought about it before.

    A doctor can know exactly how to help someone, but that doesn’t do much good if the person can’t get to the clinic. And telling someone how to stay healthy doesn’t always help if they don’t have the things they need to actually do it. For example, a doctor might know exactly how to treat someone who is sick. But what if that person can’t get to the doctor? Or what if a family is told to use clean water but they don’t have easy access to it? That changed the way I think about healthcare. Medicine matters a lot. But so do the things happening outside of the doctor’s office.

  • Diabetes Is Quietly Becoming a Worldwide Thing

    Diabetes Is Quietly Becoming a Worldwide Thing

    Diabetes feels like one of those words people tune out, like it’s just a normal part of getting older. But the numbers are honestly kind of alarming.

    The WHO says the number of people living with diabetes jumped from 200 million in 1990 to 830 million in 2022. The rate basically doubled. And more than half of people with it aren’t even getting treatment. The main risk factors? Inactivity, obesity, and unhealthy diets, which means a lot of type 2 diabetes is preventable.

    My grandmother had diabetes along with high blood pressure, so I’ve seen what it does over time. It’s not just about sugar, it can lead to heart attacks, kidney problems, and worse. That’s why catching it early, or preventing it, matters so much more than waiting for the complications.

    The thing that gets me is that this is a global problem now, growing fastest in lower-income countries. It’s not an “old people” disease and it’s not just a rich-country thing. It’s everywhere, and a lot of it comes down to the same prevention basics: move more, eat real food, get checked.

    Bottom line: Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable, and prevention beats treating the damage later.

    Read more: Diabetes – World Health Organization

  • Is There Really a “Best” Major for Pre-Med Students?

    Is There Really a “Best” Major for Pre-Med Students?

    When I started looking at possible pre-medical school college majors, I assumed that students who wanted to attend medical school needed to major in biology or chemistry. I recently learned that this isn’t true though.

    According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), there is no single best major for students planning to attend medical school. Students can major in biological sciences, social sciences, mathematics, humanities or many other subjects.

    I found this interesting because medicine involves more than just understanding biology. Doctors work with people from different cultures and environments. Subjects like psychology, sociology, anthropology, and public health can help future physicians understand some of the factors that influence a person’s health outside of the doctor’s office.

    The AAMC recommends choosing a major based on what interests you instead of choosing one you think medical schools will prefer. You still need to make sure you complete the necessary science courses and are prepared for the MCAT, though.

    As someone interested in medicine, public health, and global health, I like the idea of having more flexibility when choosing a major I would enjoy learning more about. I know that becoming a physician takes a strong foundation in science, but there are many different ways to get there.

    Source: AAMC — How to Choose the Best Premed Major

  • Loneliness Is Actually a Health Risk

    Loneliness Is Actually a Health Risk

    Loneliness is officially a public health issue, and not a small one. A real, measurable health risk.

    In a 2023 advisory, the Surgeon General said being socially disconnected raises your risk of early death by an amount similar to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness can actually be about as dangerous as a bad smoking habit. It’s linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, depression, and other problems. And about half of US adults reported feeling lonely even before the pandemic made it worse.

    The advisory also found that young people ages 15 to 24 had a 70% drop in time spent hanging out with friends in person over the past couple of decades. In person friend time fell from around 60 minutes a day to about 20. We’re more connected than ever online through videogames and social media and somehow spending way less actual time together in person.

    In person connection is like a daily vitamin. If you don’t take it, your body and mind actually start to suffer.

    I have my family, my friends, my music club, my teammates. Those are my communities, real people I see in person. After learning this, I don’t take that for granted. Texting is fine, but spending time with these people in person matter way more.

    Read more: Our Epidemic of Loneliness — U.S. Surgeon General (via NPR)

  • Giving Blood Is the Easiest Way to Literally Save a Life

    Giving Blood Is the Easiest Way to Literally Save a Life

    According to the American Red Cross, someone in the US needs blood every 2 seconds. A single donation can save up to 3 lives because they split it into different parts for different patients. The only source is people who are willing to donate.

    That’s why shortages are a problem though. About 62% of people are actually eligible to donate, but only around 3% do. So a very small percentage of the population is keeping the whole supply going. And the need is constant: about 16 million blood components get transfused every year, and a single car crash victim can need as many as 100 units.

    Volunteering at Orlando Health made this hit different for me. You see real patients and realize the blood they need came from a stranger who decided to show up. That stranger never met them and saved them anyway. That’s very impressive when you think about it.

    Depending on the state and your age, you can start donating at 16 or 17 with a parent’s permission, which means this is one of the first real, grown-up ways a teenager can help. It’s free to give and hard to think of an easier way to matter.