Medical Student Advocated for Smoking Ban
When Kimberly Kicielinski was young, a trip to the neighborhood grocery store meant more than just groceries. She would see people smoking outside the store and give them a lecture on how the habit was bad for their health.
“Not smoking is one of the things you can control to prevent cancer. People are doing it to themselves, and they have no idea,” Kicielinski says.
It’s not surprising then that, as an adult, Kicielinski was a strong advocate for Pennsylvania's public smoking ban, which went into effect in September 2008.
“A lot of people think it's an issue of rights. But when it impacts other people’s health, your right to smoke isn’t valid,” says the medical student at Penn State College of Medicine.
Kicielinski has composed letters and emails that medical students can send to their state senators and representatives in support of the ban. Having these prepared materials can make it easier to get medical students involved in political issues.
“There are a handful of people that are extremely active, and then there's definitely another faction that thinks, ‘I am way too busy. I need to learn anatomy,’” Kicielinski says.
Gaining support for issues affecting physicians also can be tough because of the way many people perceive physicians.
“People have a perception that you have a really cushy lifestyle. But, as a medical student, you are in a tremendous amount of debt, and it keeps getting more difficult to get loans and pay them back,” Kicielinski says. “A lot of legislators are open to us telling them that. They are interested in what we have to say, but we have to take the effort to say it to them.”
Kicielinski encourages medical students to become involved in politics while they are young and before they begin practice.
“If you get involved now, that's how you become someone who can make a difference later,” she says.
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Last Updated: 2/9/2009