Professor
Elizabeth O'Brien
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - About the coursework/graded assignments: Homework each week included leaving 2 comments on each reading posted (I skimmed through a lot of the readings and I probably dedicated around 1.5 hours per week for it). We also had short activities due at our discussion sections (creating venn diagrams, writing short responses to videos/texts, annotating articles) which took 15-30 minutes each week. At the end of the course, we also had to write a 3 page essay about how one of our historian skills have improved due to this course. The final is just sharing the activities we did throughout the quarter and the 3 page essay with our peers. Overall, the workload is extremely light and manageable and if you try, it is impossible to not get an A. - About the course material: Each week we covered a different topic: pre-modern medicine, slavery and medicine, germ theory, eugenics, the Flexner report, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, the Civil Rights Movement, The Cold War, Schizophrenia and homosexuality, ongoing healthcare disparities. All of the things we covered were genuinely interesting (and I’m not a STEM major) and changed my perspective on medicine greatly. I truly believe this class holds immense value, particularly to those looking to go into healthcare as you can really see how history has created health disparities that may not be obvious otherwise (just google race correction). No textbooks required. - Lectures and Discussion: Attendance was mandatory in both and the professor used Arkaive to track attendance. However, the things we learned in lecture are not used in any of the graded assignments as the professor wanted us to learn and enjoy the topics. - About the professor: Professor O’Brien was genuinely one of my favorite professors at UCLA so far. She has a clear passion for what she is teaching and is always excited to answer questions and discuss with her students. She is also one of those professors who wants to reward students for their efforts and wants to give her students As. You can also tell that she dedicates a lot of her time to the course (reading and responding to a lot of student’s comments on the homework despite not really having to). - About the TA: Meg was the TA for all the discussion sections and I believe the professor has repeatedly kept her as TA in the past. She was good at facilitating discussion and creating a comfortable atmosphere (I’ve had other TAs make discussion a little awkward sometimes and uncomfortable to participate, but this wasn’t the case). She was also the person who grades the weekly activities and checks to make sure they are correct (99% of the time gives green check mark which means 100% or gives clear feedback of what your missing and allows you to fix them). - Overall, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CLASS, THIS PROFESSOR, and THIS TA!!
Winter 2024 - About the coursework/graded assignments: Homework each week included leaving 2 comments on each reading posted (I skimmed through a lot of the readings and I probably dedicated around 1.5 hours per week for it). We also had short activities due at our discussion sections (creating venn diagrams, writing short responses to videos/texts, annotating articles) which took 15-30 minutes each week. At the end of the course, we also had to write a 3 page essay about how one of our historian skills have improved due to this course. The final is just sharing the activities we did throughout the quarter and the 3 page essay with our peers. Overall, the workload is extremely light and manageable and if you try, it is impossible to not get an A. - About the course material: Each week we covered a different topic: pre-modern medicine, slavery and medicine, germ theory, eugenics, the Flexner report, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, the Civil Rights Movement, The Cold War, Schizophrenia and homosexuality, ongoing healthcare disparities. All of the things we covered were genuinely interesting (and I’m not a STEM major) and changed my perspective on medicine greatly. I truly believe this class holds immense value, particularly to those looking to go into healthcare as you can really see how history has created health disparities that may not be obvious otherwise (just google race correction). No textbooks required. - Lectures and Discussion: Attendance was mandatory in both and the professor used Arkaive to track attendance. However, the things we learned in lecture are not used in any of the graded assignments as the professor wanted us to learn and enjoy the topics. - About the professor: Professor O’Brien was genuinely one of my favorite professors at UCLA so far. She has a clear passion for what she is teaching and is always excited to answer questions and discuss with her students. She is also one of those professors who wants to reward students for their efforts and wants to give her students As. You can also tell that she dedicates a lot of her time to the course (reading and responding to a lot of student’s comments on the homework despite not really having to). - About the TA: Meg was the TA for all the discussion sections and I believe the professor has repeatedly kept her as TA in the past. She was good at facilitating discussion and creating a comfortable atmosphere (I’ve had other TAs make discussion a little awkward sometimes and uncomfortable to participate, but this wasn’t the case). She was also the person who grades the weekly activities and checks to make sure they are correct (99% of the time gives green check mark which means 100% or gives clear feedback of what your missing and allows you to fix them). - Overall, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CLASS, THIS PROFESSOR, and THIS TA!!
AD
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - The most vile professor in this department. Save yourself the drama. Drop immediately as she will tarnish your GPA. This professor granted some absences due to my health issues, commitments to my 191 class, and the impact of closures. However, later on throughout the quarter, unbeknownst to me at the time, the UCLA health center made a significant error in my test results necessitating additional time off to address the situation. This professor initially understood the severity of my situation, but in the end, penalized me for having missed classes, all approved by her. I thought she was kind, supportive, and really there to back her students, but in the end, she graded me in bad faith. Didn't get a horrible grade, but I shouldn't have been penalized. Ended up filing a grade grievance and sought a civil rights/discrimination attorney to determine the appropriate course of action in addressing this matter. Update: lawsuits were filed against the university and the professor individually. Best of luck, everyone.
Winter 2024 - The most vile professor in this department. Save yourself the drama. Drop immediately as she will tarnish your GPA. This professor granted some absences due to my health issues, commitments to my 191 class, and the impact of closures. However, later on throughout the quarter, unbeknownst to me at the time, the UCLA health center made a significant error in my test results necessitating additional time off to address the situation. This professor initially understood the severity of my situation, but in the end, penalized me for having missed classes, all approved by her. I thought she was kind, supportive, and really there to back her students, but in the end, she graded me in bad faith. Didn't get a horrible grade, but I shouldn't have been penalized. Ended up filing a grade grievance and sought a civil rights/discrimination attorney to determine the appropriate course of action in addressing this matter. Update: lawsuits were filed against the university and the professor individually. Best of luck, everyone.