Nova Doctor's Diaries @ Museum of Science

***FreePlus Rating: 8/10***
Not an everyday occurrence but still an enriching slice of experience to diversify your regular routine.









Nova Doctor's Diaries is a documentary spanning the past 21 years that chronicles the life of 7 doctors who graduated from Harvard Medical School. The event held last Tuesday evening in the Skyline Room on the sixth floor of the Museum of Science was a promotion for the last installment of this series.

Unlike a typical screening in which the seating is setup in rows, there were about a dozen round tables in the room. The seating arrangement was conducive to meeting and networking with other folks at the table. I met another young woman who is very involved in the community and told me about more free events! The evening was casual yet classy with cocktail waitresses serving red and white wine, light refreshments of cheese and crackers and a backdrop view of the sun setting over the Boston skyline. The majority of those in attendance were associated with the medical community; either doctors or medical educators or doctors-to-be.

The 30-minute screening of the film was interesting, educational and entertaining. It was an intense and intimate view of the long journey to become a doctor. Watching scenes of young, overworked, sleep deprived medical students doing their residency makes you appreciate the dues these young professionals pay. The film also raised questions about the inequality in medical care and treatment that exists in this country. After the brief screening, there was a panel discussion with two of the doctors in the film, the series producer and the executive producer from Nova. The lively discussion was fueled by questions from the audience. The producer of the series likened filming this documentary to filming in the wild because they taped many many hours just to get a few extraordinary moments.

I encourage everyone to watch this film on WGBH! Only high viewership will continue this type of educational programming.

Nova Doctor's Diaries: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/
Watch this 2-part series on April 7 and 14 at 8pm on WGBH.

Tips: Attend this type of event with an open mind, ready to engage and learn.

Taking Root @ Boston Public Library

***FreePlusRating: 8/10***
A free community film at the library on a weekend might not be your idea of fun but nevertheless it is still a great learning experience.

A few Saturdays ago I dragged a friend visiting me from out of town to see a film called Taking Root at the Boston Public Library in Copley. This free film was sponsored by Boston Cares, a non-profit volunteering organization, in conjunction with a few other non-profit organizations including ITVS Community Cinema and the Boston Public Library. There were about 75-100 attendees seemingly from diverse backgrounds at the Rabb Lecture Hall in the basement of the BPL. The film started on time at 2pm and ended a few minutes past 3pm after which there was a short panel discussion but we did not stay for that part.

Taking Root is a film about a Kenyan environmental and political activist named Wangari Maathai who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in 2004. In 1977 she started the Green Belt Movement which has planted over 30 million trees in Kenya. Over the past thirty years she has won a number of battles for Kenya including saving Nairobi's Uhuru Park, a struggle which is described in the film. Her story about standing up to an oppressive government by planting one tree at a time was truly inspiring. My friend and I walked away from the film learning about someone we had not heard of in our traditional American education and inspired by how much one person can change the world.

More about the life of Wangari Maathai: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangari_Maathai
Next Boston Cares Social Cinema Film on April 18th: http://www.cripsandbloodsmovie.com/

You can watch Taking Root on WGBH at 8pm on Wednesday April 15th and at 9pm on Sunday April 26th.

Tips: Take a friend with you to a community cinema event. You will be doing your part of spreading the message by just doing that.