Alyson McGregor: Why medicine often has dangerous side effects for women

Tedx Talk 

You might not know this: Many of the medicines we take — common drugs like Ambien and everyday aspirin — were only ever tested on men. And the unknown side effects for women can be dangerous, even deadly. Alyson McGregor studies the differences between male and female patients; in this fascinating talk she explains how the male model became our framework for medical research ... and what women and men need to ask their doctors to get the right care for their bodies.

Alyson J. McGregor MD is co-founder and director for the Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine (SGEM) Division (formerly Women’s Health in Emergency Care) within the Department of Emergency Medicine at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. 

Her group's aim is to establish research and educational endeavors that promote sex- and gender-specific medicine and women’s health as they relate to emergency care. Dr. McGregor received her medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine and residency training at Brown, where she continues to work as an attending physician at RI Hospital Emergency Department. Dr. McGregor is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and also serves as co-director for the SGEM Fellowship and co-founder of the national organization Sex and Gender Women’s Health Collaborative.