Where are you from?
I’m originally from Chicago.
What’s your specialty or area of expertise?
I’m a family medicine physician, with additional training in women’s health.
What first inspired you to become a doctor?
The simple reason of wanting to help people and make a difference in the world is what motivated me to become a doctor. With family medicine, it was about being there for my patients and their families during emotional and important moments, such as the death of a relative, or the birth of a new baby.
What story about one of your patients most sticks with you?
There are many stories that stick with me.
During my residency training, I met a young woman—I’ll call her Morgan—whom I had the privilege of getting to know. She grew up under tough circumstances—her father was not around, and her mother did the best she could as a young single mother. Morgan became pregnant for the first time at age 16. She was scared, but she decided to continue her pregnancy. She dropped out of high school. At 17, she used birth control inconsistently, and she became pregnant again. Her most recent pregnancy, at 19, was especially overwhelming for her, as her partner was abusive towards her. The pregnancy put a lot of stress on her family and strained an already delicate relationship with her mother. Through it all, Morgan was brave. As a family physician, I was able to care for her between and during pregnancies, deliver her babies, treat her depression, and talk to her about her birth control choices afterward. I took care of her little girls—they look remarkably like little Morgans! I think about her often and the set of circumstances that landed her in the situations she found herself in. I wonder what may have been different in a world where Morgan felt empowered to truly make decisions for herself, instead of being motivated by fear of what others would say or do.
What current policy issue especially motivates you to be an advocate?
This is our time to shine. Over the last seven years, there have been a disproportionate number of abortion restrictions enacted across the U.S. since Roe v. Wade, when the Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to an abortion. In addition, the most recent threats to contraceptive insurance coverage and access, as well as health insurance in general through Medicaid and the ACA, are alarming. Women need contraception for all sorts of reasons, including birth control, family spacing, heavy menstrual cycles, and endometriosis, and like any other medication, they need to be covered by insurance. We need to speak up and ensure that our patients have access to the essential services and medications they need for their health and safety.
Who is your social justice hero?
I have several, but Rudolf Virchow, Quentin Young, and David Ansell come to mind. Virchow brought humanity and social justice principles to medicine (“the physician is the natural attorney of the poor”). Young was a famous single-payer health care reform activist, and I had the honor of meeting him in college—it was amazing! Ansell published a wonderful book about health care inequities at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and brought to light many injustices in the health care system, paving the way for policy reform to reduce discriminatory practices in health care. We have a long way to go, but I am inspired by folks who followed their passion and ethics to do the right thing.