Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Scholarly Concentration

How do you expect your experience in this scholarly concentration to contribute to your career path in medicine? 

Being part of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention scholarly concentration program was a highly enriching experience. The opportunity to collaborate with a diverse team of professionals, many of whom worked to provide assistance to underserved communities, provided a comprehensive understanding of how socioeconomic and geographical barriers can significantly affect health outcomes. My research project, which focused on the barriers to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder in rural settings like Muncie, Indiana, offered a valuable opportunity to explore critical public health challenges in disadvantaged communities. This experience helped sharpen my research skills and reinforced my commitment to addressing health disparities.

How will your participation in this scholarly concentration contribute to your overall career aspirations in medicine?

Through my project on “Barriers to Medication-Assisted Treatment in Justice-Involved Populations,” I had the opportunity to engage with a community I otherwise wouldn’t have encountered and to better understand the structural and social obstacles patients face in accessing care. It helped me grow not only as a future physician, but as an advocate for vulnerable populations. Through this work, I developed a deeper understanding of the structural and social barriers that limit access to treatment. It also helped shape the kind of physician I hope to become - someone who listens closely, advocates for vulnerable populations, and works to improve the systems patients rely on. I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship and support I received throughout the process and for the opportunity to turn curiosity into meaningful research.

Why did you choose the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Scholarly Concentration?

I am really interested in family medicine. And with that, I'm really interested in preventative medicine — sort of the true primary care where you keep people from getting sick, and then you try to keep them healthy. My big interest within medicine is preventative care. So I saw that the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Scholarly Concentration fit that to a tee. It’s certainly not limited to people going into primary care, but it’s pretty perfect for those going into primary care.

What scholarly project have you chosen to undertake, and why?

For my project, I'm doing a video-based intervention trying to tackle food insecurity. What we've done is work with food pantries to come up with a list of foods that are commonly stocked at those food pantries, and then using that curated list, we develop nutritious recipes that people can make using more limited food options or pantry basics.

Then we make cooking videos on how to make those recipes and upload them to YouTube – and all of that is freely accessible. The ideal audience we're trying to reach is food-insecure individuals, particularly families who are food insecure. But it's a really neat project and I've really loved doing it.

How has your work with your Scholarly Concentration come up in residency interviews?

It has come up in every single residency interview I’ve had! It is usually brought up in response to research, community service, passion within medicine, or as an example of taking initiative/filling a need. Every person who has asked has expressed how impressed they are with the project. Several of them have actually asked for the YouTube channel link and have become a subscriber. One had already made a recipe from my video before the interview! 

Why did you choose to participate in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Scholarly Concentration program?

I chose to participate in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Scholarly Concentration program because I am passionate about family medicine and helping people with their health goals. The best way to help individuals better their health is to promote healthy life choices in order to prevent major diseases.

How will your participation in this scholarly concentration contribute to your overall career aspirations in medicine?

Doing research into an area of health promotion for the State of Indiana has helped me become more in tune with the needs of my community. I will most likely end up doing some sort of research in my future career, so this project will help me hone those skills to use as a family medicine physician.