Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1478887
Q A Jasmine Solola, MD '22, is a recent graduate of the College of Medicine who is beginning her residency in pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. We talked to her about her schooling experience, current status and future plans. Why did you apply to medical school? After taking a break from a daunting and exhausting "pre-med" trail to pursue other curiosities in medical anthropology, sociology and global engagement, I realized that if I could pursue medicine from a perspective of community and humanity, I could do so in a way that was sustainable for myself. I completed a Master of Arts in medical science at Loyola and applied to just a handful of medical schools that embodied these characteristics. The College of Medicine helped me to visualize my "something else" that, to this day, I use as a guide in developing my career. Why did you develop an interest in pediatrics, and what do you hope to do on this career trajectory? Navigating core rotations in the COVID-19 pandemic was extremely difficult and, quite frankly, overwhelming. It was mentors like Drs. Leah Finkel (pediatric emergency medicine) and Claudia Boucher-Berry (pediatric endocrinology) who showed me what it would look like to be a pediatrician, and I liked what I saw! It's funny because looking back, I cannot see myself going into any specialty other than pediatrics. I just had to find it my own, roundabout way. What do you hope to do with your career? I'm excited to begin pediatric residency. Oakland is the only city outside of Chicago that reflects my own identities back to me. The powerful Black history embedded in the city and the vibrancy of the community will be fuel through residency. Not to mention, the patients in this community embody my "why medicine?" question. They represent my background, my family, and are from the communities so often ignored and marginalized, which I'm prioritizing. I will spend an extra year in residency obtaining a master's in public health at the University of California, Berkeley. I want to be a part of ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone, universally and equitably. I can't wait to be a part of that force, with the credentials and expertise. How did being a College of Medicine student impact you on a personal level? The College of Medicine urged me to be outspoken and independent out of necessity. The COM isn't perfect, but there are many forces here at the university that value students' expression and acknowledge universal injustice. Not to mention, the fierce advocacy that our student body expresses is outstanding. It's one of the best shows of peer support I've witnessed and has become a core value for myself. What makes you most proud to be a COM graduate? The anti-racism curriculum (see story, page 7), which was born out of this type of supportive climate. There are serious deficits in our medical education system where racism persists. UI COM acknowledged this. They welcomed collaboration and engagement in creating a program from the ground up to empower students of color and allies as paid peer advocates. And they offered space embedded in the curriculum for a discourse on racism, prejudice, bias and how we as a budding medical society can elevate from that. The ARC program has a long way to go to dismantle racism within medical education, but if there's a place where this can happen, I believe it is here. 5 QUESTIONS 1 2 3 4 5 52 | Fall 2022