Why did you choose your specific health professional career?
Becoming a doctor was a life-long dream. As a little girl, I was ill with pneumonia several times and my parents could not afford to take me to a doctor or a hospital. Luckily, the neighborhood doctor would come by and see me every day before going to his office, and again after work. As a result of his compassion, I began to think, “That’s what I want to be, when I grow up. I want to be a doctor.” I’ve come to believe that someone’s mental status and mental health have a lot to do with their physical health and well-being. This realization made psychiatry the perfect choice for me.
What experiences did you have to make sure this profession was right for you?
My first career was in education. As a teacher, I found that if I spent more time with students and their families and talked them through any troubling issues, I was able to see more success in the classroom. Those experiences fueled my interest in counseling, eventually leading to a master’s degree in counseling. My love for medicine and my commitment to community service soon gave me the opportunity to go to medical school. Medical school and clinical rotations gave me the opportunity to experience many different areas in medicine. I purposely left my psychiatry rotation to the very end of my fourth year, believing that I had to set aside all of my past experiences and delve into something new. I thought that if I really wanted to go into psychiatry, by then it would be too late. That was a mistake on my part, because, when I did my psychiatry rotation, I found that my passion for working in the mental health field was stronger than ever. It was good to see people get well mentally, and then see them experience improved physical health. The rotation confirmed that “This is where I needed to be.” I spent the year after graduation teaching and doing research in areas that were of interest to me, making sure there wasn’t something else I wanted to do. That year I confirmed that psychiatry was the right choice for me.
Describe any obstacles or barriers to success that you encountered along your health professional career path. How did you overcome them?
The obstacles and barriers that I encountered were not particular to just my medical or health career. As a minority female growing up in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood, there were many barriers to receiving a strong and solid educational background. I definitely got the impression that high school was a place where educators thought, “You probably won’t finish high school, why are you talking about going to college?” At one point, I actually had a counselor tell me that I wasn’t college material. I had to rise above that, and do well in school so that I could attend my local university. Having always been a good student, I had new barriers challenging me at the university. In my case, there was the problem of knowing when and where to seek help. It was a struggle realizing that although I may be smart, and the only person in my family to attend college, it was okay not to know what to do; but, more importantly to know that the smartest thing I could do, was ask for help when I needed it. These were things I didn’t know because they weren’t taught or encouraged in school. While my parents supported my dreams, they did not know how to help me navigate the system for higher education. Barriers are placed to stop the people who do not want “it” badly enough. Overcoming barriers requires perseverance, and the ability to say, and believe, “I know I can do this.” I’ve certainly been knocked down a few times, but I know that it’s all about getting up one more time, no matter how painful it is. It’s about having perseverance, and surrounding yourself with people who believe in you, because it’s very easy to tell your story, and have someone say to you, “Ah, you can’t do that” or “Nobody has ever been able to do that. What makes you think you can do that?” When you come across people like this, it’s important to be respectful of these people, and then realize in your own head, “Okay, well I respect this person’s opinion although that’s not what I believe. Therefore, I will just have to find someone else who can believe, support, and help me with the skills I need to move on.” Oddly enough, at this point in my life, my biggest barrier is my age. I know that there are legislations prohibiting age discrimination, but I have learned that it is covertly evident. I know that we will always have barriers to overcome. We just need to want “it” badly enough to overcome whatever barrier comes our way. I know that I am receiving excellent training in my residency and that soon I will be qualified to be a practicing psychiatrist, and I will be prepared to overcome the next barrier. It’s an extra step convincing people that my age doesn’t have anything to do with my ability. When I look back at the many barriers I have overcome, I know how badly I want to complete my training. I hope to break that age barrier, because age definitely has its benefits.
What do you do in your current job?
Currently, I am a second year psychiatry resident. I work with patients who have mental health problems. I also rotate through different areas of psychiatry and medicine to broaden my background in psychiatry. Currently, I’m on the detoxification unit, and work with patients who struggle with alcohol and/or substance abuse. The detox program at the VA is a six month program that helps veterans to learn the key skills they need to gain and maintain sobriety. It involves a lot of education, support, and encouragement to help them change their way of thinking, which is similar to what I did as a teacher. I’ve learned that as you’re traveling this road, you need people who are there to help and encourage you to go on. So this type of work is perfect for me. I also work with patients in the emergency department and patients admitted to the inpatient psychiatric unit at the hospital.
What advice do you have for American Indian/Alaska Native students who are interested in health careers?
The same message that I’ve given many times is, “Don’t ever give up.” Somebody gave me similar advice many years ago. That person said, “It doesn’t really matter that you have a career in mind when you start high school or college, but what does matter is that you make good grades because as along as you make good grades you keep doors open.” So if I had to give any advice it would be to work hard in school, look for help if you’re struggling with something, and don’t be so prideful that you don’t seek out help. If you’re further along in school, or even out of school by the time you’re reading this, don’t feel that you’re completely out of the picture now. Go get some counseling from someone who can point out what you need to do to overcome whatever deficiencies you may have. My other piece of advice would be to have perseverance, because it is inevitable that you will fall down or get knocked down a few times along the way. It takes a lot of perseverance to remember, “I need to get up one more time.” Sometimes, getting up one more time requires you to have a friend there to help pull you up. My last piece of advice would be to always look for someone who can help you reach your next goal, and then always remember to help someone else so they can reach their goal.
What would you like to see for your tribe’s future?
The tribe is pretty forward in their thinking and I would like to continue to see that. For the younger generation, I think we worry as an older generation that we may have coddled our young people too much. In doing so, we may have deprived them of developing some of the skills needed to put forth that extra effort to, “get up one more time.” So I would definitely like to see tribes continue with some of the programs that they have to encourage youth to go into all areas of life, whether it is professional or non-professional. We need the youth in all areas and we need them to be able to work together. I think that the concept of unity is what makes Native American tribes in and of themselves unique versus the “What about me?” thought and behavior of mainstream America.
Do you practice traditional medicine? If you do, then how does traditional medicine interact with conventional medicine?
I do practice traditional medicine. I grew up that way, so for me it is a way of life, and it’s kind of hard to separate. Just as I have respect for traditional medicine, I have equal respect for western medicine. As a resident, I have to be careful in the way I address and approach traditional medicine. When the opportunity does arise, I certainly take the time to educate my peers. Attending physicians are usually willing to allow me the opportunity to approach the subject with the patients we see. So, I do think that it’s important to learn how to be proactive, and talk to your attending physicians and peers about the impact of traditional medicine. Oddly enough, a lot of the traditional medicine I grew up with is now being researched and showing evidence that it works and that our ancestors were right! So, for me, it’s really about knowing when to speak up and say, “Oh, did you read this article?” or “Have you read about this?” I do believe that once I have my own practice, traditional medicine will definitely be a part of how I practice medicine.