Why did you choose your specific health professional career?
Specifically, I was encouraged to attend medical school because a physician mentor believed I had the “spirit of healing.” He also believed that my passion to help my people with sickness was my calling in life. I chose Obstetrics and Gynecology because I enjoy the surgical specialty and opportunity to provide continuity of care to my patients. Later, I decided to attend Law School again at the encouragement of mentors because I had developed a strong interest in patient advocacy and healthcare policy as it impacted the poor and underserved in our state.
What experiences did you have to make sure this profession was right for you?
Growing up in a small impoverished community, I personally experienced the impact of poor health and lack of access to healthcare. People were literally dying in their homes. I wanted to make a difference, and it was this passion that made medicine the right profession.
Describe any obstacles or barriers to success that you encountered along your health professional career path and how did you overcome them?
I did not have any family mentors, i.e., people who had gone to college, or professionals that could give me guidance in entering a professional field. Therefore, I found mentors outside my family and community that helped me along my path. Most of my close friends were also disengaged from my desires to enter the medical field; they could not see the real value of my decision to go into medicine. From their point of view, it was more about me not wanting to be part of their lifestyle, which involved just living day-to-day. I ultimately made the difficult choice to move ahead with my plans and to leave my community and friends, knowing that I would come back. I did not have a strong academic foundation; I had developed poor study habits during high school and was not very strong in the basic sciences. Therefore, I found myself having to put in extra hours, and receive tutoring in my pre-med science coursework.
What do you do in your current job?
I serve as Medical Director for our state’s Medicaid program, which provides state and federal funded healthcare to people who live at 100% of the federal poverty level. In this capacity I oversee the implementation of new medical technologies and procedures for our population as well as developing medical policy for improving our healthcare system. As Assistant Director, I am in charge of administering our state health plan for our Native American Medicaid members. Here I ensure that our healthcare providers and hospitals are properly paid (reimbursed) for providing healthcare to our Native American population. We make sure the healthcare providers and hospitals are registered, and that special requests for procedures, or patient medical equipment, are properly authorized. As President of the Board for Las Fuentes Health Clinic of Guadalupe, a non-profit clinic that I founded in 1995 in my home town of Guadalupe, Arizona, I lead the board of directors in strategic planning and fundraising for the clinic to meet our mission or providing healthcare to the poor people of our community.
What advice do you have for American Indian/Alaska Native students who are interested in health careers?
Health careers are all about helping people; if you genuinely have a desire to help people with their health needs, then you also have the “spirit of healing,” which will make you a success and happy in your chosen health career.