Food Security
My first in-person fellowship meeting in Sacramento brought chills of excitement. What I heard that day from inspiring speakers, including former fellows at the forefront of public health and policy change, was inspiring. I realized this is what I had been looking for to complement my direct patient care by serving my community in a meaningful way.
As physicians, we learn to make rapid assessments and come up with solutions for our patients’ problems, sometimes within minutes. Changing policy, environment, and systems requires a different approach that is not taught in medical school. This is where the Champion Provider Fellowship comes into play.
When my current supervisor, Dr. Gina Johnson, a previous Champion Provider Fellow, recommended I apply to the same fellowship I immediately jumped at the opportunity because I wanted to do more than just spend a few minutes with each patient. Admittedly, I did not really grasp the full scope of what I was signing up for. I recently obtained a master’s degree in healthcare quality and safety management but was still figuring out how to apply this to my clinical work and improve the lives of my patients.
At the onboarding, I met a previous fellow, Dr. Lena Al-Sarraf, who is also a medical provider in Los Angeles County. She shared with me about her project with the LA Food Bank addressing food insecurity, which she pushed to implement during her time as a Fellow. Dr. Al-Sarraf’s story and her project had my mind racing and as soon as I was back at my clinic, I called my local health department and CalFresh Healthy Living liaison, Fatinah Darwish, to discuss how to pick up where Dr. Al-Sarraf left off. Fatinah connected me with the Los...