This month’s spotlight is Dr. Lahia Yemane, Clinical Associate Professor of General Pediatrics at Stanford. Read more to learn about Dr. Yemane and her work as a physician, educator, and an advocate for health equality.
What is your current role and can you give us some background of your experiences?
I am a Clinical Associate Professor of General Pediatrics at Stanford and have various educational and administrative roles including Associate Program Director for our Pediatrics Residency and Assistant Dean of Diversity for Graduate Medical Education. I was born and raised in Texas and stayed there for college and medical school. I came to Stanford for my pediatrics residency and stayed on as a chief resident and then joined the faculty.
I work as a general pediatrician at a federally qualified health center, which cares for children on Medicaid. I also supervise and teach medical students and residents in the clinic. Two days a week I am in clinic and the remainder of the time is I spend supporting my educational and administrative roles.
What inspired you to get into Medicine?
Even before medicine, I have always loved children; I used to babysit for my neighbors and little cousins and if anyone asked me what I wanted to do if not medicine, I always said be a teacher. It was not until much later that I was able to fully appreciate that medicine was a great way to combine my love of science, kids, education, and helping people in a meaningful way.
What would you tell somebody who wants to pursue medicine?
Medicine can be a long and challenging journey, but if you are doing it for the right reasons (it aligns with your passions and values), it is worth it! I am grateful that I have a career that provides a lot of fulfilment. Some days are harder than others, but that is because we have the privilege of supporting patients through their highest highs and lowest lows. I try to be mindful of reflecting daily on the small wins that reaffirm my “why” for medicine: the relief on a parent’s face when I provide reassurance, connecting families to community resources, a teen feeling safe to disclose something hard to me, seeing a resident’s confidence grow in clinic, getting a note from a minority student on the impact of meeting me (#RepresentationMatters), supporting the personal and professional growth of the students, residents, and fellows I advise and mentor. These daily moments are what matter the most to me.
In your current role, you are addressing critical matters concerning diversity in medicine. What are the challenges and opportunities when it comes to addressing barriers for underrepresented students/physicians?
Medicine still has a long way to go to be representative of the diverse patient populations we serve and provide equitable care. Representation is very important but is not sufficient alone. We also have to create inclusive learning and work environments where people feel they belong and are valued. People commonly use the term “leaky pipeline” to describe the decreasing number of minorities as you advance in medicine, but don’t’ address the corrosive environment that causes the leaks. The biggest challenges to diversifying our workforce are the same larger societal issues that perpetuate inequities like racism. Many times, the focus is on interpersonal racism (are you as an individual racist or not), but what has a bigger impact is institutionalized racism which is perpetuated in our policies, procedures, and systems and unfairly disadvantages some groups in terms of access to opportunities, etc.
What is your Greatest professional accomplishment?
It is hard to pick one! I love supporting the growth and development of the students, residents, and fellows that I mentor. It is so rewarding to watch them grow in their confidence, skills, and watch their careers blossom and feel like I was a small part of that journey.
Is there a philosophy that drives your career?
My passion is for advancing health equity, so I am intentional about doing work that aligns with that, through clinical care and advocacy, educating the next generation of physicians, and making the medical workforce more diverse and inclusive.
What skills have you found to be vital within your specialty as a pediatrician?
Communication and observation skills are really important. In pediatrics, you aren’t just treating the child, but supporting the whole family. With each encounter, you have to quickly “read the room” when you walk in to understand the dynamics and non-verbal communication between the child and who is at the visit with them and adjust accordingly (is it a teenager where the parent is not allowing them to speak for themselves during the visit and they appear closed off, a parent that is overwhelmed or scared, etc.). Since you could be communicating with anyone from 0-18 yrs. old + a parent, you have to switch between age-appropriate communication for each and address everyone’s concerns because sometimes the parent and child don’t agree, parents don’t agree, etc. With younger kids that are not verbal yet and/or others that have a hard time explaining their symptoms, you have to be really observant of their behavior during the visit (even before you do a physical exam) to help you understand what’s going on (ex, are they coming in for leg pain, but are climbing onto the exam table and running around the room happy when you walk in).
Outside of all of your hard work and professional efforts in medicine and academia, what do you do for fun?
I love to travel, spend time with family and friends, and go to concerts.