To invigorate Social Mission Alliance’s social media presence with student perspectives on issues related to social mission in health professional education, on the first Friday of each month, one Health Justice initiative member gets the opportunity to posts about themselves, activities they’re involved in, and their interests relative to social mission across SMA’s social media platforms (Instagram and LinkedIn).
See below for the social media takeover by Dre Juzang CPhT on February 2, 2024.
Hello my name is Devondre Juzang and I am a third year medical student at Chicago Medical School. After losing a brother to gun violence, I intend on practicing medicine to address trauma deserts affecting the underserved populations in the Chicagoland area.
I grew up in Matteson, IL in the south suburbs of Chicago. Despite our rich culture, this area is plagued with violence and lacks trauma centers within a reasonable distance. This motivated me to research trauma deserts at Northwestern which led to this article in the Chicago Tribune. With the help of Dr. Melissa Simon and Dr. Joseph M Feinglass, PhD.
I attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and majored in Biology. I later became a researcher for the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC). At CHEC, I worked to advance cancer health equity in vulnerable communities in Chicago. It was here where I learned about many health disparities and the organization working to end them. I worked on an independent project that looked at food deserts across the Chicagoland area. I am currently working with IOMC’s Achieve program to increase diversity and retention of Black and Latino medical and dental students.
At Chicago Medical School, I have been an active member of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). We led various health and wellness interventions to support our communities.
Mentorship is very important, especially in medicine. It takes much more than skill and knowledge to become a great doctor. I have been fortunate enough to have two mentors, Dr. Carl Lawson and Dr. Jarrod Barker to help me navigate the pitfalls and challenges of medical school. They have mentored me on what resources to use and how to navigate pitfalls along my medical school journey.
One of the specialties I am considering is Emergency medicine. My hope is to become a physician that addresses trauma deserts, like my own. People in these areas deserve the same level of care as those who do not live in Trauma Deserts. People who live in trauma Deserts are disproportionately Black, typically live more than 5 miles away, and are most likely a victim of assault.
My passion for addressing trauma desserts is due to the fact that many people in Matteson, IL and the surrounding south suburbs have died due to the lack of nearby trauma centers. Even though this diagram shows multiple hospitals around the south suburbs, the closest level 1 trauma center is Advocate Christ Medical Center more than 30 minutes northwest. Given this information and the recent history of large-scale activism needed to push for a trauma center in Chicago’s South Side, we shouldn’t require this level of agitation to equitably allocate public health resources.
Being a part of the Social Mission Alliance has been super helpful in learning about health equity initiatives going on around the country (e.g., veteran’s health, health disparities among native Hawaiians, mental health, etc.). I have engaged in dialog about the Supreme Court’s decision ending Affirmative Action and identifying the resources needed to address these issues. I have received support about my passions from the Social Mission Alliance.
Thank you for supporting me on my social media takeover with the Social Media Alliance. I hope this was informative and helpful. I look forward to collaborating with you all to address the various social health issues plaguing our communities.
The Social Mission Alliance features Social Mission Champions on our social media accounts and blog. The series highlights the important work done by those who are advancing health equity and addressing the health disparities of the society in which it exists. If you’d like to be considered for a Social Mission Champion feature, complete the form below.