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Ogochukwu Okpala, MD, MPH, a native of Achina, Nigeria, is giving back to her hometown in the best way she can: running health clinics and establishing a scholarship program for young girls.
“As a kid, I was always thinking what I could do to give back, and to accomplish this is the most fulfilling experience in my life,” said Okpala, a BWH resident who started the Ceydon Education and Health Foundation, a non-governmental organization named after her parents, in Achina in 2005.
Two months ago, Okpala was recognized by Sallie Hansen and Glamour magazine with the “Best of Me” award, which honors women who use their greatest personal qualities to make a difference. Glamour will feature Okpala in its September issue.
“Ogo is and has always been a highly committed physician and health practitioner,” said Nawal Nour, MD, MPH, BWH’s director and founder of the African Women’s Health Center and director of the Obstetric Resident Practice. “The fact that she is able to balance her life as a resident and help Nigerian girls is phenomenal. She is an extraordinary woman and physician.”
Each December, Okpala packs her bags for Nigeria to run the annual clinic, where she treats hypertension, malaria, respiratory problems, diabetes and pain. “Something as basic as Tylenol can make a huge difference for patients,” said Okpala, who brings a suitcase stuffed with medicine she receives from supporters.
Patients come from near and far to attend the clinic, and Okpala usually runs out of medicine before she’s through. “A lot of what makes a difference to patients is seeing them and touching them,” she said. Okpala then refers them to physicians at nearby hospitals or clinics if needed.
In addition to treating health problems, Okpala’s foundation also offers a scholarship for young girls to go to college. “There are a lot of child marriages due to poverty and lack of funds, and this gives them a chance to avoid that,” she said.
Okpala plans to continue focusing on women’s health when she completes her residency in June. After residency, she will move to Delaware to be closer to her fiancé before they marry this December in Nigeria.
When Navajo tribe member Bijiibaa Garrison participated in a summer program at BWH and HMS, the University of Arizona undergraduate found the confidence to take her education and career in a new direction: medical school.
Creating career opportunities to support the needs of talented and motivated Native American students like Garrison has been the goal of the Four Directions Summer Research Program since its inception in 1993.
“There is a certain type of student who is just at the edge and needs some knowledge about programs and opportunities to network,” said Thomas Sequist, MD, MPH, program director and a general internist at BWH.
The Four Directions Summer Research Program was created by a group of Native American students at Harvard Medical School who realized that traditional summer enrichment programs typically don’t reach Native American students at smaller colleges and universities.
The program accepts 10 students each year for an eight-week summer program coordinated by HMS students. During that time, participants complete a research project, shadow clinicians and are assigned to a mentor at BWH or HMS. “The students have the opportunity to see the different roles we play in teaching, taking care of patients and pursuing research,” said mentor Rebecca Baron, MD, of BWH’s Pulmonary Division.
For Garrison, it was an experience that opened the doors of opportunity. “Hearing people from HMS admissions talk to us made it more realistic that a student like me from a tribal reservation could attend a school like Harvard,” said Garrison, who now is deciding between Stanford and Harvard medical schools.
She’s in good company. As of 2004, 15 percent of students who completed the program have been accepted to medical school. Another 23 percent of the students are applying to medical school. Others who have completed the program are pursuing careers in public health, nursing, research and environmental health law.