Mar 3, 2021
Kayla Holston, MPH is a second-year medical school student at Thomas Jefferson University who also works in collaboration with a Labor and Delivery Hospital in Malawi to improve the safety and patient experience of mothers and their families. She also founded and runs a business called Melanin Med, a merch store for melanated health professionals & allies. With a Bachelor degree in biomedical engineering and in cognitive science, she melds these fields with medicine and public health to work towards health equity.
In This Episode We Cover:
- Her experience working in collaboration with a Labor and Delivery Hospital in Malawi.
- How they engage with the physicians and patients there.
- All about her merch business Melanin Med at her passion for increasing representation of Black women and men in the health professions.
- Racism as a public health issue and how wearing a “Black Patients Matter” pin can be so powerful in the healthcare setting.
- Her goal to provide mentorship and scholarship opportunities for future Black health professionals.
- Her work promoting efficiency and improved care at a refugee women’s clinic.
- The importance of existing relationships for community collaboration.
- Her experiences as a black medical student and how this has shaped her experience and her desire to help remove barriers for other Black health professionals.
- How one of her passions is helping other Black students to move through the educational process without it being a financial burden.
- The avenues she used to get the word out about Melanin Med and engage her community.
- The two biggest ways she helps move the needle towards health equity.
Advice for Public Health Professionals:
Her advice for someone going to medical school (or school for any health profession) is to find what you love and don’t do anything else except for that. There are so many opportunities, but if they aren’t taking you towards your goal and what you are most passionate about, they are taking away time from moving towards your passion.
Connect:
- Web: https://www.melaninmed.com
- Instagram: @melanin_med_
- Email: melaninmedmerch@gmail.com