Models and Mentors
In Conversation with Quetzalsol Lopez,
Stanford Medical Student
Fourth-year medical student Quetzalsol Lopez founded the premedical organization Premeds of Color, aimed at reducing health disparities by diversifying the healthcare work force. He has also worked with the Pediatric Health Van to increase health insurance enrollment among disadvantaged children in San Mateo County.
As an undergraduate, you worked with Native American communities to develop culturally relevant alcohol prevention programs. What sparked your interest in Native American health, and in the issue of substance abuse in particular? What did you take away from this experience?
My family background sparked my interest in Native American health. As a Chicano I have many roots, Native American being one of them. My roots and my desire to give back to my communities motivated me into action. It was also a project on a topic that I thought was important in Native American communities and in my family - a project that could stop the destructive nature of alcohol abuse. By asking around I stumbled on an opportunity to work on developing a culturally competent 12-step alcohol prevention program for Washington State Native Americans. At that time, there were no alcohol prevention programs in Washington State or even in Alaska that took into account the Native American perspective. This project taught me many things academically about research and developing questionnaires. Most of all, it taught me that even today there are many programs and resources missing in our underserved communities. It’s just up to someone to step up and help create them.
Before coming to medical school, you worked at the NIH for a year, where you organized a Hispanic Health Fair. Can you tell us a little more about this? What prompted the decision to organize such an event?
The year after I graduated I participated in the NIH Academy. This program consisted of biomedical research and a curriculum on health disparities. One of our optional activities was to develop a community project of our choosing. I decided to develop a health fair for Spanish speakers after volunteering at NIH health fairs. I began to see a pattern. First, NIH education/health fairs exist but they are few and far between. Second, NIH education/health fairs target large venues and not local underserved communities. Finally, none of these fairs targeted Spanish-speaking people. To me there was a disconnect: how can a place with so many discoveries and innovations, with some of the most talented researchers, not pass on this knowledge to local communities? And why did they neglect Spanish-speaking communities? I decided that I would change that, and began developing a Hispanic health fair in the local community of Langley Park, Maryland. I was later told that the Hispanic health fair was the first in NIH history.
You also founded Premeds of Color, an organization that serves to link premedical students with resources for applying to medical school and achieving success as future physicians. What do you see as the major barriers for students of color applying to medical school? Can you tell us about the process of establishing this organization?
There are many barriers to students of color applying to medical school. The one that I thought I could impact was the barrier of not knowing. I'm like many students of color. No one in my family was a physician. I didn't even know a physician of color. I was one of the first in my family to go to college. This reality limited my career choices to what I knew, and physicians were not on the list. Even when I tried to get information, the doors to the halls of medicine didn't swing right open. I learned more about medicine from friends than from academic advisors. So I decided to create a resource that could provide students with the premed of color perspective with information on how the medical school process works. In this way I thought I could break down other barriers keeping students of color out of medicine, such as lack of encouragement, lack of a roadmap, and lack of role models. I thought I could help encourage future physicians of color that would eventually look back to help others like us reach those hallowed halls of medicine.
Your Community Partnership Medical Scholars project focused on evaluating the effectiveness of the Pediatric Health Van's efforts to improve health insurance enrollment among disadvantaged children in San Mateo County. How did you get into this work? What did you learn about how health insurance impacts families?
I involved myself in this project as a first-year student in medical school. I wanted to work on a project relating to health disparities but didn't want to work in basic science. When I talked to Dr. Fernando Mendoza about this project, I knew it was worth doing. It allowed me to explore public health, practice my Spanish, and get an introduction to pediatrics in underserved communities. It was a great learning experience. I learned that health insurance can have a positive impact on families, but is more difficult to attain if you live in a certain neighborhoods, speak Spanish, are a recent immigrant, are at or below poverty level, or if you have no transportation.
What has been the personal impact of your service work?
Personally, I get satisfaction knowing that I'm helping to provide services that otherwise would not be there. I hope I can continue doing so.
Do you know yet what specialty you want to pursue? What would you like to be doing ten, twenty years from now?
I don't know what specialty I want to pursue. During my brief medical career I have been exposed to pediatrics, emergency medicine, and psychiatry. I haven't seen other specialties so I will keep exploring during my clinical years to find out where my interests lie. I'm trying to keep my mind open. In 20 years I plan to be in the Bay Area building my career and family. I would like to be involved with international health and continue my work in health disparities.
How do you see yourself integrating service into your professional life as a physician?
As a professional I plan to set aside time for service. I don't know what projects will pique my interest in the future, but I know I will make time for them.
Do you have any role models?
My role models are my family. I come from a long line of immigrants, farm workers, soldiers, and activists. What I do is only possible because they struggled, picketed, and fought for equality and better opportunities. They are the reason why I will become the first physician in my family. It’s not because I'm the most studious or most intelligence, but because I was the first to be given this opportunity.
What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is Guns, Germs, and Steel. It's not a quick read but it’s very interesting. It answers the question of how the world became what it became and why certain cultures now dominate it. I like history. Don't ask me why. I even have a signed copy.
- Interview by Lauren Cochran
