Charis Hoppe Turner

Charis as a medical student

Pronouns: She/Her

Charis as a child

• What kind of identities do you inhabit?

  Friend, wife, sister, daughter, hapa, first-generation physician

• The path to medicine is not easy. Can you tell us why you decided to pursue it?

  What sealed my decision to become a doctor was seeing excellent medicine in action and how it can offer hope and tangible healing for people. Although I always loved science and learning, I never considered being a doctor growing up. Sadly, two family friends passed away due to medical mistakes or delays in care, causing me to adopt a mistrust of medicine early on. When I studied biology and public health in college, I learned that the tragedies I witnessed were more so due to the failure of the healthcare system. I lived in a region where, quite frankly, healthcare professionals do not want to live, resulting in a physician shortage and the ensuing sequelae of poor healthcare access. My experiences turned into motivation, and I decided to be a physician and advocate for communities that are overlooked in healthcare.

• Can you describe a challenging moment in medicine that made you rethink your career path?

  The number of hours that I spend studying and working for the sake of medicine can be exhausting. I overcome these moments by looking to God for strength beyond myself and by reminding myself that the hard work is part of the process of becoming the excellent and compassionate doctor that I want to be. "Filling my cup" with the things I love the most, like my family and friends, and swimming is also a must!

• How do you see a career in PM&R as advancing equity? Or alternatively - why are you interested in this organization? Why equity and PM&R?

  I'm here because other people advocated for equity; just a generation ago, minority women hardly had a place in medicine. I see it as my responsibility to continue the work of advancing health equity both within our field and for patients through adaptive sports and disability advocacy. I have so much more to learn, which is why I appreciate being part of the greater conversation surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion through RiR.

• Can you tell us a little bit of your aspirations - either for your career or for the field of medicine (if you’re a medical student?)

  I aspire to expand quality PM&R care to under-resourced geographical regions.

• Find me on social media

  Twitter: @charisturnermed

Last updated 8/2023