Josephine Nwankwo

Josephine as a medical student

Pronouns: She/Her

Josephine as a child

• What kind of identities do you inhabit?

  First Generation Nigerian American, Black American, Sister, Daughter, Christian

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

  I remember going through a few health issues myself, which initially sparked my interest in healthcare. Both of my parents were born in Nigeria, and I had the opportunity to visit a couple times growing up. Within the short span of a few years, my mom's immediate family experienced two health related losses that likely would not have happened had they been able to receive the adequate care they needed in a timely matter. From that moment on, I made it my goal to enhance the health conditions of this country and other areas going through similar struggles.

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

  Coming straight from high school into an accelerated medical program was anything but easy. To make things even harder, I was now coming into a space where I looked like only three of my classmates. Initially, I struggled academically with courses like anatomy and physiology in my first semester of college while trying to find a community I could feel supported in. Thankfully, I had some upper-year students I was able to look to for guidance on life and courses and who I could call if I just needed someone to talk to. It’s important to remember that no one does it alone, and relying on a trusted mentor or community of friends can make such a difference.

• 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?

  Each and every one of us on this leadership team is helping advance equity just by being leaders within our respective institutions and by our commitment to pursuing PM&R. I see myself as the face for that one URiM pre-med who may be considering this specialty but is unsure because of the lack of representation. Some of the disparities that exist within not just PM&R but medicine in general are due to a lack of patient trust and simply not seeing a provider who identifies with them. This, in addition to disparities in PM&R like poorer functional outcomes among Black patients, is what motivates me to be a role model in this specialty. I aspire to be in those spaces where I can use my voice to impact policies or patient care by advocating for patients who may be going through a challenge. It's no secret that the numbers of URiM students entering medicine have always fallen behind, and those entering PM&R are even smaller, so along the way to addressing these disparities, I desire to increase access to the specialty for other minorities as well.

  With this being a smaller specialty and one that is less well known, there are many opportunities to increase its presence both locally and abroad. Everyone should have the opportunity and resources to live the highest quality of life, and I believe this to be especially true for developing countries. I am committed to serving my home country, Nigeria, as well as other under-resourced communities in the future by being a champion of physiatry there.

• 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 be a physiatrist who practices culturally competent and compassionate care, no matter what subspecialty I choose. In addition, I hope to be a global humanitarian and go back to serve my faraway home, Nigeria. I have always found joy in the non-profit sector and would love to one day start a center that provides free healthcare for children and teens in at-risk and low-income areas and mentors to underprivileged youth with adverse circumstances including poverty, violence, and illness.

• Find me on social media

  Twitter: @josephinen214

Last updated 8/2023