Lauren Clarke

Lauren as a medical student

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Lauren as a child

• A few basic facts about me:

  I’m currently a medical student at Stanford University.

• What kind of identities do you inhabit?

  Queer, Disability Advocate

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

  I was a Special Olympics coach throughout high school and college, which led me to develop a passion for working with people with intellectual disabilities. When I was a freshman in college, I stumbled upon an article in the New York Times about the Lee Specialty Clinic: an interdisciplinary clinic focused on providing medical, dental, PT/OT/SLP, and other healthcare services to adults with intellectual disabilities (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/us/in-louisville-an-oasis-of-care-for-the-disabled.html ). I reached out about volunteering, and after my first day at the clinic I knew I had found my passion. After learning about the healthcare disparities faced by people with intellectual disabilities and how little our medical education system prepares future physicians to work with this population, I knew I had to pursue a career in medicine and focus on advocating for making the healthcare system more accessible to people with intellectual disabilities.

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

  Something that I’ve found especially challenging about my path so far is that while I am interested in being a physician, I have many other professional interests (education, policy, and advocacy to name a few). I often struggle with balancing the demands of medical school with my ability to explore these interests, and I know this balancing act will follow me throughout the rest of my training and future career. Luckily, Stanford is extremely supportive of students pursuing dual degrees, so I will be graduating with an MA in Education alongside my MD. I am also lucky to have mentors who balance clinical responsibilities with successful careers as advocates, policymakers, and educators. Instead of viewing my interests as disparate aspects of my future career, I’ve focused on finding a path that will allow me to pursue my interest in medicine alongside my other passions. I am happy I found PM&R: the field lends itself well to disability advocacy and I am excited to see what the next stages of my career have in store for me!

• How do you see a career in PM&R as advancing equity?

  Since volunteering for Special Olympics and the Lee Specialty Clinic, I have become extremely passionate about advocating to improve healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities. PM&R lends itself very well to disability advocacy, and I’m really looking forward to bringing my experiences in this space to Representation in Rehabilitation!

• 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 currently see myself working at the intersection of clinical medicine, medical education, and advocacy. I would love to develop training programs that teach current and future physicians how to work with people with intellectual disabilities in a clinical setting. I’m also interested in exploring how I could play a role in advocating for structural changes to the healthcare system that would improve access to care for people with intellectual disabilities. I ultimately want to find a niche that allows me to have fun doing the clinical work I am passionate about while having a lasting, systemic impact on the healthcare system for this population.

• Where can we find you on social media?

  Twitter

Last updated 05/2022