Health Equity Leadership Track

Health Equity Leadership Track	Year
Apply to become a Center for Global Health Associate Scholar	Spring R1
RAD-AID Certificate in Global Health Proficiency (Academic Time)	R2 or R3
Global Health Equities Seminar	R3
Community-based Continuity Clinic Project	R2-4
Princess Marina Hospital Radiology Rotation (Gaborone, Botswana)	R3
Return to Princess Marina Hospital Radiology Rotation (Gaborone, Botswana)	R4

Our view of health equity in radiology is an international multi-disciplinary, collaborative effort in promoting and achieving health equity for all through, but not limited to, acquisition and interpretation of medical imaging and image guided procedures. At the core of our belief in and commitment to health equity is that all people have a fundamental right to attain the highest possible standard of health regardless of where they are born—and medical imaging plays a crucial role in achieving health equity.

Residents apply and are selected for this Radiology Health Equity Leadership Track during the Spring of R1 year. Through the Radiology Health Equity Leadership Track, residents will be able to learn to advocate for and work with our community and global partners to improve health care and medical education at partner sites and formulate a new perspective on the challenges of diagnostic radiology in many different settings. The Health Equity Leadership Track can be completed in conjunction with any R4 clinical focus including our clinical embedded fellowships during the last year of training.

 

Residents in the program participate in a 2-week long seminar through the Internal Medicine Global Health Equities Track where they explore contextual issues in global and local health, and examine different strategies used to address these issues. Additionally, there will be a requirement to apply for and complete a 6-month interactive online course offered by RAD-AID International (RAD-AID Certificate for Global Health Radiology Proficiency) in their second or third year of residency. Residents will use their weekly half-day of academic time to complete the course work for the certificate.

In addition to rotating at our international partner site, residents are to create and implement a local community-based continuity clinic project. Residents may choose to work and collaborate with community-based organizations or support the radiology department’s initiatives in Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity.

Although residents may choose their domestic partner site, our current international partner is the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. A longstanding institutional relationship through the Botswana-UPenn Partnership, residents complete a 6-week rotation in diagnostic radiology at the Princess Marina Hospital. If the opportunity arises, we look forward to expanding our global partnerships.

Health Equity Leadership Track Members

Luis D. Goity, MD
Class of 2024

Luis Goity, MD is a resident in the Integrated Interventional Radiology Residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Goity completed his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia where he also received his medical degree. His interests in global health radiology lie in virtual teaching, sustainable processes for performing image-guided procedures in low resource settings, and imaging infrastructure. It is his strongly-held belief that quality preventive care and treatment in any setting depend on timely and appropriate medical imaging and that access to medical imaging is a right.

Local Partner Site: Center for Surgical Health at Puentes de Salud | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

International Partner Site: Department of Radiology, Princess Marina Hospital | Gaborone, Botswana

Coursework in Global Health:

• Certificate of Proficiency Global Health Radiology (6 months), RAD-AID International | Chevy Chase, Maryland
• Seminar in Global Health Equities, University of Pennsylvania Health System | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Leadership and Appointments: Lead resident, Penn IR at the Center for Surgical Health 

Shahodat “Shaka” Voreis, MD
Class of 2024

Born and raised in Central Asia, my passion is for health literacy, women’s health, children’s health, and access to healthcare technology. I want to be part of global health initiatives where international collaborations create sustainable access to healthcare/engineering/technology education whereby local communities are equipped and empowered to build accessible health care and technology.

Rebecca E. Ward, MD
Class of 2025

Rebecca Ward, MD is a resident in the Diagnostic Radiology Residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ward completed her undergraduate education at Johns Hopkins University and obtained her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her interests in global health radiology include ultrasound for diagnostic imaging in resource-limited settings, optimization of image interpretation when advanced imaging techniques are not available, and medical education.

Local Partner Site: TBD

International Partner Site: Department of Radiology, Princess Marina Hospital | Gaborone, Botswana

Winston Joe, MD
Class of 2025

Winston Joe, MD is a resident in Clinical Diagnostic Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Joe completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University and received his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His interests lie in implementing and supporting health infrastructure both for those abroad and those subjected to compound structural inequities here in Philadelphia. He has prior experience working with persons affected by HIV in the deep south and looks forward to working with other marginalized communities in Philadelphia.

Monica M. Matsumoto, MD
Class of 2026

Monica Matsumoto, MD is an interventional radiology resident at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Matsumoto completed her undergraduate education at Rice University. Before starting college, she lived in Cairo, Egypt for 1 year through the U.S. State Department’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth program, where she studied Arabic and volunteered, and then during college, she spent a summer in Tangier, Morocco through the Critical Language Scholarship, and a semester in Jordan. During college, she decided to pursue medicine as a tool to make a positive impact on people around the world, with specific interests in health policy and refugee health. After graduating from Rice, she completed a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Jordan and then continued her studies at University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, including an additional year of research at Northwestern University’s Department of Radiology. Dr. Matsumoto aims to build upon her experiences working with refugee populations both in Chicago and Jordan, as well as collaboration with RAD-AID International, to foster the development of critical radiology services in under-resourced settings through education, research, and collaboration.

Local partner site: Center for Surgical Health at Puentes de Salud | Philadelphia, PA

International partner site: TBD

Coursework in global health: Global Health Radiology Medical Student Training Program, RAD-AID International | Chevy Chase, MD

Leadership and Appointments:

• Associate Scholar, Center for Global Health, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
• Global Trainee Network Member, International Outreach Division, Society of Interventional Radiology
• Co-Founder, Global IR Juniors
• Co-Leader, Penn Women in Radiology

Damien Medrano, MD
Class of 2026

Damien Medrano, MD is a diagnostic radiology resident at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Medrano completed his undergraduate education at Loyola Marymount University, graduate education at Drexel University College of Medicine, and undergraduate medical education at Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. His interests include promoting health equity among underserved communities and mentorship of minority students pursuing careers in medicine. He plans to be an active member in RAD-AID International and explore opportunities in research and education abroad. 

Penn Radiology Health Equity Leadership Track Components

Botswana – UPENN Partnership (BUP)

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Abass M. Noor, MD 

The Botswana-UPENN Partnership (BUP) is a unique collaboration between the University of Botswana and the University of Pennsylvania to improve healthcare in Botswana. Penn Radiology residents have the unique opportunity during their fourth year to practice and teach radiology at the Princess Marina Hospital and University of Botswana, working with local faculty members from different specialties including general medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, oncology and surgery.

This 4 to 5-week elective includes:

• Reading unique and interesting radiology cases
• Hands-on bedside ultrasound
• Image review during bedside rounding / morning report / clinic
• Lecturing to medical students / residents / technologists / clinical faculty

Botswana is a beautiful country with a large and supportive BUP community.

Work in a collaborative and rewarding environment.

Global Health Interest Group

The Penn Radiology Residency Program has its own Global Health Interest Group which meets on a regular basis to discuss and provide feedback on the radiology residents’ various global health endeavors. This Global Health Interest Group also helps coordinate radiology-specific international journal clubs, including a semi-annual web-based joint case conference with our global partners. These sessions serve to promote understanding and appreciation of differing radiology practices, workflows, and case mixes.

Training Radiologists for Global Service – Applied Radiology

Growing interest among US-based radiology trainees for a broader health experience has led many residency programs to add global health electives to their offerings.1,2 The field’s professional societies are also expanding their opportunities for involvement in worldwide health initiatives. These trends have led to a variety of options, particularly those relating to remote educational experiences.

Owing to the intricate incorporation of information technology into its workflows, radiology is in a unique position to benefit from the proliferation of internet access throughout the world. Fundamental components of education, such as didactic lectures, clinical case interpretation, and implementation projects can be performed remotely at a high level. Although remote interactions should not replace in-person visits, they can complement them and allow for continuous engagement with international partners, even during times of limited travel.

Global health education in radiology is still in the early stages of adoption, and it requires stakeholder collaboration and strong leadership to achieve a strong and sustained presence in residency programs.

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 Drs. Goity and Sesay review a mammogram at the lightbox in preparation for ultrasound-guided biopsy.