Current position: OB/GYN Resident, Howard University Hospitals
Yaadira Brown, MD, MPH, MBA, graduated from Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health in 2016 with a Master's in Public Health majoring in Community Health and Prevention.
Yaadira’s interest in women's health started at a young age. In 2012 Yaadira completed her doula certification to gain hands-on experience with providing services to women during labor and delivery.
Yaadira attended to several births while pursuing her MPH at Dornsife, completed several Maternal Health and Child (MCH) courses, and focused her master's projects on MCH-related topics. At that time the current MCH certificate and MCH minor were not yet available.
The MCH Program spoke with Yaadira to learn more about her time at Dornsife and her current work.
How are you using your MCH training?
My experience as a doula opened my eyes to the delivery process, and I thought having a medical degree would enable me to make impactful changes in the lives of mothers and babies. I am currently an OB/GYN resident at Howard University Hospital.
Howard University Hospital is in an underserved community, and my training at Dornsife taught me to consider the needs of the population and not to just give the community what I think they need. This education informs my practice, and I recognize the importance of conducting needs assessments, holding focus groups, and becoming one with the community I hope to serve. There is a mistrust in these communities of the medical profession, and Dornsife made me comfortable with doing the groundwork required to reestablish that trust.
Could you share some highlights from getting your MPH at Dornsife?
During my first year, I completed a community service project with Maternity Care Coalition of Philadelphia. I gained experience in grant writing, increased my knowledge of home visit models, and was able to conduct research on providing doula services in jail settings.
I also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Joan Bloch (former MCH faculty and Associate Professor Emerita, Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions) on a home visiting model for minority women in Philadelphia to understand their opinions on diabetes control.
Advice to current and future MCH students?
Put yourself out there. Don’t be afraid to send emails to introduce yourself. Do a search for people that are doing work that aligns to your interest and reach out. I have benefited from reaching out to people that had no idea who I was and appreciated that I showed an interest. I have gotten funding for conferences and was the first author on a paper because I showed initiative and was confident about what I wanted.