Rita Guevara, MD, is Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In this role, she reports to Dr. Leon McCrea and collaborates on all efforts of the office, including recruitment, enrollment, community building and stakeholder events. Dr. Guevara focuses on specific projects involving the pipeline mentorship program, educational grant preparation and quality improvement of programming. In addition, she represents and promotes awareness of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in collaborating with members of the College and University communities. An alumna of the College of Medicine, Dr. Guevara is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and serves as Director of Health Equity at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. She is also a certified, proficient bilingual provider in Spanish.
Get to Know Dr. Guevara
What do you like best about Drexel University College of Medicine?
The true collegial environment that the College has – it’s something that I've been fortunate enough to appreciate since I was a medical student at Drexel and in the opportunities to work with faculty as a student in student groups and in various projects during my medical school training, throughout my residency training and now as a faculty member. The people that have known me during that whole trajectory -- they're not stuck on ‘when you were my medical student;’ they're very much like ‘now we're colleagues, how can we collaborate, what I can I learn from you,’ and vice versa. I think that it's a really unique and supportive environment to train and work in, and I’m happy to be able to share that with students and trainees.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
That is a difficult question. So much of the excellent advice that I’ve received has served me well. I think for the purposes of applicability throughout my training and even now, I would say that really appreciating feedback and its role in personal and professional development is super important.
I learned early on as a medical student, that when someone takes the time to give you feedback, they are really investing in your growth as a clinician and as a future colleague. It has really helped me to reframe my humility and my lifelong learning, and how to incorporate that back into my clinical practice. So, I really appreciate the role of feedback and I would say as advice to others that feedback is great, and it is something that will help you grow.
Who is a leader that you admire?
I have been very lucky to have many mentors and leaders that I've worked with and who have supported me. But I really think that there is a special role for peer mentors and seeing peers in leadership roles. For me, Kheyandra Lewis, a pediatrician here at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in the section of hospital medicine, is someone that I really look up to. We are around the same in terms of timing of our training. She balances all of her roles -- as an Associate Program Director for the residency program, her work in resident, trainee and medical student education through simulation, and getting her master's in education – and all of the leadership roles that she has at the medical school and nationally in the pediatric hospitalist space. I really admire her ability to be impactful in all those areas and to have effectively aligned her interests and her passion in medical education. I look forward to seeing more of the great work she continues to do and will continue to use her leadership as an example for my own professional development.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Pre-pandemic, I really enjoyed traveling with my family and along with that came trying new foods. Now, I'm just really trying to stay connected with family and friends and giving Philly restaurants some take out business. I’ve also been reading a lot and I’ve really embraced audio books, because it helps me multi-task a little bit better and I don’t feel as guilty about giving myself that time.