Fellow Spotlight: The Power of Storytelling in Healthcare
By: Javacia Harris Bowser For years, Mykala Walker considered her love of documentaries and passion for storytelling a hobby. But as a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine and School of Public Health, she began to explore how storytelling could be used to advocate for patients and teach patients to advocate for themselves. After she met and befriended Lexi Witherspoon, also a student at UAB Heersink School of Medicine, and learned about the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, she approached Lexi about applying for the program to do a project combining storytelling and health care. In a stroke of serendipity, Lexi shared that she’d participated in a summer program at Columbia University centered on Narrative Medicine. “It was meant to be,” Mykala said. For their ASF project, Mykala and Lexi are working with the women of The Lovelady Center, who have been impacted by incarceration or substance abuse disorder. Through art and discussion prompts, the women are gaining the skills to understand how their story has affected their health and healthcare and learning to be better advocates for themselves in the healthcare system and beyond. “If we give the women the capability to analyze their own story, they can better advocate for their stories and articulate it and challenge the narratives that are already set out about different stigmatized groups,” Mykala said. But Narrative Medicine is also about healthcare providers using storytelling to become more compassionate caregivers. “Our biggest thing is trying to figure out how we can best serve our classmates and future clinicians by showing them patients are all people at the end of the day,” Lexi said. “We really wanted to highlight stories and how when you come to the doctor, you’re more than just what your symptoms are or what disease you have. You are a person.” What is Narrative Medicine? Narrative medicine is an interdisciplinary approach to healthcare that draws on the tools and methods of literary analysis and art interpretation to help healthcare providers understand the patient’s narrative and its significance for their care. With Narrative Medicine, healthcare providers engage a work of art – such as a painting, a poem, or a short story – and reflect on the piece with the help of specific prompts. “Doing these exercises improves analysis and listening capabilities, and hopefully that will improve the healthcare provider’s skills in those areas when they’re also seeing patients,” Mykala explained. For their ASF project, Mykala and Lexi led six-week courses at The Lovelady Center. Each week of the class, participants examined a piece of art by an artist who is part of a stigmatized or marginalized group. They’ve read “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid to reflect on her depiction of being both a Black woman and an immigrant. They’ve read excerpts from “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, to reflect on the difficulties veterans face. They’ve examined self-portraits of Frida Kahlo and discussed the lives of Hispanic and Indigenous people. “We’re trying to show them how they reclaimed their story,” Mykala said. And the women are asked to ponder questions such as “What can we learn from this? What parallels do you see in your life?” At the culmination of the six weeks, the women are asked to create their own work of art in any medium they choose. Some women have written poems. Some have written short stories. One participant performed a rap song. Some participants have enjoyed the course so much they’ve taken it twice and invited friends to join. “We’ve heard a lot of good feedback,” Lexi said. Mykala and Lexi have also hosted a Narrative Medicine workshop for third-year medical students at UAB. “After talking with admin about how we can integrate it to educate the students on this topic, it was advised that it would be good to do third year, since that’s when they’re actually in their clinical rotation of seeing patients,” Mykala explained. They’re hoping to help create a Narrative Medicine course at UAB that will give students the chance to work with the women at The Lovelady Center so that both medical students and the women of The Lovelady Center can continue to learn about the power of storytelling.
Beyond the Fellowship: Insights and Experiences from Fellows for Life
What does leadership look like after the Fellowship year ends? In this ongoing Q&A series, we hear directly from Schweitzer Fellows for Life as they reflect on the lessons that have shaped their paths—personally, professionally, and in service to others. From career milestones to moments of impact, these stories highlight the enduring influence of the Fellowship and the many ways our alumni continue to lead with purpose. Name: Salem Khalaf Fellowship Year: 2024-25 Q: What are you currently doing professionally or academically, and how do you feel your Schweitzer Fellowship experience has helped you in your current position? A: I am currently working clinical rotations in my third year of medical school. ASF definitely helped prepare me to work with people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, personalities, etc. by bolstering my cultural humility, professionalism, and interpersonal relationship skills. This has allowed me to see beyond the medical problems sitting in front of me, see a person, and act as both doctor, in the treatment of their medical issues, and as human, in the addressing of their social determinants of health. Q: What do you remember most about your Schweitzer Fellowship experience, or what was the most surprising or unexpected gain? A: I think what was the most unexpected gain to me was when students came up to my project partner and/or me after our session finished just to talk or say thank you, or they asked when the next session was, or what the sessions were going to look like next year. While some students were not interested in our project, the vast majority seemed enthusiastic about our work and wanted to take an active part of it. I was shocked by this as I had preconceived notions of high-school students being more self-absorbed, less focused, less determined. As a result, this made me reflect and reminded me to actively work against my implicit biases in all aspects of my life and not make even the most simple of assumptions. Q: Tell us more about your ASF project and how you feel it helped shape your career path or academic focus. A: My ASF project focused on developing cultural humility and civil discourse in high-school aged adolescents. As a result, it further instilled the values of diversity, teamwork, and communication into my life and has led me to a deeper passion for global health which I plan to navigate either in Doctors Without Borders or with the World Health Organization after residency. Q: How has the Fellowship influenced how you approach leadership, service, or community engagement? A: My approach to leadership, service, and community engagement has changed because of ASF. I find myself with a more community-based and grassroots approach to service and see it as the most impactful way of creating long-lasting, sustainable change. Additionally, I seek a more servant leadership approach as I hold the mindset that everyone has aspects of leadership in them and needs to be empowered to strengthen this quality, so I want to embolden others to be their strongest self just as they encourage me. Q: What advice would you give to current or future Schweitzer Fellows? A: My advice is to be bold. Try and put yourself in uncomfortable positions to either grow yourself or make lasting change, either individually or systematically. Make the biggest impact you can, on both yourself and others.
Fellow Spotlight: How Four Fellows Are Promoting the Power of Exercise
By: Javacia Harris Bowser Physical activity has the power to help people manage their weight, strengthen their bones and muscles, boost their mood and reduce risks of illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even some cancers. In short, exercise can help people live longer and better lives. That’s why promoting physical activity in underserved communities is a passion for Albert Schweitzer Fellows Sophia Fox, Grace-Anna Perry, Bre McDonald and Li’an Williams. Sophia Fox and Grace-Anna Perry Could a Zumba class change a person’s life? Albert Schweitzer Fellows Sophia Fox and Grace-Anna Perry are proving the power of exercise and physical activity through their ASF project. The two UAB Heersink School of Medicine students have partnered with Cahaba Medical Care of West End to offer weekly fitness classes to patients. Before they started their project, Sophia and Grace-Anna talked with several healthcare professionals who work with underserved populations. “We were asking what they saw the greatest need was,” Grace-Anna said, “and it was that they need a place to go and learn how to work out and learn how to live a healthier life.” According to statistics gathered by Alabama Public Health, over one-third of Alabama adults are obese. Obesity is a risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, mental illness, and osteoarthritis. Regular exercise and physical activity can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. However, United Health Foundation reports that only 25 percent of Alabamians meet the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week). But Sophia and Grace-Anna are working to change those statistics one Zumba class at a time. “I love hearing their updates,” Grace-Anna said of the fitness class participants, many of whom were referred to the class by their doctors. “This is them taking the next step.” The weekly Zumba classes are just a piece of the puzzle. “The participants talk to each other before and after class, so I can see that we’ve built a little community within the community,” Sophia shared. They’ve even started a group chat via the GroupMe app, through which participants share with one another other free exercise programs they learn about. Sophia and Grace-Anna also share exercises they can do at home. Participants celebrate reaching weight loss milestones. Motivated by the Zumba class, one participant also started running daily to take her fitness regimen to even higher heights. Another participant who had recently ended an 11-year relationship found that exercise helped her cope with a tough time. Furthermore, before each class, Sophia and Grace-Anna give short presentations on various health topics. A recent talk was about the importance of vitamin D in preventing osteoporosis. To measure impact, Sophia and Grace-Anna are having participants complete a fitness test and a survey before they start the classes and after at least five sessions. While the fitness test will measure activities such as how far they can walk in 6 minutes and how many times they can stand up from a chair in a minute, the survey will assess the participants’ attitudes toward exercise. “Just talking to the participants, and seeing how our class influences their mood, and seeing how happy they are leaving, it’s made me really happy,” Sophia shared. “It has influenced the direction I see myself going in medicine. We spend a lot of time talking with the people who come into our class about their health goals and their life in general. Getting to talk to them has definitely made me realize that I want to be able to talk a lot to my patients, and I really would like to have a longitudinal relationship with them. So I’ll probably find a career medicine that allows me to do that.” Bre McDonald and Li’an Williams Bre McDonald and Li’an Williams didn’t know each other before their Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. Bre is a pursuing a doctorate in nutrition science from the UAB School of Health Professions. Li’an is a student at UAB Heersink School of Medicine. But they both believe in the power of exercise and decided to team up for their ASF project. Working with Live HealthSmart Alabama’s mobile clinics, Bre and Li’an have developed informational handouts on six different types of exercises: upper body strength, lower body strength, core strength, chair-based exercise, cardio and endurance, and stretching and flexibility. “We spent the first few months doing a needs-based assessment with the community, having conversations and asking people what kind of barriers they had toward physical activity and getting a feel for what kind of things they would like to see in our handouts,” Li’an explained. “We really designed these to be something that people can do from the comfort of their own home with minimal resources.” Bre believes knowledge is the first step toward change. “I believe this is something they will take home and use and hopefully share with other people,” Bre said. “Being able to just share information is impactful.” Li’an recalled a patient who had been actively working to lower his A1C by exercising regularly. But a recent cataract surgery meant he couldn’t go to water aerobics for months. “He’s really excited about these handouts of things that he could do at home,” Li’an said. “It’s very exciting to see these patients be motivated and empowered to make these lifestyle changes.” And the patients aren’t the only ones feeling motivated by this project. “It’s a very enriching experience,” Bre said of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “I’m able to learn more about the community in which I live now, which is Birmingham, and it also introduces a lot of things that I may not otherwise know about or be exposed to, if I were just primarily working in the lab and not doing service work. I think it’s really important that I’m doing this now because it’s fueling my desire to have more impact in the public health space.”
Beyond the Fellowship: Insights and Experiences from Fellows for Life
What does leadership look like after the Fellowship year ends? In this ongoing Q&A series, we hear directly from Schweitzer Fellows for Life as they reflect on the lessons that have shaped their paths—personally, professionally, and in service to others. From career milestones to moments of impact, these stories highlight the enduring influence of the Fellowship and the many ways our alumni continue to lead with purpose. Name: Meghan Pattison Fellowship Year: 2017-18 Q: What are you currently doing professionally or academically, and how do you feel your Schweitzer Fellowship experience has helped you in your current position? A: I am the Chief Clinical Office at Christ Health Center. Q: What do you remember most about your Schweitzer Fellowship experience, or what was the most surprising or unexpected gain? A: Meeting people from so many different disciplines and getting to learn about their interests/passions expanded my views. Q: Tell us more about your ASF project and how you feel it helped shape your career path or academic focus. A: I worked with Help Me Grow at United Way, which really helped me learn about the resources available to families in Jefferson County. Q: How has the Fellowship influenced how you approach leadership, service, or community engagement? A: I think the Fellowship made me a more well-rounded person who asks better questions. Q: What advice would you give to current or future Schweitzer Fellows? A: Get to know as many people as possible through the Fellowship because you never know how your paths will cross in the future as your career develops.
Fellow Spotlight: These Two Fellows Are Advancing Health Literacy and Medication Adherence
Two Schweitzer Fellows are advancing health literacy through patient education and better medication distribution systems that transform lives.
Learning From the Past, Leading Into the Future
From the Legacy Museum to the advocacy workshop, our September training pushed Fellows to reflect deeply, raise their voices, and strengthen their projects.
