Pediatrics/Addiction Medicine
Assistant Professor, UMN Medical School
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
I became an MRC member during my process of seeking information about the University community responses to the Wall of Forgotten Natives. I joined the MRC to be part of something bigger than myself, and to learn about how agencies rapidly and efficiently mobilize and create processes to help respond to varied public health needs.
My first and so far only deployment was for the recent Multi-Agency Resource Center created to assist families displaced from the Drake Hotel fire. I learned a lot, and my learning curve remains steep. It's easy for physicians - I'm a pediatrician - to feel like they need to be in charge, or do some doctor-y thing. That is seldom what is needed. I was pleased to fall in line, trust the process, and fill a designated role. Above all, the brief but sincere connections with affected individuals and families is where it is at.