Ellie’s mother, Beth White, a molecular biologist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the school of medicine’s infectious disease department, is trying to change that. And she feels her background in research can help.
“The things that we saw, there was no way to process, there was no outlet that we had," said Jackson, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado College of Nursing. "After a while it takes a toll and you start thinking, 'Is this what I want to do? Is this where I want to be?'”
This past summer, she was the keynote speaker at the white coats for black lives "die in" event at CU Anschutz Medical Campus to spread awareness about the health inequities in the American medical system. Another passion for Taylor-Cousar is highlighting the importance of representation in the medical field. She shared a childhood memory with Rocky Mountain PBS about a time when she stumbled upon a drawing of a Black doctor taking care of two Black children.
“There was a labor and delivery nurse who flat out told me that I would not be hired just because I’m a man!” he exclaimed. Alvarez works at Denver Health and is also a student in the University of Colorado College of Nursing’s nurse-midwifery program and said, at this point, he’s used to being the only male nurse in the room. “There are just not a lot of men in this profession, so the first question people ask me is 'Why you, as a man, would want to be in this field?'” said Alvarez. “My first response is that wanting to take care of people has nothing to do with your gender.”
Salwa Mourtada Bamba has been a fighter ever since she was a young girl. Growing up in what she described as the “war-torn” country of Liberia, she said it has always been a lifelong dream of hers to become a medical professional. It's a dream that she is living now out in Colorado.
A panel addressing vaccine questions featuring three experts from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: Ross M. Kedl, Professor of Immunology & Microbiology; Kweku Hazel, Surgical Fellow at the CU School of Medicine; and Rosemary Rochford, Professor at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. Hosted by Sonia Gutierrez, a Journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS.
