xen | catalyze

Sarah Rassmussen-Rehkopf in a white lab coat

Bridging Community Connections Through Healthcare Education and Training

by Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf

hat would it mean to you to go into a clinic and be seen by someone who is part of your community, someone who shares some of those qualities that make you who you are, who can speak with you about the berries this year or the salmon run, who maybe looks like you and you can see your granddaughter or cousin in the way they talk?

I am Quileute and Makah and grew up in Sitka, in Southeast Alaska. I acknowledge who I am as an Indigenous woman and the story I am bringing with me into medicine: the knowledge passed on to me by my community, growing up in a remote tribal community, coming to medicine after seeing and experiencing interactions that I cannot let happen again. I am determined to be the change and join others to improve the healthcare system.

Bridging Community Connections Through Healthcare Education and Training

by Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf

students from the Middle School Allied Health Camp

Sarah served as a counselor at the Middle School Allied Health Camp in Utqiaġvik.

photo courtesy of Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf

The State of American Indian and Alaska Native Health

The current state of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) health does not reflect that we are strong and capable people, filled with resilience and intelligence. Though we carry knowledge and traditions that have been passed on since time immemorial, we suffer from chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer more than the general population. I have seen and felt how both rural and AIAN culturally sensitive healthcare is needed and hope to address this as a medical student and physician. I want to become a physician to serve AIAN communities and am particularly interested in pursuing rural primary care to ensure our communities have access to the resources they need and have a provider they trust. Living in a rural area should not mean the healthcare my community receives is lesser than if they lived in an urban area and the ethnicity of my family should not determine our healthcare outcomes.

I believe one way to address these disparities is to have more AIAN healthcare providers and to see better representation of AIAN people in all healthcare profession and education roles. Although Native people account for 22% of Alaska’s population and 2% of the general US population, only 0.3% of physicians nationally are AIAN. I did not meet a Native physician until I was 24 years old, and that connection changed the course of my life.

am determined to be the change and join others to improve the healthcare system.

Shared Values: Alaska AHEC and Alaska WWAMI

After college, I worked at the Northwest Native American Center of Excellence at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU). It was there I learned about the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars program, a two-year national program that prepares health profession students—nurses, physicians, dentists, physical therapists, etc.—for future practice in rural and urban underserved communities.

After seeing how OHSU students connected with youth in rural parts of the state, I was motivated to do the same. In 2021, as a first year Alaska WWAMI medical student, my Alaska AHEC Scholar application was already submitted by the time the Alaska AHEC program gave a presentation to my medical school class, two weeks into the start of our first semester.

The values of WWAMI, the University of Washington School of Medicine’s multi-state medical education program (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, or “WWAMI”) and AHEC are aligned with my reasons for becoming a physician: giving back to my community and supporting Native students in healthcare.

Sarah Rassmussen-Rehkopf offloading a boat

Sarah offloading the F/V SeaMiner.

photo courtesy of Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf

people at the Nalukataq whaling festival

At the Nalukataq whaling festival, where Sarah found customs of her own Tribes’ whaling traditions.

photo courtesy of Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf

Finding Community and Inspiration Far from Home

My experience as an AHEC Scholar has provided me with meaningful experiences and bridged community connections. Last summer, I was a middle school camp counselor for a week in Utqiaġvik, the northernmost city in Alaska, where I helped teach a basic healthcare curriculum. My time there coincided with the solstice and a Nalukataq whaling festival, which, although separated by thousands of miles, is similar to the customs of my own Tribes’ whaling traditions. I had never been that far north, and the experience not only gave me a chance to connect with the community and hopefully inspire Alaska Native youth, but was also a beautiful reminder of why I am in medical school and who I’m doing this for.

As an Alaska WWAMI student participating in the AHEC Scholars program, I’m confident I will be better prepared to help treat future patients’ medical, cultural, and mental health needs. Along with immersion in Alaska’s rural and underserved communities, AHEC Scholars are required to participate in modules which supplement our basic medical school material and encourage my fellow scholars and I to think deeply about caring for our most vulnerable populations. As an example, some of the AHEC modules we learn include; Cultural Competency, Community Health Worker Integration, Mental Health First Aid, Culture is Medicine, Social Determinants of Health, and more.

A Handshake Across Alaska

In Alaska, where things are spread out and isolated, connecting with communities through the AHEC network provides students like me access to programs and experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise. Whether on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, where I take WWAMI classes, or all the way up in Utqiaġvik, introducing myself as an Alaska AHEC Scholar is like a built-in handshake. If you are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, I urge you to do so—Alaska needs you and your voice is important! And if you find yourself on that track, consider deepening your learning with meaningful community experiences as an Alaska AHEC Scholar.

Sarah Rassmussen-Rehkopf is a third-year Alaska WWAMI medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She is Quileute and Makah and grew up in Sitka, Alaska. She is interested in becoming a primary care physician and inspiring other American Indian and Alaska Native students to pursue a career in medicine. When not studying, she likes to run, bead, and be out on the water.

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