Family’s Health Issues Motivate M.D./M.P.H. Student to Work for Better Community Health
The Class of 2028 will make its formal entry into the medical field at the John G. Clarkson White Coat and Freshman Pinning Ceremony on August 23. Follow along as we highlight members from the incoming class.
Becoming the first doctor in her family is just one of the many firsts Mikayla Johnson is set to achieve.
Johnson, a biology graduate with a minor in Spanish from the University of Florida, was the first member of her family to attend a four-year university. Now, she will be a first-generation medical student in the M.D./M.P.H. program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Originally from Tampa, Johnson is the youngest of five children. With a gap of eight years between her and her nearest sibling, she often felt the need to be more mature and responsible. This sense of maturity led her to pay close attention to the health issues within her family, sparking her interest in medicine.
“Coming from an African American family, if you name the top 10 chronic diseases in the U.S., somebody in my family has one of them,” Johnson said. “Watching people in my family deal with those diseases and seeing the burden it placed on them is what made me become interested in medicine. It sparked something in me that made me want to make a change.”
Improving Health in Marginalized Communities
Johnson carried her passion to the University of Florida, where she engaged in extracurricular activities focused on addressing health disparities. Additionally, she volunteered as a community health worker, aiming to improve health care access for underserved populations.
“This experience turned into a big goal of mine for what I wanted to do,” Johnson said. “I realized I want to focus on this demographic and improve health care for all communities and backgrounds.”
Johnson knew her medical school needed one essential component — a mission to serve the underserved and address health disparities. The Miller School offers no shortage of programs aimed at this goal, from the annual health fairs hosted by the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service to the Miami Street Medicine program and the IDEA Exchange, among others.
“That mission was clearly emphasized here at Miami when I did my research and during my interview,” Johnson said. “Also, having the M.D./M.P.H. program, where you can focus on public health and learn all the things you need to know about community health and how to improve health on a community scale, was important to me. It was perfect for me.”
Looking to the Future
With M.D. and M.D./M.P.H. orientations complete, Johnson is now getting to know here classmates and is enjoying getting to know her fellow Class of 2028 students.
As she embarks on her first year, she envisions the kind of physician she hopes to become. She pictures merging medicine and public health, possibly creating a free clinic that provides primary care for underserved communities.
“I’m super excited,” Johnson said. “I went from being a first-gen college student to now a medical student. I’m just very grateful to have the opportunity to show my family, especially my nieces and nephews, that we can do this and set the example for them.”
Tags: John G. Clarkson White Coat and Freshman Pinning Ceremony, M.D./M.P.H. Program, medical education, medical students