How Serena Raj Found Her Calling at the Intersection of Medicine and Public Health
Experiences caring for her grandparents, volunteering with underserved communities and studying psychology helped shape Serena Raj’s commitment to pediatrics, public health and whole-person care.
Some medical students remember the moment they decided on a career as a physician. For others, like Serena Raj, a first-year M.D./M.P.H. candidate at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, there was no single moment. It was more like a path she set out on early, with signs and guides along the way, providing direction as she moved toward her goal of uniting clinical care and community health.
Growing up in a multigenerational household in Charlotte, North Carolina, Raj and her older sister, Miller School graduate Aneesha Raj, M.D., M.P.H. ’26, helped provide end-of-life care for their grandparents. This gave Raj insight into the social determinants of health while she was still in her teens.
“Caring for my grandparents really showed me that health care looks different for different populations and age groups,” she said.
Her grandparents were older and spoke limited English, so her family did a lot of communication and advocacy for them, helping to coordinate medication and home health services. The experience showed her how finances and social isolation can affect care.
“In the end,” Raj said, “I had a much deeper appreciation for how much thoughtful, day-to-day care goes into helping someone age with comfort and dignity.”
Meeting Community Needs Beyond the Clinic
She also saw how much care happens outside of clinical settings.
As an undergraduate at Duke University, Raj volunteered with underserved populations. She learned that children who don’t have access to a primary care physician might not be able to get a physical exam required to participate in school sports.
“Studies have shown that kids who play sports in early education tend to have better health and psychosocial outcomes later in life,” she said.
Those who want to play sports but can’t get a physical are more likely to face other barriers in life, she added. As member of the City of Medicine Volunteer Medical Corps, Raj traveled to schools where she helped set up stations in classrooms and conduct physicals and preventative health exams after the school day was over.
Building Community to Improve Health
Raj also volunteered with Reality Ministries, a faith-based organization that seeks to bridge the divide between people living with and without developmental disabilities. When people with developmental disabilities are young, she said, they may have a sense of community, often through school, “but it gets lost when they are adults.”
Being a part of this organization showed her that addressing isolation by building community touches lives in a beneficial way.
“Creating opportunities for connection early through community programs can make a real difference before loneliness and mental health challenges have a chance to grow,” Raj said.
Raj plans to specialize in pediatrics. This she owes in large part to her own pediatrician.
“I don’t know if she knew the impact she had,” Raj recalled. “I thought health care was associated with clinical symptoms. Then I went to a physical and she asked if everything was OK at home.”
During the visit, Raj realized her pediatrician was someone she could confide in, not just someone who managed illness. It showed her what it means to see the patient as a whole.
“In pediatrics, when you instill the right behaviors and health in a child, it stays with them,” she said. “They will carry it on through life and pass it on.”
Combining Medicine and Public Health at the Miller School
Looking back, Raj believes she made the right decision to major in psychology rather than a more traditional pre-med concentration at Duke.
“A lot of the work a physician does is human interaction,” she said. “That’s what psychology is about, understanding human interactions, why people behave the way they do, why they’re afraid of the things they’re afraid of. The Miller School emphasizes going into the community and building relationships. The goal is to immerse students in the population.”
With an M.D./M.P.H. degree, she said, she’ll be getting a more comprehensive toolkit. She sees community health as a big part of a physician’s job.
“Lots of people think it’s just one-on-one care,” Raj said. “But a physician’s power comes into play when they advocate for the larger community, when they are seeking information about what’s going on behind the scenes in the community they are trying to serve. You’re not just treating the symptoms. You’re building trust.”
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