PolicyWise Sibling Special Episode 18: Diversifying Healthcare During a Pandemic

600 338 Nadine Ono

In honor of National Siblings Day (April 10), PolicyWise invited the siblings of co-hosts Demetria Wack and Michael Wiafe to discuss their work. In Episode 18, they welcomed Michael’s sister, Adwoa Wiafe who is a resident at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Their discussion ranges from her experiences of working in the healthcare field during the COVID-19 pandemic to the disparity of care for people of color and the need for a more diverse medical field, where less than three percent of medical doctors are black women.

“Diversity is so important,” said Adwoa Wiafe. “Being a minority person, I also find myself looking out for minority people knowing that we have a harder time navigating the system.” She added that having more diversity in leadership positions will help bridge the healthcare disparity gap and lessen the microaggressions and/or medical neglect that many people of color experience.

Earlier in the week (Episode 17), the co-hosts interviewed Wack’s brother, Morgan, a political science doctoral student at the University of Washington.

The PolicyWise podcast is a partnership between Youth Leadership Institute and CA FWD and can be heard on Spotify, Apple PodcastsStitcherBreaker AudioRadioPublicPocket Casts and Overcast.

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Nadine Ono

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