This summer, AMM is hosting two Kenan Urban Scholars. The Kenan Urban Scholars are a group of medical students who provide targeted care for marginalized populations by addressing the specific needs of the community. For six weeks, these students will learn more about Raleigh’s most vulnerable populations and how to provide quality medical care to them.
Taya is a second-year medical student at the UNC School of Medicine. During her time at AMM, she will be focusing on improving AMM’s process of referrals to nephrologists, a doctor who specializes in kidneys. Taya became interested in nephrology after her grandmother was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. While acting as one of her grandmother’s caretakers, Taya was introduced to a whole new side of the medical system. Trying to understand what the doctors were telling her grandmother led to a newfound fascination with medicine, how it could help others, and the importance of playing an active role in your health. This passion for nephrology led to doing research at UNC as a medical assistant on an interdisciplinary research team and looking at the bigger picture of someone’s health to see how to prevent a patient with other chronic conditions from progressing to kidney disease.
Taya and Dr. Burkett
Taya will also be shadowing Dr. Burkett to get a firsthand look at what it means to be a leader in medicine, enhance her hands-on exam skills, and gain experience in talking with patients and seeing how patients express conditions and concerns.