Promoting Recognition of Identity, Dignity, and Equality (PRIDE) in Healthcare is a student group in the School of Medicine and Public Health.
To celebrate Pride Month, we spoke with members of the group’s executive board about their group and the importance of its work.
The group’s membership is open to all students in graduate-level health sciences programs at UW–Madison, including medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant, nursing, physical therapy, genetic counseling and public health. The group’s goal is to improve health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and for those who may not identify as LGBT but who do not have strictly hero-normative sexual orientation or gender identity. PRIDE in Healthcare works to increase the quality and quantity of LGBTQ+ content in medical education, raise awareness of LGBTQ+ health disparities and their causes, cooperate with professional and community members to eliminate these disparities, and provide a social forum for LGBTQ+ and allied students and professionals in the health sciences.
Madison Harris
- Pronouns: she/her
- Year and program: Second year medical student
- Hometown: Pueblo West, CO
Why is PRIDE in Healthcare such an important student organization for SMPH to have?
Community is everything and being surrounded by LGBTQIA2S+ people has certainly helped me feel at ease on the transition to medical school, especially being from a rural-small town environment.
What is a project that you’re working on that you’re excited about?
I really enjoy learning from our staff and faculty. I am working with my research mentor to set up lunch-time events to discuss their experiences being the LGBTQIA2S+ and working in healthcare.
Anything else you would like to add?
Being a part of the PRIDE group has not only been incredibly informative from an advocacy standpoint, but I have made lifelong friends as well. I have never felt so loved and supported from a group of people, and I am truly grateful to have such an incredible team!
Hannah Kreuser
- Pronouns: she/her
- Year and program: Second year medical student
- Hometown: Green Bay, WI
What does Pride Month mean to you?
To me, Pride Month is about celebrating diversity, promoting acceptance, and honoring the struggles and achievements of the community. It’s about reflecting on how far we have come in the fight for equality and recognizing the work that still needs to be done. Pride Month is also a personal reminder of the importance of living authentically and supporting others in their journey to do the same.
What do you hope we learn from history as we build our future in regard to this month’s celebration of the LGBTQIA2S+ community?
By learning from the past, we can build a future where the queer community is fully accepted, respected, and celebrated. It’s a future where everyone can live authentically without fear of discrimination or prejudice, and where love and equality are truly universal values.
Alexandra (Ally) Sabgir
- Pronouns: she/her
- Year and program: Second year medical student
- Hometown: Columbus, OH
Why is PRIDE in Healthcare such an important student organization for SMPH to have?
Showing up as a queer medical student and eventually physician can be daunting, as we don’t always know whether our colleagues or patients will accept us. PRIDE in Healthcare is essential because it gives LGBTQ+ medical students the opportunity to form community and be supported by other queer students, faculty members, and allies in the medical field.
What do you hope we learn from history as we build our future in regard to this month’s celebration of the LGBTQIA2S+ community?
We have seen the ways in which LGBTQ+ people have been neglected and harmed by the healthcare system in the past. While we have made a lot of progress, there are still many ways in which queer individuals struggle to access adequate and supportive healthcare. I hope that people learn that you as an individual have a lot of power to positively impact your queer patients’ experiences. A little education on how to be inclusive and a willingness to advocate for your patients can make a major difference in your patients’ wellbeing and willingness to seek care again when they really need it.
Blake Samsill
- Pronouns: he/him
- Year and program: Second year medical student
- Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
What does Pride Month mean to you?
Pride Month is a special month to me, as it is a reminder that people are born into this world in varying, unique ways — and they have innate rights to live their lives authentically and love whoever they want. Pride month is about acceptance and joy, and creating a world where people are supported unconditionally to be who they want to be!
Anything else you would like to add?
Throughout my life in medicine, prior to starting medical school I rarely encountered a person that outwardly expressed being in the LGBTQ+ community. At times, I found this to be discouraging, as I felt alone and that there was no representation in the career path that I had chosen. That is why it is so important to me to normalize and talk about being an out and proud, gay medical student. As a future physician, I hope to create an environment where people feel accepted and appreciated the way they want to be!
Madison Seifer
- Pronouns: she/her
- Year and program: Second year medical student
- Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
What does Pride Month mean to you?
To me, Pride Month is a special celebration of both overt and quiet wins. It is a space to be proud with disclosure being optional, and its inclusive nature as a result creates such a beautiful environment for expression and emotion.
What is a project that you’re working on that you’re excited about?
We have an ongoing relationship with Outreach Madison and recently completed a food drive to collect both non-perishables and baby products to help stock their shelves! It’s very rewarding to be able to make an immediate impact as well as longitudinal ones.
Anything else you would like to add?
I am incredibly glad that time is being taken to give the queer community a voice! I hope it becomes more commonplace among other hospital systems.
Eli Wu
- Pronouns: they/them
- Year and program: Second year medical student
- Hometown: San Francisco, CA
What does Pride Month mean to you?
Pride month is a celebration of community. Many of us hold identities that we can choose to hide, whether that’s to fit in socially or for our physical safety. For me personally, the decision to be out in a public facing career is one that has been a little fraught. But during Pride month, the positive support and acknowledgement from my allies helps me to feel safer.
What is a project that you’re working on that you’re excited about?
A project that I’m working on that I am excited about is representing our UWSMPH PRIDE student organization at Outreach Magic Pride Festival! All 2SLGBTQIA+ patients deserve to feel safe when seeking medical care. However, many people still don’t feel safe or comfortable being vulnerable in a healthcare setting which is a barrier to preventative care. We can always do more to listen to what our patients have to say about their experiences, and I hope that showing up in the community lets people know that the future generation of healthcare providers will champion for them and support them through their medical needs.