Apoorva Sajan

Quinnipiac University Physician Assistant Program

I was born and raised in Muscat, Oman. I moved to Connecticut when I was eight and have lived here ever since. I hold a bachelor’s degree in health sciences with a minor in global public health from Quinnipiac University.

I have previously worked as a CNA in a nursing home and as an event assistant for AIDS Project New Haven. I have interned at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados and the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven. Across my professional and volunteer opportunities, I noted numerous factors that prevented people from accessing healthcare. I came to believe that a more holistic approach to medicine was needed that could address these social determinants of health.

I want to join the Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars program because I believe the areas of healthcare it focuses on, such as interdisciplinary, holistic care and minority representation in medical fields, are crucial if healthcare is to have a benign future.  An effective healthcare provider must consider the social determinants impacting their patient’s health, and an effective healthcare education must prepare its students to examine the psychosocial aspects of care. I hope to learn more about these social determinants so that I can apply this knowledge in my practice. Healthcare is acknowledged to be an inalienable right guaranteed to all people; realizing this right requires more attention be paid to healthcare access equity. The UST/AS Program will allow me to help my patients surmount the barriers to health equity that they face.