DEI Member Spotlight: Aniruddha Singh, MD

Q: Why do you support DE&I for NLA?

A: I believe that people from all walks of life, regardless of their color, sex, socioeconomic status, and religion should be equally respected. We should see them as who they are rather than what they appear as externally. I feel that the concept of DE & I is even more powerful in healthcare where we interact with diverse people every day in our practice.

Q: Do you have a story of being a victim or witness to gender, racial, or sexual harassment?

A: Being an immigrant, I have experienced how it feels to be different and not included. After completing medical school in India, I did 3 months of externship in the US. The first few days of starting the rotation, it was quite difficult for me to make friends or even talk to anyone mostly due to a significant cultural shift. Fortunately, I made friends with two other immigrant students and that helped me get through these 3 months of my course. This experience made me realize how it feels to not be included in a big group and being in isolation.

Q: How do you think DE&I improves patient care?

A: DE & I helps us to get a better understanding of the patients we serve - their beliefs, culture, socioeconomic status, and gender. Having a diverse group of health care providers also makes our patient feel comfortable as it conveys to them that we are representative of the community we serve.

DE & I enables us to understand our healthcare workers’ needs better and would in turn increase their work satisfaction. Retaining a good healthcare provider team is more crucial now than ever as we continue to reel under the effects of the covid pandemic.

Q: What would you like for NLA to do to be more diverse, inclusive, and equitable?

A: Despite all our efforts in the field of medicine, health care provider teams continue to lack representation from diverse backgrounds. There are few women in a lot of medical subspecialties- especially surgical/procedural areas and overall, we continue to have few people of color especially in leadership roles. NLA should include people from diverse backgrounds in its hierarchy. I realize that the NLA has taken several steps in making the group more diverse and I am hopeful that with continued efforts the NLA would be a model for other organizations to look up to.

Q: How can we individually be more of an advocate for DE&I within the NLA?

A: I think that the ‘Member Spotlight’ section is a great way to hear about other members experiences. The more members we connect with the stronger we will grow. We should keep reminding ourselves to reach out to our colleagues outside of the NLA who have interest in DE & I to join the NLA towards this mission. We should have a strong presence for the DE & I at the national NLA events.