New year, new things. This is my first monthly newsletter with my musings about the delivery of anti-racist healthcare with a child centered focus. Alongside these important highlights, I'll add recommendations on great books to read for adults and kids, podcasts and videos that deepen our understanding of how championing equity is important for all of us to thrive and flourish in our environments.
Nice to Meet you
Meet the doctor
Hi there, I'm Dr Amna Khan. Born and raised in the Bay Area, California, I am a biracial, bilingual, bicultural pediatrician and health equity activist who has been caring for vulnerable children and their families at a large, safety net public medical institution for the last 10 years.
My job is truly the best job, no question. I am grateful every day that I dedicate my professional life to serving majority immigrant and first generation children from resilient yet marginalized communities.
My “friend” love language is sharing something I listened to, read or watched that left such a significant impression on me that I cannot help but want to share and pass it forward. That tried and true preschool phrase, “sharing is caring” still feels so relevant as an adult. Enjoy this month's selections.
read
The Seed Keeper,
Diane Wilson
I consider myself a true bibliophile and there is nothing I crave more than a quiet day, a mesmerizing book and a cup of coffee. This book, centered on a Dakota woman's journey to reclaim her connection to her family and community, was beautifully written. This book's most important lesson emphasizes how far we have strayed from appreciating the land that the Native Americans cared for with such reverence and respect.
read for kids
Little Seeds of Promise,
Sana Rafi + Renia Metallinou
A well written and masterfully drawn children's book is a treasure. I know how much representation matters to young hearts and minds and seeing diversity in the stories published today allows all children to feel that they truly belong in the communities they inhabit. I highly recommend this darling book that uses the metaphor of the transformative seed to empower further understanding of readers' inner potential for growth, belonging and new beginnings.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane”
-Martin Luther King Jr
I am confident that the time for quoting social justice giants has long passed, and we must now determine how each one of us stands up daily and fights against injustice in healthcare, one step at a time. In order to care comprehensively for all our patients, we must examine and challenge all social and political determinants of health. Join me here next month to continue the conversation.