Student Spotlight – Lawrence Brown

The son of a pastor and an educator, Lawrence Brown has been exposed to public service his entire life. As a child, he would often tag along with his father to visit church members in the hospital and was enamored by the brilliant people in white coats that changed lives. Later, through the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, a leadership program for promising African-American male college students, Lawrence spent over 600 hours shadowing surgeons. It was during these moments that he confirmed his calling to the medical field. Now a student at Meharry Medical College, Lawrence is taking a break before his final year of medical school to pursue a Master of Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH).

Nashville General Hospital, Meharry’s primary clinical site, serves as the safety net facility for the city of Nashville and treats the regions’ indigent and uninsured. During clinical rotations, Lawrence saw the detrimental effects of limited access to care–particularly in underrepresented populations. So, while deeply committed to becoming a surgeon, he is also keenly aware that his patients will be better served if health disparities are addressed as well. “In medicine we spend so much time focusing on an individual’s pathology that we often ignore the circumstances from which they come. Health encompasses so much more than a pathologic presentation. Health is socially determined, mediated by environment and broader policies that determine access to care. It is for this reason that I pursued a public health degree,” he says.

Lawrence first studied health policy with faculty in the YSPH Department of Health Policy and Management two summers ago as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar from Meharry. Now as a full-time student in the School’s Advanced Professional Program, he is completing a Health Policy Practicum this semester at Access Health CT– Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace. In addition to classes, he has been able to participate in both surgical and health policy research during his MPH year.

As Lawrence looks for ways to marry his two passions in health care, he is grateful for the opportunity to study in a school with a “tremendous” number of opportunities. “There is no place like Yale. Everyone is welcoming, helpful and forward thinking. I am receiving a world-class education that will only strengthen my ability to serve future patients," he says.