How to define one's success is an age-old question that every individual encounters. Out of all the answers to this question, this definition from motivational speaker Brian Tracy is specific but generalizable: “Success is the ability to live your life, the way you want to live it, doing what you enjoy most, surrounded by people you admire and respect.” To be successful, we must overcome obstacles that prevent us from achieving our full potential, including societal, economic, political, personal, emotional, and historical challenges. Native Americans experience these challenges continuously, although we are not indelibly bound to them. We, as three Brigham and Women's Hospital residents, are testaments to this statement's veracity.
The 2018 American Association of Medical Colleges report “Reshaping the Journey: American Indians and Alaska Natives in Medicine” showed that 19% of American Indian-Alaskan Natives (AI/ANs) were uninsured compared to 9% of the U.S. population. It also showed that...
