Flint physician focused on advocacy named Michigan Family Medicine Resident of the Year – mlive.com

FLINT, MI Dr. Julie Thai of McLaren Flint said she went into medicine to help her patients not just medically, but in a social context as well.

When I hear my patients stories about how theyre struggling to pay for rent or theyre struggling to find childcare so they can even go to work or come to their medical appointment, I feel compelled to help them, Thai said. When things are unfair in the healthcare system and my patients cant get access to the medications they need or diagnostic workup, I feel that I have this platform I can use to advocate for them.

Advocacy has been the central theme of her training in Flint, Thai said. She is in her final year of residency at McLaren Flint Family Medicine Residency and was recently recognized with a 2020 Michigan Family Medicine Resident of the Year Award by the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians. Not long before, she received the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors Family Medicine Resident Award for Advocacy.

I try to do everything I can for my patients not only as their physician, but as their advocate. So as part of that, I was recognized for my work and that means a lot, Thai said. I am so fortunate to get to do what I love to do, and to be recognized for what I love to do is a huge honor.

Thais program director, Dr. Prabhat Pokhrel, nominated her for the award and said she has made a tremendous contribution to the Flint community. He said the advocacy and health policy curriculum she co-authored after completing a workshop with the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians has been built into the McLaren Flint Family Medicine Residency program and taken to the next level. The curriculum is getting state and national attention, and a toolkit has been made available for other residency programs looking to replicate it.

Before she came, we didnt have any advocacy curriculums, Pokhrel said. She came up with this idea.

Thai holds a masters degree in public health from Columbia University and went into research before deciding to become a physician. She said she felt an urge to do more public health and public service work, and came across the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians workshop by chance.

That was a life-changing moment for me because I got to hear from a lot of the people who work at the Capitol about physicians getting involved in advocacy work. And it made me feel empowered, because I realized that we are put in a position where we do have a voice where people do listen to us, Thai said. I felt that I had to speak up, I had to be a part of the group that fights for change. And I just never stopped doing it.

Thai attended Senate committee hearings on prior authorizations and said allowing insurance companies to dictate how physicians practice medicine is something she wants to fight against on a policy level, since she said a lot of their patients cant get the medication they need. In addition to pushing for change, Thai is conducting a study on the barriers to breastfeeding in the community after noticing a lot of new mothers at McLaren werent breastfeeding despite national recommendations.

I read some research that in a lot of urban underserved communities, moms dont tend to breastfeed because there isnt a lot of education around it, Thai said. That got me thinking about trying to identify barriers to breastfeeding in our community in Flint.

The survey study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at McLaren and is being conducted by Thai and two other faculty members.

Ive collected close to 100 questionnaires already from moms, and most of them want to participate, most of them want to share their experience, Thai said. It helps us figure out what is stopping them from breastfeeding and how we as healthcare providers can help increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in this community.

Thai is originally from California and came to Michigan by way of medical school, earning her degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 2018.

I really feel like Michigan has become a second home to me, she said. When I matched here in Flint, I thought this would be an amazing opportunity to learn how to provide care in an urban underserved community, similar to one that I grew up in.

Thai was elected by her peers and faculty at McLaren Flint Family Medicine Residency to serve as academic chief resident for the 2020-21 program year. She previously served as the programs assistant chief resident. Thai said shes thankful for Pokhrels support and the support shes received from hospital leadership as well as from her patients. After completing her residency training next year, she plans to pursue a fellowship in geriatrics.

The impact has been immense. The things Ive gotten to do here have shaped me as a person and as a professional, Thai said. A lot of my patients, when they tell me that they view me as not just their physician but as their friend, I feel very moved by that. I feel as though thats all Ive ever wanted, to have that meaningful patient-doctor relationship and be able to help individuals through a tough time in their life.