Dr. Jennifer Lucero shares her lived experience as a Mexican, indigenous woman with Dr. Striker in this thoughtful and informative episode exploring the different ways racism and bias have shaped health care and impacted the specialty. This no holds barred discussion touches on how marginalization, group-based hierarchy, in-group favoritism, and social dominance work within health care and elucidates a path toward more equity in anesthesiology’s workforce, leadership, and care. Recorded May 2022.
Jennifer Lucero, MD, MA, is the associate dean for admissions at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), and the vice chair for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at UCLA DGSOM. She holds a dual appointment in obstetrics and gynecology, with clinical interests in preeclampsia and adherent placental disease. Dr. Lucero has a decade of experience in medical school admissions and participates actively in the recruitment of underrepresented students to the profession of medicine though her work in pathway and outreach programs. As a physician of Mexican and indigenous descent, she takes a special interest in diversity issues in medicine and disparities in the delivery of obstetric healthcare to women of color.
A graduate of California State University Northridge, Dr. Lucero received her master’s in general experimental psychology with a focus in social psychology, her medical degree from Yale School of Medicine. Her postgraduate training consisted of a double residency in obstetrics & gynecology and in anesthesiology from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She completed Fellowship training for obstetric anesthesiology in 2011, followed by NIH T-32 research rellowship training in 2012 at UCSF.
Adam Striker, MD, FASA, is currently Chair of the ASA Committee on Communications and serves as a delegate to the ASA House of Delegates from the state of Missouri. He is the series editor for ASA’s Central Line podcast series. He is a member of Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City and practices at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, where he currently serves as Anesthesiologist-in-Chief. He received his undergraduate degree in engineering from Purdue University and his medical degree from Indiana University. He completed his pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Northwestern University.