Key Takeaways
- Leaders should drive volunteer and non-profit engagement by emphasizing a unifying mission and shared vision rather than financial incentives.
Healthcare today, whether in the United States or abroad, is constantly challenged to address disparities, adapt to diverse patient populations, and deliver equitable healthcare. Clinical and community leaders often face the daunting task of guiding healthcare systems towards more inclusive, patient-centered approaches. In a recent episode of the Clinicians in Leadership podcast series—hosted by Zachary McConnell, MHA, PA-S2 of the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy— Misker Kassahun Teka, MD, MPH, offered insights into the power of community outreach, the critical need to bridge the gap in healthcare, and how leadership can drive tangible change in underserved populations in healthcare.
Below, we explore Dr. Teka's inspiring journey, her experiences leading volunteer-based initiatives, and practical strategies she believes can strengthen healthcare systems around the globe, all while addressing the pressing issue of health equity.
When asked about her background, Dr. Teka introduced herself as a general practitioner who graduated in 2020 from St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College- SPHMMC in Ethiopia. She also holds a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, completed in 2024. But her story extends beyond her clinical training; it is deeply interwoven with community service and leadership roles focused on achieving equity in healthcare.
Shortly after completing medical school, Dr. Teka co-founded GIV Society Ethiopia, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free healthcare services to underserved populations. The organization's volunteer-based structure brings together clinicians, medical professionals, and various community members to host monthly campaigns that deliver free, comprehensive healthcare services. Beyond direct patient care, Dr. Teka has used her platform—on social media and beyond—to mentor and guide other healthcare professionals from low- and middle-income countries, drawing on her own experiences of navigating educational and professional pathways.
Dr. Teka's commitment to bridging disparities and promoting health equity gained further traction when she was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship—an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of State—to learn about leadership and community-building in an American context. Stationed at Rutgers University for six weeks, she interacted with fellows from various African countries, mentors from U.S.-based organizations, and several high-profile public leaders. This experience sharpened her leadership skills and expanded her perspective on how community engagement can work effectively in resource-rich environments, while still addressing the health equity gap.
Dr. Teka's leadership philosophy crystallized while developing Giv Society Ethiopia. One of her earliest lessons was understanding how to motivate and sustain a volunteer workforce. Because volunteers are not incentivized by salary, fame, or other tangible rewards, effective leadership must tap into a shared sense of mission and personal conviction.
"Leadership becomes a bit more challenging when you work with volunteers. … You don't incentivize someone based on money. … You lead based on the cause or goal that unites you."
In her experience, sustaining volunteer engagement hinged on leading with intention and ensuring that everyone involved understood the vision—to bring free, quality healthcare to those who would not otherwise have access. That clarity of purpose, she observed, helps build strong communal bonds and fosters a culture of mutual respect, essential for achieving equity in healthcare.
Moreover, Dr. Teka credits the low-resource environment in Ethiopia with enhancing her creativity and problem-solving skills. Budget constraints required her team to think outside the box, leveraging in-kind donations, forging partnerships, and relying on strong community ties to offset costs. In many ways, this approach to leadership underscores the importance of collaboration and partnership—two elements that remain critical even in more resource-rich environments like the United States, especially when addressing health disparities in underserved populations.
When asked to compare the Ethiopian and American healthcare systems, Dr. Teka was quick to point out the obvious disparities in resources. Still, she believes there are practices in Ethiopia that could greatly benefit healthcare in the United States—particularly in addressing underserved populations and promoting health equity.
One standout example is the health extension workers programin Ethiopia. Recognizing that certain communities lack access to care, health extension workers bring services directly to people's homes. They offer preventive care, health promotion, and even some basic curative services.
"You do have disparities in the United States, and there are underserved communities that can benefit from this kind of model, where you actually reach out to the community rather than waiting for the community to come to you."
This insight is especially relevant in rural areas, low-income communities, and places where cultural or linguistic barriers deter people from seeking medical attention in formal settings. Dr. Teka also highlighted how essential it is to listen to communities about the types of services they most desperately need. By involving local stakeholders and directly engaging with the population, healthcare organizations can tailor interventions that resonate with specific communities—whether that means offering free screening events or addressing prevalent conditions in a culturally sensitive manner, ultimately improving health outcomes for underserved populations.
Throughout the podcast conversation, one of Dr. Teka's recurring themes was the power and simplicity of listening. She pointed out that, whether as a direct-care clinician or a policy-oriented healthcare leader, the most effective way to understand a patient or community is often to ask questions and truly hear the answers, a crucial step in bridging the gap in healthcare.
As a clinician, she found that listening carefully to patients' stories, beliefs, and symptoms frequently led to the correct diagnosis or the most appropriate treatment plan—sometimes even before relying on more advanced diagnostic tools. This same approach proved effective in her public health ventures. At Giv Society Ethiopia, Dr. Teka's team made it standard practice to visit target communities a week or two before a major medical campaign. They would speak with local leaders and residents to gauge the community's most pressing health concerns, beliefs around prevention, and preferred communication methods.
"We don't just come and say, 'We're going to do breast cancer screening or routine vaccinations.' We first go and ask, 'What do you need?' Most of the time, people will tell you exactly what they need and even how best to help them."
This step, though seemingly basic, is too often overlooked in healthcare delivery systems that prioritize efficiency or rely on assumptions about what a given community should want. By centering on the voices of patients and community members, leaders can create healthcare strategies that are both more effective and more equitable, addressing the social determinants of health that often contribute to health disparities.
Healthcare teams are increasingly diverse, comprising individuals from different cultures, professional backgrounds, and educational paths. Dr. Teka emphasized that collaboration and inclusivity cannot be taken for granted. Instead, healthcare leaders must take deliberate steps to foster environments where varied perspectives are not only welcomed but leveraged to improve patient outcomes and promote health equity.
A key step is to maintain a shared vision at the forefront. Whether the goal is to reduce local rates of hypertension or build a new clinic, the unifying purpose should remain central. Equally important is recognizing that cultural norms shape communication styles, decision-making processes, and interpersonal dynamics. Rather than dismissing or judging these differences, Dr. Teka encourages healthcare professionals to be curious and open, emphasizing the importance of cultural competency.
"First, try to understand that the person might do something because of their culture, their upbringing, or how they see the world. You have to value that perspective. It might lead you to a new solution you hadn't considered."
In practice, this inclusivity can mean offering translation services for patients with limited English proficiency, creating mentorship programs that address the unique challenges of international medical graduates, or establishing diversity councils that advise on how best to serve marginalized populations. These efforts contribute to improving health literacy and ensuring equitable access to healthcare for all.
Perhaps Dr. Teka's strongest message was on the moral responsibility that healthcare leaders hold—particularly those in positions of privilege. Many underserved populations simply do not have the resources, political voice, or institutional power to advocate for themselves. Consequently, leaders can and should work to ensure healthcare delivery reaches these groups and addresses their unique needs, effectively helping underserved communities and narrowing the health equity gap.
"They're vulnerable, they don't have resources, so they're often forgotten. … It's not someone else's job to address this. It's our job as healthcare leaders."
That advocacy starts with acknowledging one's own privilege and recognizing that, while systemic change takes time, local interventions can happen quickly. Whether it's setting up mobile clinics, ensuring that telemedicine options are culturally sensitive, or training staff to identify and address bias, Dr. Teka argues that leaders must move beyond theoretical discussions and commit to actionable steps for equitable healthcare delivery.
Dr. Teka's vision for the future of healthcare leadership is rooted in collaboration, community engagement, and a steadfast commitment to health equity. By building off both her experience in Ethiopia and her leadership training in the United States, she offers a blueprint for leaders on how to design healthcare systems that truly serve all. The key lessons revolve around:
Ultimately, Dr. Teka's commitment to bridging gaps and promoting health equity offers a refreshing reminder that meaningful change often starts with the simplest acts—like knocking on someone's door, asking questions, and genuinely listening to the answers. In a world shaped by evolving healthcare challenges, socio-political issues, and cultural complexities, leaders who prioritize community-based care and inclusive collaboration can chart a more equitable, effective path forward, improving access to care and overall health outcomes for all populations.
About the Podcast
The Clinicians in Leadership podcast series, hosted by Zach Mcconnell for the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy, aims to shine a light on clinicians who translate their bedside experience into transformative leadership roles. Guests share their strategies for inspiring teams, shaping health policy, and, ultimately, improving patient care across diverse healthcare landscapes. Dr. Misker Kassahun Teka's story illustrates just how powerful these efforts can be—offering a tangible, hope-filled framework for anyone looking to make a difference in healthcare and address health inequities.
For more insights from visionary clinicians like Dr. Teka, keep an eye on the Clinicians in Leadership series and other programming from the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy. Transforming healthcare systems is no small task, but with the lessons of equity, collaboration, and community engagement, leaders at every level can help usher in a more inclusive, patient-centered era of care, ultimately improving health outcomes and ensuring equal access to healthcare for all.
<p>you do have health disparities in the United States and there are unded communities that can benefit from this kind of model where you actually reach out to the community than the waiting for the community to come to you or to the healthcare [Music] system this is Zach with the American Journal of healthcare strategy welcome to the clinician and Leadership podcast Series where we focus on empowering clinicians from bedside to boardroom today I am joined by a very esteemed guest Dr Miser tekka Dr Tekk why don't you take a second to introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about your experience thank you Zach um I really appreciate the opportunity to be on this podcast uh so as you mentioned my name is m taka I'm a medical professional um by training I'm a general practitioner I graduated in 2020 uh from St Paul's Hospital M Medical College which is based in Ethiopia uh I also hold a masters in public health from John Hopkins I graduated this may um in 2024 um so my interest is more of Health Equity Healthcare leadership and Community Based Health uh I think one of the great works I've done I would say is co-founding an nonprofit organization called uh G Society Ethiopia um which is based in Ethiopia that provides um free health care for unders population using volunteers uh we have monthly free medical campaigns where we bring in doctors to give this um comprehensive Medical Services uh besides that I use social media and different platforms to share professional development especially focusing on medical professionals who from low and middle income countries starting from my own country Ethiopia I have a YouTube channel I write different things on LinkedIn just share I'd love to share my experiences um um I would say I'm a very Community engaged um professional U besides that I I work with John's Hopkins on different projects uh one of them is the Alumni Association for the Ean students where we Mentor current students um and also provide different networking opportunities and mentorship opportunities for alumni and just to connect with each other um so that's me in just bit words yeah yeah well and I'm I'm thrilled to uh have you on today Dr Tekk and just to hear bit a little bit more about your experience and just to hear some unique insights um that that someone who has has made such an impact on the the International Medical Community serving in some very cool ways like you have and so I'm I'm curious you youve you've shared a little bit about your experience thus far um and you have a lot of experience in a lot of different areas what has been one of the most impactful experiences that has developed your approach to leadership um in general and then kind of in specifically within within the medical field yeah um I think for me working within give Society Utopia you would hear me mentioning a lot about give because that's one of my formative leadership experiences um I co-founded GI Society ethopia like three months after graduating from uh medical school when I was 25 and I was really exposed to leadership during that time and because our organization is volunteer based organization and we because we serve um a lot of uh um Medical Services I had the opportunity to work with a lot of volunteer medical doctors and all of our team members at volunteers so having to work with volunteers I think leadership becomes a bit more challenging and makes work twice as hard I think so for me uh what what made voluntarism or just the concept bit more challenging was you don't incentivize someone based on money or fame or something like that but it's you actually connect to the person or you lead B based on the cause or that's what's what connects you so keeping them inspired keeping them going and leading with uh real intentionality uh is what I really I think learned during that experience and also I think working with a very low resource set things I think it has made me a leader who kind of becomes more Innovative and solution oriented our organization was uh mostly or is still mostly incline donation focused um so having always to find Partnerships and collaborations and finding ways to come back on our coasts I think that really made me a leader that thinks outside of the box and really focused on collaboration and partnership um yeah I think that that was a very formative uh experience for me and great experience when it comes to leadership yeah well and just I'm I'm imagining the impact that that an organization like give can have um not just through through the the volunteer hours and and and the the things that those volunteers accomplish but I mean starting with the leadership making and and promoting a culture of of belief within its volunteers that that starts at the top and trickles down and and allows you know your impact and what you've done to to reach far and wide and I think that is that is one of the coolest things just like learning more about you in the previous conversations that we've had is just just to hear how how how one person C can can do a lot of really good and that's just by inspiring others around them and so that that's that's fantastic and so um something else I'm curious about and you mentioned this in just telling us a little bit about your experience um you you are trained uh as a medical doctor um at in in from Ethiopia you you're your training and your your internship and all of your clinical training is is from um when when you were in Ethiopia I'm I'm curious now having transitioned from from being uh within the Ethiopian uh medical system to now being in in America and the American Medical system what are what are some unique skills or insights that you gained in that International training that that helped you Excel and transition well in in your current leadership role here yeah yeah um I was actually very lucky to come to United States uh before my master's program in 2022 for leadership training it's called Mand Washington Fellowship it's for young African leaders and it's US state sponsored so I stayed in uh Brar University for six weeks getting trained on leadership the American style of professionalism and so on so I was really lucky to have that training on how to interact with different team members uh cuz we had uh fellows or um leaders from all over Africa and then we had mentors from different us um US based organizations we had the opportunity to listen to very esteemed um Senators um leaders nonprofits private sector leaders and talk about their experiences working in the states and working Global and so on so I think that exposure for me kind of helped me uh understand how uh a completely different country uh works or like have different values but also I think when I when I was a student in Hopkins had different part-time jobs where I worked with Center for Health disparities I went I worked with um a professional development center within the underground undergraduate program so I had different interaction with different um um professionals so it was easy for me to kind of understand okay this is how things are done uh so for me I think to conclude it really just analyzing and seeing and then learning and mimicking that helped me kind of transition from the working style that I was used to in your band and coming to the um American way of doing things yeah and going off of that a little bit something something else I'm curious about is um you you mean you just shared a little bit more as well you you pretty you have extensive experience within the medical field um both in Ethiopia and in America what what are some some things about the Ethiopian medical system that you believe could if implemented improve the healthcare system that we have here in the United States yeah um it would be very hard to compare the Japan healthare system and the US healthare system obviously because the Ethiopian healthare system is very resource uh restrained cost restrained and the US healthare system is much better because it's one of the most developed and Powerful count so it might be hard but there's always something that we can learn from others uh way of doing things so I would say two things one is um Ethiopian Healthcare System is very Community Based um when it comes to health service deliveries for example one thing I can mention to you is we have something called a health extension workers program where different Health extensions go to house to house to promote um health education to give them preventive services and to kind of even give them Curative services to actually to to more of like rural areas and unded communities that is very hard for healthcare services to get delivered to um so I think the American system can learn from this and because we do have health disparities in the United States and there are unded communities that can benefit from this kind of model where you actually reach out to the community than the waiting for the community to come to you or to the healthare system so I would say this is one of the best ways um the American Healthcare System can learn second I would say um even though Ethiopia has a lot of resource um constraints most of the health care delivery um is cost effective or low cost that means um more population can get Services as they needed uh I would say the American Healthcare System is a bit business FOC making it for those with low resources uh to kind of make it hard to get the services they need and maybe you know die from or like complicates U have like complicated scenarios from cases or diseases that can potentially be prevented so I think this two ways um are that came to my mind uh when it comes to the American healthare system kind of like having an insight into the E fster system there um Dr Tika something else that I I want to talk about and I'm I'm curious to hear your perspective Ive um on this is with within Healthcare um anywhere you're serving within Healthcare you you are working with different individuals with different skill sets and it requires those different individuals with different skill sets to to work together and and collaborate and and uh around a common goal which is which is taking care of patients um I'm curious if you have any particular insights um on on how to bridge cultur and professional gaps Within These Healthcare teams that that ensure or better ensure collaboration and and inclusivity as well do do you have any insights into that yeah that's a great question and I think you've kind of answered it when you were asking the question I think the most important thing is being Vision focused or like what brought that team together is really wanting to you know cure patients or have better health policies or have better healthare Services right so kind of putting your mind really to that and really focusing on that as a first step and then the second thing is I think understanding that um our cultural beliefs where we come from our perspective kind of affect how we show up in a team how we deliver our work or how we interact with our patients and so on and especially Healthcare being very person focused communication focused I think it's very important to understand that so I think whenever we interact with our team I think we should always have at the back of our mind that this person might be doing this because of how they see the world or how they're brought up or how their cure is and trying to understand that is very important first before judging them or you know just deeming them I can work with this person or so on so first really understanding uh is very important for me and that's how I think that I was able to work with different teams from people from all over the world um and then again um the second thing is I think also valuing a person's perspective or differences will make a difference in my opinion um rather than being comfortable in our own way of doing things I think maybe we should be like okay let's give this a try what is this person saying uh what can I learn from this working style or uh this communication style or so on I think that's valuing that person's opinion for me has worked um in my career I guess well I just I just I love the words that you use valuing uh understanding growing growing in appreciation and um go going off of off of what you just said um so we just we just you you shared some great insights on how to how to value other members within the within the healthcare team that you're serving with I'm I'm curious now to get your perspective on how healthc care leaders can grow in their understanding and appreciation of of the culture and the community and and the patient population that they serve um I I think that you you have some unique insights into this having having served a a variety of patient populations in a variety of cultures how how have you grown in your understanding and appreciation of the different cultures because because really to to prioritize the patient you need to appreciate and understand the culture and the community um so if you don't mind sharing some of the insights that that you have and you've done specifically and then if you have anything that other Healthcare leaders can do and Implement to to better grow in in their appreciation and understanding of the culture yeah um I think I can answer this from two points from my clinical uh days and then from my more of healthcare leadership days from my clinical days uh I'm not trying to brag but I felt like my patients really loved me I think that was because I listened to them I really gave them time it was hard I had a lot of patience but I love to listen to them make them feel hurt because um most of the time we don't really need to do so much to understand or to get to the diagnosis because the patient will tell you the patient's culture the patient uh symptoms just listening to the patient has a lot of value than sometimes the other diagnostic tools that we use so for me to understand the culture so appreciate where they're coming from really listening cuz sometimes we rush to make decisions we rush to prescribe medications or we rush to make policy change but before that let's I think listen to what the person or the community is saying second for my Healthcare leadership days U again going to give I talk about give a lot because that's where I I have uh done a lot of work and I think one of the proudest moments of uh my career is just serving 40,000 plus patients um just using really small resources and using volunteers so I think what we did was give uh is also again the same thing listening to them so before we do campaigns and before we bring in volunteers and our resources and before we try to treat them we actually go like a week or two weeks ahead of time before the campaign and talk with uh Community Leaders with used leaders uh was with Community just people within the community that really understand what the community needs we don't just come and say okay today we're just going to do breast cancer screening or we don't generally just come and say today we're just going to give you routine medications we actually sit down and listen to them what is your problem what are some of the services that is very hard for you to get that way we actually know what what is impactful and also we ask them what are some of the beliefs that you have what is the best way for us to give you health education sometimes for us to just come and talk about hypertension might not be the best sometimes we need to bring an actual patient who went through a hypertension crisis or so on and to talk about their experiences so really listening I think for me is something that I really stress on both in the clinical sating and in the public can't same thing yeah well and we we've we've talked about just here today as well as a number of other times um throughout some of these podcast episodes that we've produced but just the importance of of of listening like you just said and and understanding what what the patients and the communities need because the the the Health Care Systems exist for the patient if there's no patients there's no healthcare system and to to to not listen to your patients is is to to you're not serving your patients um not nearly as well as you could be and in in a in a world and in a healthcare system that constantly needs to be evaluating constant constantly needs to be improving one one of the areas that I think is is most critical and you nail this perfectly is just to to constantly evaluating hey how are we listening how are we improving in our listening how are we improving in our understanding and that that's it's it's sad how it's it's both encouraging and sad how simple of a of a solution that is encouraging in the sense that yeah all it all it does is just asking going to those Community leaders and asking going to the people and asking but it's it's it's sad in the sense of how uh rare that can happen and how how that that is often a step that's that's missed and so um I I really appreciate your insights I think that's that's phenomenal um that and you answered my next question just a little bit uh but I I want to I'm gonna ask it anyway um and to hear if you have anything else that that you'd like to mention with it um just how how can healthc care leaders better advocate for Equitable care particularly for those underserved or immigrant populations who who may face cultural and language barriers you you we've talked a little bit about the just disparities in health um and and I'm I'm curious how can how can leaders um we you know we've mentioned before that the the leaders it things the culture that the leadership sets trickles down how how can leaders better advocate for for this Equitable care for these patient populations yeah I think the first step would be for healcare leaders to understand that is it it is a very sorry it is a privilege uh for them to Advocate on behalf of this population because this population cannot Advocate most of the time for themselves they're very vulnerable they don't have resources so they're kind of Forgotten and neglected so I think understanding that you are in a position of power and priv privilege to support those communities is very important and knowing that you can actually do something is very important uh it's not other people's job it is our job as as as Healthcare leaders to do something I think we should not wait for anyone else so that's the first step um I think second again coming back to listening and understanding what is their their problem because they have a unique set of problems um from other communities right because of resources because of their immigration status because of gender sexuality and so on because of so many reasons um they have different Pro problems and challenge so really getting to them and understanding what is the problem and usually they'll give you the solution fun enough against I'm not saying you don't need to do research or you don't need to have elaborate plans to understand what the problem is but most of the time um I think just listening to them will give you a lot of insight on how to solve their problem and what their pressing issues are um so I think the two things as I said is understanding that we have we are we have the privilege to serve them and then to to listen to them and to really get Solutions and challenges to understand them well I think those would be my um my advice from my own experiences well and I I again we we've talked about it with the last question this question as well just the importance of listening and and and responding to to the needs that the patient has and and what they have and communicate and just the the the importance that Healthcare System and the the benefit and and the value that a healthcare system can have have by doing that effectively within for their patients and and the communities that they serve and so um well Dr Tekk we we really appreciate you coming on the show and sharing your insights I'm I'm thrilled just to have gotten the opportunity to to meet with you and and to hear um and to to listen um to as you've shared uh just all the different insights that you've had and um I'm I'm grateful for that thank you so much it was a pleasure to talk to you and to share my experiences um it it has been an honor thank you so much yeah appreciate the opportunity</p>
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