Congratulations to Lauren West-Livingston, MD, Vascular Surgery Integrated Resident, for being selected as the 2024 Duke Surgery Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Scholar!
The IDEA Scholarship is a funded fellowship position that enables one resident to dedicate academic time towards the completion of both academic and operational projects that address the many inequities influencing surgical practice.
The intent of this fellowship program is to improve awareness of inequities within our community and in society at large, enable the development of actionable solutions to identified problems, and create a mechanism for scholarship that emanates from the work.
"I am honored to have been selected as this year's IDEA Scholar," says Dr. West-Livingston. "I moved to Durham in 2008 to pursue my undergraduate education at Duke, and fell in love with the city and the state. I'm overjoyed to have the opportunity to create lasting partnerships in Durham, and give back to the city that played such a large role in shaping who I am today."
Along with continuing programs started by 2023 IDEA Scholar Nnaemeka Eze, MD, including days of service and volunteering with students at City of Medicine Academy, Dr. West-Livingston also hopes to expand initiatives to include K-12 programming and mentorship geared at at-risk youth, establishing foundations for a free surgery screening clinic, and beginning a multi-level mentorship program for URiM medical students, trainees, and attendings.