We were lucky to catch up with Kendra Outler recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kendra, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
After I finished residency in Family Medicine, my first residency my mentor said to me, “You are in the driver’s seat.” I had finished from a top tier all women’s college, then went on to graduate school, navigated myself into medical school to be the first physician in my family. Now, I was finally told that I was driving. Driving what? Before, I only drove my Toyota Camry that I bought from a pathologist at the hospital. As he gave me the keys, he did not say, you are in the driver’s seat. What did that mean? It has taken over twenty years in medicine for me to understand what those words mean as a double minority in medicine, both Black American and Female. Today as a mid-career physician, I am creating my now lane to travel in my career while still taking care of patients. The medical field is very broad and you enter this specialty you have to decide what is your reason for doing this work in humanity. I like many Americans now describe life prepandemic and postpandemic. My defining moment was when I heard the news report on the deaths of Black Americans during Covid. I heard the social media content creators start to push this narrative. I remember the words of Octavia Butler, the famous Afrofuturist icon, “You have to make your own worlds, You got to write yourself in.” In 2019 with the creation of Uzima Health and Wellness, I launched my own vision of what I wanted health information targeting the Black health consumers to be. I put myself in the drivers seat of the is creative digital health platform. I penned my first narrative called “The Charge To Care” in health care and as the platform has grown, someone said how did you cover this much grown. I did it by driving myself where I wanted to be.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am Dr. Kendra Outler. I am board -certified anesthesiologist at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Ill. My career in medicine has been enriched by the fact that I have trained in major centers such as Grady Memorial Hospital, Cook County and military facilities like Brook Army Medical Center and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Prior to medical school, I worked on the Atlanta HIV/TB Coalition project during the hight of the AIDS epidemic. I also volunteered as a Rape Crisis counselor. All of these experiences I have scene within our medical system and our public health infrastructure are brought forth in my digital platform for health and wellness targeting the Black community. As the media correctly identified Black people suffer disproportionately from preventable illnesses, I focus on my community in the platform but the goal is to make bring about an awareness that allows all people to engage and think about how to help. I want everyone from school teachers to bus drivers to get something from Uzima. I wrote a piece on Strong Black men, reminding the healthcare community we need to make earlier introductions to healthcare for this population. The story also made men think, hey I need to go the doctor. I got a call from my brother, who is a security guard who said, “Sis that is great article.” That is speaking truth to power. It makes me feel good that what I am creating and producing is resonating with those who feel like the world of medicine is racist, intimidating, and overwhelming. Maybe, Uzima Health and Wellness which host me Dr. K can help change this narrative.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
If I could back I would still choose the field of medicine. Being a physician was the right choice for me. I also think being an anesthesiologist was the right specialty. Anesthesia allows for me to see people in at a very vulnerable time. I have to connect and earn their trust very quickly. Their feelings of helplessness can be very difficult to handle as some get agitated, they shut down and will not answer my questions. Then after I explain that I am the person that advocates for them while they are asleep and I am the person with them watching the surgeon, to see them change demeanor is very fulfilling for me as a professional. My daily work may seem incongruent with Uzima’s creation but what it has done for me is allow for me to educate and connect with my community before myself or another healthcare provider treats them.
Any advice for managing a team?
In this creative space of digital platforms creation, I am new to managing a team. I have made mistakes. I remember, I hired a marketing team and they wanted to change my brand and I looked at my team of young hopefuls on the zoom, those who believed in my mission and saw their expressions and saw the disappointment. I added someone to the team that was demeaning and I had to pivot and realize that those personalities can bring an organization down. A good book to read is the “No Asshole Rule”. That is my solid advice, be respectful of the team and make sure everyone is heard, even though the final decision is yours as the owner.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.myuzima.org
- Instagram:@hey.doctorK
- Facebook: Uzima Health and Wellness
- Youtube: Uzima Health and Wellness
Image Credits
brand photos: Sloandakotaphoto