A Question of Belonging

Daniele Ölveczky discusses inclusion, success in medicine at annual Amos Lecture

Daniele Ölveczky delivering Amos Lecture

How do you feel like you belong here? How do you avoid burnout? How do you give back? What is it like being a woman of color in Boston?

These are a few of the questions answered by keynote speaker Daniele Ölveczky, Harvard Medical School assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, at this year’s Harold Amos Mentorship Lecture titled “An Incredible Journey…. The Rewards of a Career in Medicine,” held on April 10 as part of the HMS Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs series of Revisit Week events at the School.

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Rather than delivering a traditionally structured lecture of prepared remarks, Ölveczky directly engaged with the audience of students who have been accepted to HMS. Using a digital polling device, she had students text a word for how they were feeling in the moment, which automatically formed a word cloud on a screen in the room.

Responses included nervous, excited, grateful, intimidated, humbled, indecisive and happy. Then Ölveczky asked students to text questions they had for her, which she answered.

Ölveczky emphasized the importance of finding a passion, both for learning and for something unrelated to medicine. She said this helps her avoid burnout, gain perspective and create connections. She encouraged students to be able to quantify and write about their passions.

Stressing the value of mentorship and having a network of people who can give them advice and encouragement, she told the students that it’s OK to have more than one mentor. Ölveczky said she is grateful for the support she has received from others and added that “I try to give back as much as I can,” by making herself as accessible to her students as possible.

Ölveczky encouraged the students to discover their values and stick with them, to accept feedback in any form without taking it personally, to take risks and to learn from every interaction with others.

Of her experience working in medicine and as a person of color in Boston, she acknowledged the city may have a reputation for a racist history, but she said, “there are many people here who are committed to making things better,” pointing out that there has always been “a strong core” of people in the city protesting injustice throughout history.

“In Boston, I feel like I belong,” Ölveczky said.

She said that the HMS dean and others at the School have been very open to discussing issues of racism and diversity in medicine with her. They have listened to her experiences and are passionate about finding solutions.

“They are committed to inclusive excellence,” she said.

Ölveczky discussed disparities in health and health care caused by inequalities of class, race, and gender and asserted that the best way to reduce disparities in access is to recruit minority students to medical school, saying to the audience of admitted students, “Medicine needs you.”

She said the “confidence that you belong comes from creating a network and accepting that the institution wants you to succeed.”

An audience member described the discussion as “a great motivating lecture,” saying that she is starting medical school after a gap year and hearing Ölveczky’s advice was very encouraging.

Ölveczky, a first-generation immigrant, said she is “deeply grateful” to the field of medicine itself and to America, because she never thought she would have the opportunities that led to her becoming a doctor. She stated that “medicine is a lifelong, fulfilling career.”

She described connecting with a patient and “journeying with them” as the most moving and riveting experience possible and said that she always feels honored and inspired working with patients and seeing their strength.

In addition to teaching at HMS, Ölveczky is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess. She was the co-chair of the HMS Academy Cross Cultural Care Interest Group, where she led faculty development workshops about the importance of diversity and negotiating racism at the bedside.

She is the inaugural officer of inclusion for the Department of Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess and will be a local lead principal investigator for a trial of bias reduction in medicine. She is the recipient of the 2018 Michael Shannon, MD, MPH Excellence in Mentoring Award from the HMS Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership.

Harold Amos (1919-2003) was the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at HMS and the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from the HMS Division of Medical Sciences, which he later chaired.

Amos also served as department chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, held leadership positions on national boards and committees, was the first national director of the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (renamed the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program), and received numerous awards.

His broad range of knowledge from 30 years of scientific studies and advocacy for minority education and faculty development made him an influential figure in biomedical research and education.