Shravan Asthana envisions a medical career for himself in which he provides top- tier care for patients. Beyond clincal work, he plans to delve into health systems design and research to improve the ‘how’ of delivering healthcare.
“The science of medicine, the systems of medicine and healthcare are really exciting to me,” he said. “Every experience I’ve had at Penn State has amplified those interests and turned them into a passion.”
Asthana says that he aspired to be a physician as far back as he can remember. While his time as a Scholar helped refine his interests within the field, recent developments impressed upon Asthana the importance of tackling larger, systemic issues in American healthcare.
“I think we have to start with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The inequalities, inequities, and inefficiencies in our system have always been visible, but during the pandemic they became obvious,” Asthana said. “As students and prehealth professionals, we are responsible and accountable for these issues because we will be a part of that system and have a role in shaping our patients’ lives.”
A spring 2022 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology- neuroscience and economics, Asthana served as president of Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), Penn State’s pre-health honors society. From that role, he helped lead a diversity in healthcare task force that hosted a University-wide conference on April 3, 2022, that had a clear vision.
“We wanted to bring students into an interdisciplinary setting where we discussed, brainstormed, and ultimately delivered a change-making mindset where we became empowered to go out in our careers and make meaningful changes,” Asthana said.
The conference attendees used a design thinking methodology to brainstorm and continually iterate on potential solutions to equity and diversity problems within healthcare. Afterwards, teams presented their work to a panel of healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion experts. The intent, Asthana said, was to eventually test some of the proposed solutions in an effort to make a tangible difference in the real world.
The rationale behind gathering a group of students with medical and non-medical backgrounds was born of another lesson Asthana took from the pandemic. For him, it magnified the interconnectedness of the healthcare ecosystem from policy to communication to physician-patient relationships.
“In my career, I know I’m going to be working with folks from drug companies, insurance companies, members of the healthcare team, healthcare economists, and hospital administrators,” Asthana said. “Understanding how to bring us all together on a common mission of making healthcare more equitable is really pivotal to where I see my career going.”
With his time at Penn State complete, Asthana will take the next step toward his medical career by enrolling at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. While there, he intends to serve in an advisory role for future diversity in healthcare conferences at Penn State.
