Q&A with Dr. Lewis

Sophie Baldwin, 7/12/24

• Worked as a private practice physician after residency for four years

• While I enjoyed working in private practice, I wanted to give back to the community more and work with higher-need patients

• After taking six months off, I left private practice to work in a clinic; this was the best decision I've made

What are your day-to-day responsibilities and typical caseload?

• Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are my clinical days

• 80% of my patients are former refugees that came in through the  Refugee Health Program 

  • Work with community partners and am notified when refugees arrive in RI

  • They must be seen within 30-90 days

  • We provide vaccinations for school, dental care, psychological support, behavioral health support, assistance with transportation, and more

  • Provide ongoing primary care and resources for refugees

  • Partnered with Brown Refugee Tutoring and Enrichment

• Friday mornings are for clinical intakes where I meet new families

• On Tuesdays, I supervise the training program in primary care as an attending

• Thursday and Friday afternoons for my administrative tasks, such as meeting with Brown faculty

What is most exciting about your job?

• Having long-term relationships with families, many of them with lots of need

• I am able to help refugees navigate the healthcare system

Why did you decide to pursue medicine?

• Wanted to give back to my community and pursue a service-oriented career

• Originally wanted to become a teacher because I liked working with kids, but fell in love with the sciences

• Decided on medical school in my second year of college

What is one moment in your career that made you appreciate medicine?

• I have worked with many families that have come through incredible trauma

• One of my patient’s father was a poet and shared a poem of light and love, even after experiencing trauma

If you could go back and choose a different specialty, would you? Why or why not?

• Would not change specialty

• Thought about child psychiatry because mental and behavioral health is so important for kids and adolescents

  • Psychiatry is integrated into pediatrics

• Primary care gets the movie of a patient’s life while specialties only get the snapshot

What was the most difficult aspect of your journey to medicine?

• When I entered private practice, I had to rethink my goals and what I really wanted to do in life

• I was very torn, but leaving private practice was the best decision I made

• I struggle the most with moral injury (when you see societal ills that you cannot fix); it is difficult to see these inequities in healthcare

How are you able to manage a work-life balance?

• Took 6 months off after leaving private practice and cared for my three children

• I have the autonomy to do much of my admin work at home

What is your advice to students interested in pursuing medicine?

• Try it!

• Listen to your gut if something doesn’t feel right

• It is okay to change jobs or specialties

• Do not worry about the time commitment; the time passes anyway

• There are many loan forgiveness programs for medical school debt; more options for people who want to go into primary care