Deepa Rani Nandiwada

Deepa Rani Nandiwada is a fourth year medical student at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences who plans to pursue a medical career in internal medicine. Deeply passionate about serving vulnerable populations, Nandiwada spent a year teaching through AmeriCorp’s City Year New York program upon graduating from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in management. Her experience with City Year gave her the opportunity to not only serve, but to become a part of a very in-need but strong community where she frequently witnessed health disparities.

During her first year of medical school, she utilized her business background and started GWU’s student-run clinic with another classmate. The goal was two-fold: to incorporate serving the underserved as a service learning curriculum piece and inspire students to give back to the community. Working with the Society for Student Run Free Clinics (SSRFC), Nandiwada has collaborated with other students to develop a national group that supports, develops, and promotes communication between clinics across the country. The SSRFC promotes interdisciplinary care by finding ways to incorporate the multi-disciplinary approach in their clinics and is open to all disciplines of allied health.

Nandiwada has also worked with Mount Sinai's Health Policy department to develop a community-based curriculum for diabetes prevention in order to help reduce minority health disparities as part of her health policy track at GWU.

Nandiwada hopes to support students and residents in gaining a deeper understanding and knowledge of what affects health care in vulnerable populations. She believes students to need the experience of addressing these challenging issues to truly advocate for their patients. By encouraging students and residents to gain this experience early in their careers, ACU can create a more socially active and empowered generation of health care professionals.