Scholar Spotlight
A prolific writer of poetry and song, Nate is a dynamic speaker and isn't shy about performing in front of an audience.
Jason Rafferty
"Rather than viewing patients through the selective lens of specialists, I desire to take an approach based on service and firmly rooted in the narrative ethics. This involves becoming engaged in the community, allowing my patients to teach me about their condition and forming a partnership in order to develop treatment."
- Program: 2006 Graduate Scholarship Recipient
- Resides: Boston, MA
- Hometown: Greenland, NH
- Age: 27
- Four-year College or University: Bates College
- Graduate School: Harvard University
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Education / Academia, Health Care, Liberal Arts, Medical Practitioner, Philosophy, Public Policy, Public Services
- Other Interests: Foreign Languages / International Study, Health Care, Honor Society, Leadership Development, Outdoor / Mountaineering / Camping, Sports, Student Government, Tutoring / Mentoring, Visual Arts, Volunteer Work
Biography
Jason Rafferty lives his mantra of leadership through service. As an EMT first-responder, he encourages patients to learn more about their illness "so they feel confident making decisions impacting their continued care." He did the same in his five summers as a volunteer at a teen center where he encouraged "self-discovery and healthy decision-making."
Jason is a remarkable researcher and his professors hope he continues this while practicing community medicine. His lab research ranged from lead poisoning to stem cells, from dissecting brains of invertebrate snails to investigating HIV in chimpanzees.
After Harvard, Jason wants to incorporate the principles of "narrative and care ethics" he saw in Ecuador when he served as a translator for North American doctors and villagers they were treating. "Patients, in their most vulnerable, emotional, and uncertain states, allow the physician to draw near, often closer than friends and relatives." For this to happen in medically underserved communities in the U.S., physicians must tune into "the patient's words, mannerisms and actions" to know how to give them effective care. Becoming a doctor, he says, "is about serving, learning from and embracing others while using leadership to create positive community change."
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