‘A huge honor’

When Divyani Patel was 5 years old, people called her “Dr. D.” because of an apparent natural inclination to connect with and help others.

Those people were onto something.

Not only did Patel recently graduate as part of the Class of 2024 from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine — and matched in emergency medicine at University of Illinois College of Medicine — but she also was recognized for her service work.

Patel was named recipient of the 2024 OUWB Leonard Tow Humanism Award presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation. She was recognized at the 10^th Annual Faircloth Evening of Medical Humanism on March 7.

“It’s a huge honor,” said Patel. “It’s a big award to receive especially knowing that a lot of my classmates are very, very deserving of it.”

“We were the COVID class,” she added. “It was hard for a lot of us to find ways to serve, but we found ways…we were able to focus on community during our time as medical students.”

‘We are all human’

Patel grew up in Los Angeles.

As a youngster, she earned the name “Dr. D.” because she “always really enjoyed helping people…listening to their stories and connecting with them.”

As she grew older, Patel said she found herself also drawn to the sciences.

She would go on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from University of California-San Diego. Patel followed that with a master’s degree in global medicine from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

“I became really interested in public health, global health…connecting with the community globally,” she said.

The experience introduced her to a lot of public health issues. In a grant-writing course, for example, Patel was exposed to the Urban Voices Project — a nonprofit dedicated to engaging and uplifting Los Angeles’s unhoused and at-risk population via music.

“It helped me realize that, at our core, we are all human,” she said. “Everyone was able to talk about their struggles, but also sing and use that as a kind of mode of therapy.”

Patel said that she has always “enjoyed connecting and learning from this specific population.”

Drawn to OUWB in large part due to its commitment to community and service, Patel joined Street Medicine Oakland and continued working with the unhoused population just months after she started attending the school in 2020.

Launched in late 2019, Street Medicine Oakland is a first-of-its-kind program in Oakland County.

The program describes itself as a “collaboration of health and social services that address the unique needs and circumstances of the unsheltered homeless where they live. This is human-to-human care that extends beyond medical services.”

“It’s been incredibly rewarding,” she said. “As a group, we’ve really grown over the last few years, and it’s been cool to see that growth.”

In 2023, Patel was among the OUWB Class of 2024 students inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Looking ahead, Patel said she is “super excited” for the next steps in her career — especially having matched in the program that was her first choice. She said it was attractive to her for numerous reasons, including the fact that it’s a “very service-oriented” program that does a lot of work in Chicago.

“I’m really happy with everything I was able to accomplish (at OUWB) and where I’m headed,” she said.  

Adel Andemeskel, M.D., ’24 OUWB, introduced Patel as the 2024 student recipient of the Tow Humanism Award at The Faircloth Evening of Medical Humanism.

The award recognizes graduating medical students and faculty members who are exemplars of humanism in the care of patients. Any M4 from the current class is eligible.

Recipients are nominated by their peers, and Gold Humanism Honor Society alumni select the winners.

“Divyani’s work ethic and commitment to serving others is an inspiration to her peers and future colleagues,” Andemeskel told the audience. “She’s a strong advocate for vulnerable populations, both locally and globally.”

“It is evident that she will bring humanism and empathy to any leadership role she may take on in the future,” she added.