Fernando Mendoza : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Dr. Fernando Mendoza, Stanford School of Medicine’s Associate Dean of Minority Advising and Programs and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, speaks about his family background and educational journey, his research on health disparities, and the diversity initiatives undertaken by the medical school during his tenure. Mendoza shares memories from his childhood and education in San Jose, emphasizing how teachers instilled confidence in him, and describes his path to Stanford for medical school and residency. He describes his involvement with a healthcare clinic at the Gardner Community Center while in medical school, his decision to study pediatrics and public health, and the circumstances that led him to join the Stanford faculty. He reflects on the barriers minority students face in entering medical professions and the impact of diversity programs he started, such as the Center of Excellence for Diversity in Medical Education, the early matriculation program, and the Health Careers Opportunity Program. Turning to his faculty role, he provides an overview of his teaching and research agenda and describes his work as division chief for general pediatrics and his approach to mentoring. He ends the interview by reflecting on the lessons he learned during his career and his hopes for the future.
Description
| Type of resource | moving image, sound recording-nonmusical, text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 2 video files; 2 audio files; 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | April 28, 2021 - 2021-04-29 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Mendoza, Fernando, 1948- | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Mendoza, Fernando, 1948- | |
| Interviewer | Lozano, Noé Pablo | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Mendoza, Fernando, 1948- |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Pediatrics |
| Subject | Stanford University. School of Medicine |
| Subject | Health Professions Career Opportunity Program (Calif.) |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | Fernando Sanchez Mendoza, MD, MPH is a Professor of Pediatrics, Emeritus, and Associate Dean of Minority Advising and Programs at Stanford University School of Medicine. He graduated from San Jose State University, Stanford Medical School, and obtained a Master of Public Health from Harvard. He did his pediatric training and fellowship at Stanford and joined the Stanford faculty in 1981. He has served as an Assistant/Associate Dean (1983-present), Division and Service Chief for General Pediatrics at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (1996-2014), and Director of the Stanford Academic General Pediatric Fellowship (1997-2012). Nationally, he served on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Health and Adjustment of Immigrant Children and Families, the Executive Committee of the Hispanic Serving Health Professions Schools, the board of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, the Diversity Taskforce of the American Pediatric Society, co-chaired the Diversity Taskforce of the Federation of Pediatric Organizations, served on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Taskforce on Addressing Bias and Discrimination, and was a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (2016-20). Dr. Mendoza’s academic career has focused on Latino child health and workforce diversity. He has published extensively on Latino and immigrant child health and is considered an expert, serving on national research and educational committees in this area. His deanship in diversity has spanned 37 years, and since 1992, he has been the principal investigator of the HRSA Hispanic Center of Excellence grant and faculty director of the Center of Excellence for Diversity in Medical Education. In partnership with Dr. Ronald Garcia, he established the Stanford School of Medicine’s Early Matriculation Program in 1984, later to become the Leadership in Health Disparities Program, that encouraged diversity students to enter academic and leadership positions to improve the nation’s health disparities. Student participants in this program have gone onto become faculty and national leaders in health care and equity. Dr. Mendoza has been awarded a number of awards for his academic and advocacy work. Included among them are being selected as among the most influential Hispanics in the United States and Silicon Valley. He received the Juan Villagomez Humanitarian Award from the California Latino Medical Association, and the Dr. Phil De Chavez Mentor of the Year Award from the National Latino Medical Student Association. He received the AAMC Group on Student Affairs-Minority Affairs Section Service Award and Centers for Disease Control Equity Champion Award. From Stanford University, he has been awarded the President’s Award for Excellence through Diversity, the RISE award for leadership, teaching and mentoring, the MCHRI Visionary Leadership Award, and the JE Wallace Sterling “Muleshoe” Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. Lastly, for his accomplishments over his career at Stanford, he has had awards named in his honor: the Fernando Mendoza DRIVE Award, an award for leadership in diversity by the Department of Pediatrics and the Fernando Mendoza HERO Award, (Health Equity Research and Opportunity Award) by the Office of Diversity in Medical Education to recognize a Stanford medical student who embodies the passion and commitment to advance health equity through research & community engagement. |
|---|---|
| Summary Part 1 | [00:00:00 – 00:31:46] Growing up in San Jose • Parents’ experience of housing discrimination; moving to Willow Glen • Grade school memories; early interest in science and math • Inspiration from a high school counselor • Influence of Chicano Movement in the 1960s; Mexican American Youth Organization; context of Vietnam War • Attending San Jose State University; experience with college admissions as the first to attend in his family; biochemistry • Getting accepted into Stanford Medical School; affirmative action • Impact of performing well in Paul Berg’s class • Roy Maffly’s influence on affirmative action in the Medical School [00:31:46 – 01:03:27] Demographics of study groups and his eclectic roommates • Invitation from Chris Murlas to get involved in clinic at Gardner Community Center in San Jose; connection to Sacred Heart Church • Working with Gardner on community health initiatives • Addressing social determinants of health; distance between medical school curriculum and community health • Potential of new healthcare technologies to improve health equity • Influential people in pediatrics, Phil Sunshine, Bruce Tune, and Irving Schulman • Matching with Stanford for his residency; a critical mass of Chicano residents during his time--the “Chicano mafia” [01:03:27 – 01:34:55] Experiencing racism during residency • Studying public health at Harvard; conversation with Robert Haggerty and decision to go into academic pediatrics • Robert Wood Johnson program and returning to Stanford for fellowship • Joining Stanford faculty • Decision to take on dean responsibilities in 1983 • Interplay between societal issues and institutions; designing institutions that support diverse students • Center of Excellence for Diversity in Medical Education and expanding the definition of diversity • Admissions and reviewing applications [01:34:55 – 01:53:07] Early matriculation program and success stories • Health Careers Opportunity Program • Dr. Marilyn Winkleby and the Stanford Medical Youth Program • Importance of engaging community college students in health careers • Issue of diversity in MD-PhD program; advantage of separate faculty lines in medical schools such as clinician educators |
| Summary Part 2 | [00:00:00 – 00:30:37] His wife Alicia and how they met • Story of driving across the country to attend Harvard; an inauspicious arrival • His children’s experience growing up in Palo Alto • His children’s professions and families • Approach to teaching and clinical care • Case studies to teach about unconscious bias in medical care • Diversity of Santa Clara County and impact on medical care and training [00:30:37 – 01:04:25] His research agenda and the influence of the Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys • Research on the health of Latino children and health issues that impact immigrant children and their families • Advising style • Tenure as chief of general pediatrics [01:04:25 – 01:39:13] National Association of Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools • Involvement with NIH, including study section and National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities • Other medical schools that center diversity • Programs to support young faculty • Thoughts on the future of the diversity programs he started and lessons learned [01:39:13– 01:55:22] Hopes for retirement; Children’s Agenda, Kids in Common • Thoughts on his legacy • Activities that he does for fun • Importance of understanding family histories and backgrounds |
| Transcript |
|
| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/fh300hq9901 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksAlso listed in
Loading usage metrics...