In her first year at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Na’Tasha Evans, PhD, has taken time to listen to constituents in the college, assess their needs, tend to current initiatives, and implement new programs that will have long-term impact on faculty, staff, trainees, learners, and alumni. In turn, that work will help the UK College of Medicine increase vital, well-rounded health care access.
Dr. Evans was a child actress who performed in numerous plays and movies growing up. But there was one role that caught her attention as a teenager, one that would have her switching industries altogether.
Her aunt had just earned her PhD and let her try on the cap and gown. Seeing herself with the three stripes on the robe sleeve, a young Na’Tasha Evans knew she also wanted a PhD.
“In that moment, I was like, ‘I want this,’” she says. “I wanted those three stripes, and I wanted to make a positive impact in people’s lives.”
Now at the UK College of Medicine, her dreams have come together.
With 10 years of higher education career experience and a doctoral degree to her name, she is helping lead the charge to build a more inclusive stage, and she wants everyone to have the opportunity to play a role in improving access to health care.
This year, Dr. Evans built a strong cast to join her in leading great changes.
Dr. Evans also has the support of unit ambassadors - representatives from UK College of Medicine departments and centers tasked with implementing initiatives for inclusive excellence in their respective domains.
As an actress, Dr. Evans prepared for a role by reviewing the script and figuring out how she could provide more authenticity to the role.
At the UK College of Medicine, Dr. Evans’ preparation took the form of a purposeful “listening tour.” She traveled the Commonwealth to listen to concerns and questions from faculty, staff, learners, and trainees. Together, with campus leadership, she is working to develop campus-specific action plans for each of the UK College of Medicine’s regional campuses.
At the Morehead site, her office is helping develop a student-led clinic to in their rural community. At the Northern Kentucky Campus, she is supporting the creation of new pathway programs and mentoring opportunities with St. Elizabeth Healthcare physicians. At the Bowling Green Campus, she engaged with Med Center Health and plans to return soon now that Caroline Paul, MD, has been named the new associate dean of the campus.
“Intentionality” has been a keyword for Dr. Evans during the listening tour.
“When I think about my purpose, and why I’m on this earth, I always think about long-term impact,” Dr. Evans says. “The individuals we select for training here will shape medicine and health care for the next 30, 40, 50 years.”
Dr. Evans does not define diversity solely as representation in race and ethnicity, though they are very important. Diversity also includes celebrating differences in experiences, education, and backgrounds.
“Diversity includes all of who we are,” she says. “All of our differences make us who we are.”
This year, to build community, Dr. Evans opened the door for feedback on the creation of employee resource groups and student groups. This included incorporating neurodiversity and first-generation students. She even joined the Office of Biomedical Education to host the UK College of Medicine’s inaugural first-generation event during National First Gen Week. The idea came from her time on the faculty at Kent State University.
“We want our first-generation students to know that their journey is valued. They're navigating this new path, and they need that support,” she says.
“Focusing on first-gen students and building a community of support for them is critical to their success. Biomedical students who are first-gen benefit from support because they gain mentorship which provides feedback, role models, and access to opportunities that they might not have known existed. We are grateful to have partnered with Dr. Evans and her office so that we can better support our first-gen students.”
A major goal of Dr. Evans is increasing the UK College of Medicine’s presence in Kentucky communities. She says working in the community makes UK more recognizable and approachable, which is important in empowering people to take control of their health.
She and her team represented the UK College of Medicine at the Education Foundation Alpha Beta Lambda chapter’s 30th annual Martin Luther King Day Unity Breakfast in Lexington, Ky.
She also continued the college’s existing initiatives, like the Building Excellence and Achievement in Medicine (BEAM) program that introduces middle schoolers to medicine. The 2023-2024 BEAM scholars graduated from the program during a May 2024 ceremony hosted on campus.
Dr. Evans is a tenured associate professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Behavioral Science.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. Evans provides her expertise to her colleagues. She joined 40 faculty members for a departmental retreat this year, and she presented on the importance of diversity and inclusion in health care.
When Dr. Evans conducts presentations, she likes to incorporate an activity. “It makes the information more tangible,” she says.
This year, she led a game of BARNGA, a simulation developed by Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan in 1980. Players work through assumptions and cross-cultural differences in communication, building off of the notion that “conflict arises not only from major or obvious cultural differences but often from subtle minor cues.” Each player uses a different set of rules and must go through the game silently.
“The experience was phenomenal,” Dr. Evans says. “I think it really led to some ‘a-ha’ moments.”
A year into her tenure at the UK College of Medicine, Dr. Evans has already witnessed the hard work pay off.
This year, the UK College of Medicine was named an “Insight into Diversity” Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award recipient for the third year in a row, maintaining its status as a leading institution for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts.
Another notable success came when her team welcomed Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapters from across the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the first time in six years the University of Kentucky was able to host. The event included panel discussions and resources from a variety of medical schools and institutions.
Dr. Evans was able to spread the word about the UK College of Medicine’s successes – and learn from experts around the country – at the Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate (HEDIC) program, run by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
HEDIC is “an intensive” program designed to help leaders in academic medicine implement diversity “as a core component of excellence in health care.” Through the program, Dr. Evans developed a presentation about her work with regional campus engagement, which she shared with the participants of the HEDIC cohort, as well as the UK College of Medicine.
She also joined the AAMC for its annual Learn Serve Lead conference, presenting a poster with April Hatcher, PhD, about the growth of the college’s Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS) organization since its establishment in 2015.
Dr. Evans is soaking up all that Lexington, Ky., – and the Commonwealth – has to offer.
When she isn’t at work, you can probably find her driving around and exploring the beautiful scenery around town. She is a big fan of the flowers and vast greenery at the local horse farms that surround the Lexington metro area.
You may also catch her palling around with her 20-pound dog, Navy, named in honor of her parents’ time in the military.
“I always say, he’s as tough as a ship,” Dr. Evans jokes.
Dr. Evans may reminisce on her days as an actress and the opportunities that her early career provided. To this day, she sometimes finds herself saying “stage left” and “stage right” when referencing directions.
With the potential to create lasting change at the University of Kentucky, shaping the future leaders of health care, this might just be her biggest role yet.
“We want to create an inclusive environment in all that we do and recognize all the identities that we have here, because all of those identities make us unique.
"It gives a sense of depth to the work that we do,” she says.
And Dr. Evans’ work is only beginning.
Coming soon: An improved and well-established culture of community at the UK College of Medicine.
*The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which Dr. Evans oversaw, is now closed. She now oversees the Office of Community Advancement.
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