JOHN LUK, M.D.
From establishing a free clinic for people experiencing homelessness to mentoring high school students, impact is multiplied by one of Dell Med’s founding educators teaching up-and-coming physicians to be leaders in their own right.
John Luk, M.D., is usually more behind the scenes.
That’s kind of the point: Luk’s charge is to produce great team members. Not just superstar doctors, but health professionals who rely on and proactively seek the expertise of those around them. To date, nearly 150 medical students have graduated under his guidance, standing out among their peers in collaboration and teamwork skills, according to early reports from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). the accrediting body for medical school education programs.
“Many of us idealize the role of physicians, but there are so many other professions — nurses, and pharmacists, social workers and more — who do equally significant work in helping people get as healthy as possible,” he says.
Luk, a practicing pediatric hospitalist at Dell Children’s Medical Center, has seen the consequences of poor teamwork over the course of his career: When team members don’t talk, patients suffer. Medications are missed, tests are re-drawn, and care takes longer to administer.
Partnership With Peers & Community
As a result, he led the creation of Dell Med’s unique four-year interprofessional curriculum in collaboration with health professions partners across UT Austin; at every point in their training, students are exposed to partnership with health professions peers and community organizations, ultimately redefining what it means to be a physician and a leader. The LCME calls the first-of-its-kind curriculum “a model program worthy of emulation by other medical schools.”
Starting a Free Clinic & More
Examples of interprofessional student efforts — and Luk’s influence — are visible throughout the Central Texas community: Prior to Dell Med’s existence, he helped clerkship students at University of Texas Medical Branch start a free clinic in Austin, which is now the C.D. Doyle Clinic primarily serving people experiencing homelessness in East Austin. And these days, Dell Med students work with everyone from faith leaders to high school students in long-standing partnerships to improve health and access locally.
“I’m proud that these efforts live on, and it continues to evolve. We have a responsibility at Dell Medical School to serve our community and to be there for them long term. It’s core to who we are, and what we do.”