Open door policy

Sumbul Siddiqi knew she wanted to have a career in medicine since she was a young girl. But it wasn’t the pay or prestige that attracted her. Early experiences with health care came in the form of a not-so-local clinic, hours from her house in Georgia. Siddiqi remembers the uncertainty and fear she felt whenever a member of her family became ill. They’d have to wait until the weekend, or whenever their next day off of work would be, and proceed to drive hours to the closest free clinic, relying on doctors who volunteered their time.   

As an immigrant with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status, Siddiqui’s family didn’t have health insurance, but the professionals who cared for them were heroes to the young Pakistani woman. Now she’s attending medical school herself at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine, as one of nearly 40 DACA students with similar stories and the same conviction. 

DACA grants certain rights to immigrants who came to the United States before they were 16 years old. For many of these young adults, the thought of attending medical school never seemed like a possibility, as DACA students are unable to receive federal student loans and therefore were not openly accepted by any medical schools—that is, until Stritch became the first to open its doors to this population. As an undergraduate student looking into medical schools, Siddiqui found Stritch to be a welcome surprise. 

“I remember searching and searching and felt this pit in my stomach when I realized I would have to leave my home state of Georgia,” says Siddiqi. “There weren’t any medical schools in the entire state that opened up to DACA [students]. I was scared to move so far from home, but here at Stritch I’m with people who have the same values as me: social justice regardless of what your background is. I feel like I’m just like anybody else here.”  

The tradition of encouraging diversity is ingrained in Stritch’s values. In addition to being the first medical school nationwide to openly accept DACA students, Stritch has been a leader in women’s contributions to health care since its founding. After opening in 1909, Stritch was a pioneer in welcoming to female students and women in leadership positions.  

Bertha Van Hoosen, a leader in her field, was appointed the first woman to head Loyola’s Department of Obstetrics in 1918—despite a recommendation from the American Medical Association that Loyola instead put a male doctor in the role. Loyola insisted on giving the job to Van Hoosen, who was also a founding member of the American Medical Women’s Association, and the University continued to be a leader for years to come in supporting female students in medicine and STEM fields.  

Valuing diversity 

While the students and staff at Stritch credit this dedication to their Jesuit values, Stritch also considers its DACA students to be valuable to the school—and the future of medicine.

“Loyola is fertile ground for this kind of change,” says Mark Kuczewski, the founder of Stritch’s DACA program and the director of Loyola’s Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics. “We tend to view diversity and therefore our DACA students as an asset. By having these students in the classroom, our graduate students learn how to treat a multicultural society.”  

Kuczewski also emphasizes Loyola’s rich history of accepting first-year college students and Irish immigrants. During the 1830s, the college was a safe haven when NINA (No Irish Need Apply) signs plastered doorways. He says he’s happy for that reputation, but around 2012, started to feel the school hadn’t diversified in decades. That’s how he knew it was time to open applications to more marginalized communities. Many students like Siddiqi knew of this reputation, and now, she hopes to bring the spirit of acceptance to her future career.  

“I’d say my policy classes really helped me, as I’m trying to learn how to change health care policy. But in med school I think my Patient Care Medicine class really allowed me to add my own perspective and interact with patients in a meaningful way,” Siddiqi says. “You could tell that my approach was different than my peers who didn’t come from disadvantaged backgrounds.” 

“We tend to view diversity and therefore our DACA students as an asset. By having these students in the classroom, our graduate students learn how to treat a multicultural society.”

- Mark Kuczewski, director, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics

While Stritch is a success story, a big issue lies with funding. Siddiqi and her peers are ineligible for federal student loans, which are a key part of most medical students’ financial aid packages. In addition to funding, Siddiqi says many students don’t really know how much an immigration status affects a student. DACA recipients at Stritch combat isolation and questions by meeting as a group and advocating for federal and local change.  

“We have a lunch about every six weeks were DACA students and allies can come and talk about what’s going on in the Supreme Court or the logistics of getting a real ID or a driver's license,” says Kuczewski. “These aren’t just things they hear about and have to figure out on their own now. If it affects their community, it affects our community.”