Nashville native Dr. Jill Berkman always knew that social justice would be an important part of any career she chose, and between her love for science and growing up with physician parents, neurology became the path that united her many interests. In addition to her work with stroke patients, Dr. Berkman spends a portion of her time in the Office of Health Equity, helping direct educational initiatives that advance VUMC’s social mission. In her free time, she values time spent with her family, playing volleyball, and watching the Preds.
Tell us about your background and how your path led to Vanderbilt.
I grew up in Nashville, and I was actually born at Vanderbilt! I did my lower schooling at the University School of Nashville across the street. I went to college at Bowdoin College, a small liberal arts school in Maine. I took two years off from school before starting medical school at VUMC. It was a dream school for me so I was really excited for that. I did my residency at Massachusetts General Brigham. I came back to Vanderbilt for a stroke fellowship, and now this is my second year as an attending. My husband and I are both from here, so we wanted to settle and raise a family here.
How did your path lead to neurology? What interested you specifically in stroke neurology?
Both of my parents are physicians, so I was definitely exposed to the field as a young person. I would overhear their dinner conversations about work, and we watched House as a family. I have always liked the sciences, but I’ve also always had a passion for social justice and helping others. Medicine was a way I could help people but also intellectually enjoy the science of it.
My Dad is a neurosurgeon at Vanderbilt, so part of those overheard dinner conversations were neurologic. I have always found the brain really fascinating, and I was a neuroscience major in undergrad. In medical school, I found myself always trying to follow patients with neurologic diagnoses. On my rotations, I learned that I loved internal medicine as well as neurology. Stroke is a perfect combination of the two.The other thing about stroke is that there is often a cure. There are ways to help the patient after the fact, in addition to prevention.
From an equity standpoint, stroke is a field where there are opportunities for improvement in terms of prevention, recognition, treatments and recovery.
Talk about your relationship with the Office of Health Equity. What sparked your interest in health equity?
I always knew equity would be part of my career. From a young age, I was interested in social justice and carried that passion through High School, college, post-grad years and then into medical school. There’s a sense in medicine that if you are passionate about health equity, then you need to specialize in emergency medicine, pediatrics, or primary care. When I was in medical school, however, I saw that there was plenty of that work to do in neurology, and I decided I should do what I'm passionate about and bring equity into that space.
My role in the Office of Health Equity (OHE) goes back to my time in medical school at Vanderbilt. Through efforts to create a social mission statement for the medical school, I got to know Dr. Conseulo Wilkins, who started and now leads the Office of Health Equity. When I was looking at returning to Vanderbilt, I reached out to her and asked if there would be a possibility to use a percentage of my time to do this health equity work, and she said yes.
What does that work look like for you now?
I dedicate about 20% of my time to education, all through the Office of Health Equity. Now I’m helping co-direct a required course for all first year medical students which is Foundations in Health Equity. Prior to this year, that course was an elective, but now it is required. Another part of my role has been launching and now directing a graduate certificate in health equity for residents and fellows, which I do with Dr. Wilkins.
What are the things that keep you excited to go to work?
The main thing is the relationships I have with my patients. I enjoy maintaining those relationships over time, helping them throughout stroke recovery, but I also enjoy the acute care inpatient and navigating potential complications.
I also enjoy the education portion of my work, since I work closely with medical students, residents and fellows. I get to shape learners who are either choosing the same field I did or just need some foundational knowledge, because they’ll all touch neurology in some way.
My work with health equity really keeps me going. It fills up my tank when I'm feeling stressed or have had a long week; getting to do that work keeps me motivated.
What are some of the challenges of your job?
I think the biggest challenge a lot of physicians face in academia is time limitations. It’s difficult when you’re seeing more patients in a smaller amount of time, or thinking about how much time I get to spend in the room with someone.
What helps you face those challenges?
I think the positive things I mentioned before help me face it. I feel so lucky to be doing this, and knowing people are trusting me with their health and their loved ones is a privilege we should not take for granted. That helps keep things in perspective.
How do you like to spend your free time?
My husband and I have a three-year-old and a sweet dog, Rooney, so most of my life outside of work revolves around them. We like to go to Cheekwood, the zoo, swim, and play outside or on the playground. Usually throughout the week we’re doing a combination of those things. We moved to a house where we now have a playroom and a backyard, so just spending time together is what we like to do. I used to love to travel, and I still do, but now I just love spending time with my family, including extended family.
As for other hobbies, I like to get a workout in when I can. I played volleyball in college so that’s an interest I have tried to maintain. I still play volleyball sometimes with some of the VUMC cardiology fellows. We’re also big Nashville Predators fans. We started going with my dad when the franchise first came to Nashville and I still go to games with my dad. My husband and I love to try new restaurants in Nashville, and since it’s always changing, there’s always something new to try.
What advice do you like to share with students and trainees?
If you ask the residents I work with, they will tell you that my mantra is: “Trust but verify.” A lot of times in medicine, you’re told something about a patient, but you need to go to the source, you need to hear their story in their own words.
For early learners, I try to remind them that we speak a different language in medicine, so we try to remember that people don’t necessarily know that language. Remember that the majority ofpatients and families don’t have medical training, so we need to make sure we’re on the same page so people know what we’re doing and why, and create space for patients to ask questions.
