Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Rasheed Ivey
It can be said about Dr. Rasheed Ivey that he is a study in contrasts. Currently in his third year of anesthesiology residency at Harbor-UCLA, his unique status as an African American male physician conveys the power to be listened to by patients who trust only someone who has experienced a life experience similar to theirs. He is highly regarded around the CDU campus, not far from the Compton neighborhood where he grew up. Becoming a physician was a lifelong dream that Dr. Ivey was able to embrace and be presented as a role model to young people eager to make a better life for themselves.
Yet, Rasheed Ivey, MD is very humbled by the platform that he now occupies.“ I always say, Drew gave me an opportunity to fulfill my dream to become a physician, when others counted me out.” To have that opportunity and then to have the support of people who stuck with him when his challenges were far from easy has been a driving factor in his career arc that resonates strongly with him.
No one of his family was in the rare air of high-level professional training of any kind, much less in the field of medicine.“ If I’ m being totally, totally frank here, it’ s humbling. I’ ll take a second to look at it in total. None of my family members are physicians, and very few have embarked on secondary education. I don’ t take it lightly. I do realize that it’ s a blessing to be able to do what I’ m doing. And I also am beginning to realize the impact that it’ s having in my community.”
Accordingly, his journey follows along the unexpected. He didn’ t just wake up when he was five or six years old and decide to be a physician.“ I’ d be remiss if I didn’ t speak about where it all started. At Drew with the Saturday science program. My mom was a forward thinker in that way. And, you know, a lot of folks are playing sports on Saturdays. We were going to Saturday Science Academy,” he noted.“ Not that sports didn’ t come into play later, going to track meets and these other things. But early on, my mom was taking us there on Saturday morning, which, you know, I look back now and that was like planting a seed. She didn’ t get her AA degree until I graduated with my BA.
Acknowledging that this exercise of discipline was certainly a juxtaposition from what most people accomplish, his mother always looked out for his longterm interests.“ She always highlighted the importance of education. It sparked the interest in me, for the sciences and the ability to be a free thinker. I went to Compton schools and I always had good supportive teachers. Their infrastructure could be a challenge. In a school system in the inner city, it doesn’ t take away from the strength and the talent that we had in our instructors. Teaching 35 students in a class takes a certain skill set.
“ I wasn’ t necessarily in a place that was resource heavy. My mom would still introduce us to Saturday programs. And interesting enough, usually I was the only person from Compton.” Young Black Scholars was another influential program. On Saturdays, he got information on colleges.“ You know, my high school didn’ t even have a college counselor. During my senior year after I had applied or was getting ready to apply to college, I owe a lot to my mom’ s ingenuity and thinking.”
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 37