Bilal Arshadullah ’24
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is introducing a new graduate fellowship at Sutter Health and Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, the Fellowship in Health Equity and Innovation, in collaboration with Peninsula Healthcare Connection (PHC). This is a groundbreaking fellowship in the field of health care ethics combining real-world clinical experience and in-depth ethical analysis.
PHC, located in Palo Alto, works to improve the health and quality of life for unhoused, low-income, or uninsured individuals through the delivery of primary care and behavioral health services.
The inaugural fellow, Bilal Arshadullah ’24, was a 2023-2024 Health Care Ethics Intern with the Markkula Center, during which he submitted a blog post on the ethics of brain death through an Islamic perspective. In June 2024, Arshadullah graduated with a biology degree and minor in biotechnology and is now gaining invaluable clinical and patient care experience through this fellowship.
Arshadullah said he was drawn to the Fellowship in Health Equity and Innovation because of the unique opportunity to work directly with the unhoused population, which he believes will be a powerful learning experience.
His work involves collaborating with PHC doctors on health equity research to address unmanaged hypertension in the unhoused population, and to conduct community outreach for opioid overdose prevention.
Arshadullah said highlights of the program so far have included shadowing a psychiatrist at the clinic, and learning in depth about the mental health challenges, such as depression and PTSD, that individuals in this population face.
The fellowship aligns with Arshadullah’s long-term goal of becoming an emergency medicine physician. “This work really helps me to develop a framework to assist communities that I’m not necessarily familiar with, and to learn how to work within the systems that exist while also developing ways to improve upon the health care system,” said Arshadullah.
Arshadullah credits his experience as a Health Care Ethics Intern in helping him to develop “broad perspectives” and an open mind, “Through the Health Care Ethics Internship program, I got really used to working within the gray areas of the issues that we’ve faced. Through working at this clinic and being able to shadow and interact with skilled professionals. I’m experiencing real-world applications of the concepts that we learned,” said Arshadullah.
Dorothee Caminiti, director of bioethics and instructor of the Health Care Ethics Internship at the Markkula Center, shared, “This fellowship was created to serve our students beyond graduation, providing essential experience for future health care professionals. It enables them to interact with and learn from highly qualified health professionals, while focusing on the health care needs of an underserved population. I am very enthusiastic about the profound impact this fellowship will have on our students and the patients they will serve throughout their careers.”
The Markkula Center is proud to offer this fellowship to recent alumni pursuing health care careers and extends its deep gratitude to Sutter Health, the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group, and the Peninsula Healthcare Connection for their collaboration in making this program possible.
Grace Woidat ‘25, communications and French studies major and marketing and communications intern at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, contributed to this story.