Student Spotlight: Brooke Lapke

Even before starting her first year at the KU School of Medicine, Brooke Lapke had a well-informed view on global health care.

As a freshman at KU, Lapke’s first foray into the field was the course Anthropology, Culture and Health, which was taught by Kathryn Rhine, associate professor of anthropology.

“She was a big motivator for me to get involved in global health and to look at health from a global perspective,” Lapke said.

That experience was followed by four weeks in Alcázar de San Juan, Spain, where Lapke shadowed physicians in a hospital. The study abroad opportunity was made possible thanks to a Gilman Scholarship.

As a sophomore, Lapke was accepted into the Global Scholars Program, which helped provide funding to travel to Padua, Italy to again shadow physicians at a hospital for four weeks. For her Global Scholars research project, Lapke drew from her study abroad experience, as well as those in the U.S. health care system. She examined the different levels of care provided in the three countries and the patient-physician relationship.

“I was able to see the pros and cons in different areas of all the health care systems, as well as the areas of overlap and the essential toolbox of a physician,” Lapke said.

Lapke graduated this spring with a degree in microbiology and was recognized with the Caryl K. Smith Student Leader Award, which honors a graduating fraternity or sorority member who has demonstrated commitment to the local chapter, KU Greek community, university and Lawrence community.

Growing up in rural Iowa, Lapke said even being on the Lawrence campus surrounded by the diversity of students opened her world to different perspectives. After returning from Spain and while working on a Spanish minor, Lapke was inspired to become more involved in international communities. She began volunteering at the JayDoc Free Clinic, KUMC’s student-run health clinic that provides care to uninsured and underinsured patients in Kansas City.

“The majority of the patients seen there are Spanish speaking. It was an experience where I was able to use my Spanish speaking skills and be surrounded by an international community here in Kansas City,” Lapke said.

The international experiences Lapke pursued during her undergraduate years at KU have helped inform her future career plans. This fall she entered her first year at KU Medical Center, where she plans to pursue a doctor of medicine degree, as well as a master’s in public health. She hopes to one day be a practicing physician who also works on global health policy.

“I found that medicine, culture, politics and history are all so intertwined. You have to take everything into consideration when you are working with people in a medical setting,” Lapke said. “It changed my perspective of medicine.”