Young Change Makers: Why and How Joel Bervell Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Penny Bauder
Finding your “why” means figuring out exactly why it is that you want to do the work you’re setting out to accomplish. When consistently creating any type of content, it can be extremely easy to burn out. After creating my first few videos, I was exhausted and wanted to quit. It wasn’t until I figured out my “why” that I began to not look at creating content as a job, but as something that was important. For me, my “why” for creating these videos was to help others, to give back, and to use the privileges I know I have as a medical student to make a difference in the lives of others. Once I figured that out, creating videos didn’t seem like a burden anymore.
As part of my series about young people who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joel Bervell.
Joel Bervell is a third-year medical student at Washington State University, where he served as Student Body President and co-founder/ president of his school’s Student National Medical Association.
In 2017, Joel graduated from Yale University, where he earned a BA in Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology. There, Joel served as an elected member of Yale student government, and director of a longitudinal mentorship program based in low-income neighborhoods. After graduating, he completed a Masters in Medical Science at Boston University and spent a year working as a clinical research assistant at Providence Hospital researching best treatment modalities for appendicitis.
Joel’s mission is to diversify the field of medicine and address the persistent issues that arise from the exclusion and marginalization of non-white patients in medical education, research, and practice. Bervell is verified on Instagram and has more than 200,000 followers and 15m views on TikTok. He uses his social platform to highlight racial disparities in the field of medicine, bust medical myths, and tell untold stories.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit how you grew up?
I grew up in a suburb a little bit north of Seattle. Both of my parents were born in Ghana and immigrated first to Canada, where I was born, then to the Pacific Northwest, where I spent my childhood and formative years. As a kid, I remember I wanted to be a vet, a lawyer, or a doctor. I just knew whatever field I went into, I wanted it to impact others.
In middle and high school, I loved to be involved. I was student body president, on the debate team, in multicultural club, and tried to take as many Honors and AP classes as possible. In my classes, I was routinely one of the only Black students in my class. In fact, in my high school of over 2,400 students, I was one of about 50 or so black students.
Throughout my summers I had some amazing experiences in the medical industry that kept me interested in it. As a sophomore in high school, I interned for a summer at Seattle Children’s Hospital. I got to work in the inpatient dialysis ward getting to know a vast array of kids with chronic conditions. By the time high school ended and I had to move onto the next thing, I was sold on the field of medicine. I matriculated at Yale University as a Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology major and from there, the rest is history!
Is there a particular book or organization that made a significant impact on you growing up? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
There were so many organizations that had a significant impact on me growing up. One that immediately comes to mind was a program held through the Seattle YMCA called the “Black Achievers Program.” The program gave high school students training, networking, and service opportunities to help them explore career options and prepare for college. Every Saturday, they would gather a group of students and take us on field trips to places like the Seattle Theatre, University of Washington Dental School, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and more.
Since then, I’ve started my own mentorship programs, both as an undergrad and now in medical school, and tried to emulate the Black Achievers program. Because it was so impactful on my life, and exposed me to so many different industries, I’ve made it my mission to do the same for other students.
How do you define “Making A Difference”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
I think “Making A Difference” means impacting the lives of others on an individual level. It starts with believing that you can benefit someone other than yourself and eventually manifests as a real, tangible impact.
When I was in middle school, I started a non-profit organization to help children in Ghana, West Africa. At first, I had no idea how to get started. But I took small steps: I talked to teachers to refine my idea. I found friends that were willing to help me with my mission. And I created a vision that I wanted to execute. The small steps paid off. Today, my non-profit has been around for more than a decade and we’ve raised $500,000 worth of monetary donations and in-kind donations like medical supplies, school supplies, and sports equipment. We also organize trips to countries like Ghana and Tanzania so that students can personally hand-deliver items collected to the institutions that we work with.
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. You are currently leading an organization that aims to make a social impact. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
I currently run a social media channel on TikTok and Instagram where I create educational medical content about racial disparities in the field of medicine, bust medical myths, and tell untold stories.
Since starting medical school, I’ve discovered how deeply disparities in healthcare are ingrained into the medical system. Through my series of videos called “Racial Biases in Medicine,” I’ve talked about how Black women are 3–4 times more likely to die during childbirth, how “racial-corrections” in spirometry algorithms falsely assume that Black, Asian, and Latinx patients have lower lung capacities (which can lead to misdiagnosis), and highlighted how medical school education does not often show dermatology pathologies on darker skin. My goal is to educate patients, particularly patients of color, and to empower them to be able to take their health into their own hands.
Over the past few months, I’ve built an audience of more than 250,000 followers and my videos have received over 15,000,000 views. The response I’ve received from people has been incredible. High school, college, nursing, and medical students have all reached out to me saying that they have learned more about health disparities from me than they have from their classes. Even practicing medical doctors have told me that my videos have taught them something new or changed how they will approach their future patients.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
My passion for health disparities began with the death of my grandmother.
For much of my childhood, my grandma was my main caretaker while my parents were at work. When my siblings and I were finally old enough to be at home alone without a caretaker, my grandma returned home to Ghana. In 2006, however, she was placed into a community clinic due to a routine malaria infection. Even though she waited at a health facility for hours, she didn’t receive her necessary IV fluids or medical attention. The lack of resources at the rural clinic she was treated at prevented her from receiving care that could have happened in the United States, and she passed away. It was my first experience understanding that health disparities can have devastating impacts. From then on, medicine, and understanding disparities in health that occur both in and outside of the United States became one of my passions.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
For me, my “Aha Moment” was a series of national news stories that forced the nation to reckon with what it meant to be Black in America. In particular, the stories that resonated with me were those of Ahmaud Aurbery, Chris Cooper, and George Floyd.
I remember the moment that I heard about the murder of Ahmaud Aurbery who was a 25-year-old Black man who had been pursued and fatally shot while jogging. He was the same age as I was. I remember watching the video of Chris Cooper, who was falsely accused of harassing and threatening the life of a white women in Central Park. And, of course, I remember learning about the murder of George Floyd. Each of these individual stories were painted against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID pandemic. I kept hearing on the news how Black, Indigenous and other people of color were more susceptible to COVID.
Each of these stories in their own way angered me. And as a medical student, it made me want to dive deeper into understanding how medicine can often perpetuate racial stereotypes, leading to disparities in medicine, as well. Given everything that was going on in the national lens, I couldn’t just stand by and watch anymore. I wanted to make a change and educate audiences about the disparities I knew existed.
Many young people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
My biggest advice to anyone that wants to start something new is to not be afraid to take that first step. Tell someone else about your idea. Write down your plan. Create a mission and vision. You are way more likely to follow-through if you have specific, tangible goals that you’ve shared with others.
When I started my TikTok, I wrote down all my ideas into an excel spreadsheet so that I had an organized list of what I wanted my account to focus on. For every video I made, I created a script, conducted research on the topic, then recorded and filmed. Once I had a concrete plan and a schedule of what I wanted to achieve, it made it much easier to follow-through. I used my sister as my accountability buddy, and she helped encourage me along the way.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
The first video for my “Racial Bias in Medicine” series that I created was about disparities in a tool used in clinics called a pulse oximeter. Pulse oximeters are important for measuring your blood oxygen saturation levels and is used many times for medical decision making. But studies dating back to the 1990s have shown that pulse oximeters don’t treat skin color equally. Because of how differences in how the skin absorbs light, Black patients are nearly three times as likely to have inaccurate, overestimated oxygen saturation levels compared to White patients. Something like that has clinical significance for COVID since one of the main diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 is shortness of breath and low oxygen levels. When I made my video highlighting that disparity, it was viewed more than 500,000 times.
In the following months, I was invited to speak on a panel at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about my TikTok series and some of the ongoing injustices in medicine. A few months after my panel, an update was made on the FDA’s website indicating that readings may not be accurate for Black patients using pulse oximeters. While it may not have been my direct influence that led to the website update, it was a great example of tangible impacts that can happen when audiences are educated about medical devices.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
When I was first starting to make TikTok videos, I didn’t quite understand the importance of listening to the full length of the music that I chose. For one of my videos, I was talking about a pretty serious topic. After I finished recording, I clicked too quickly on the background music and didn’t realize until after I posted the video that the sound was the equivalent of carnival music. It most certainly did not match the tone I was trying to set for the video! To this day, every time I add background music to a video, I listen to it repeatedly.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Some of my biggest mentors are my direct family. My sister, Rachel, is currently a physician. Seeing the way that she navigated the pathway into medicine was inspiring for me. Many times along my own journey, I felt like I wanted to quit. Thanks to her I stuck with medicine. She also showed me that it’s possible to be a medical professional as well as an advocate for patients outside of the clinic setting. Outside of her day-to-day as a physician, she also runs a social media Instagram account focused on OB/GYN issues for Black woman.
Without saying specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
Looking back through my TikTok, I’ve created over 300 videos on various topics. Out of all of these, my favorite set of videos are a series about how dermatology conditions look like on Black vs. White Skin. In the videos, I show various conditions like eczema, psoriasis, tinea versicolor, melanoma, and more. In one video I also talked about a particular deadly form of melanoma (skin cancer) called “Acral Lentiginous Melanoma” and how one can identify it. One of my followers reached out to me via direct message to let me know that they actually got their abnormal mark checked out because of my video. It led them to get a biopsy which confirmed that they had melanoma. Because they caught it early, they were able to get the lesion removed. As a medical student that was one of the best feelings
I talked about melanoma in one video, and months later someone dm-ed me on Instagram saying they got a abnormal mark checked because of my video. And it led them to getting a biopsy which confirmed they had Melanoma. As a medical student, that was an incredible feeling knowing I could have played a role in a patient’s care from afar.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
- Institutions must increase the support given to physicians working in underserved communities and add incentives for those that work in those communities.
- Medical schools must weave conversations about social determinants of health into all aspects of curriculum so that future doctors can incorporate that into their practice.
- Education programs to increase the knowledge about the causes and interventions that can be taken to reduce disparities should be supplemented and expanded.
Fantastic. Here is the main question of the interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each).
- Find Your “Why” — Finding your “why” means figuring out exactly why it is that you want to do the work you’re setting out to accomplish. When consistently creating any type of content, it can be extremely easy to burn out. After creating my first few videos, I was exhausted and wanted to quit. It wasn’t until I figured out my “why” that I began to not look at creating content as a job, but as something that was important. For me, my “why” for creating these videos was to help others, to give back, and to use the privileges I know I have as a medica lstudent to make a difference in the lives of others. Once I figured that out, creating videos didn’t seem like a burden anymore.
- Determine and Engage in Your Niche — When trying to engage an audience, it’s important to know exactly who you’re trying to target. There is so much content out there. Who are you trying to be? I focused on building an audience that consisted of medical/nursing students, physicians, and people of color whose voices are often overlooked in the medical system. Once I knew my audience, I was able to create opportunities to have those that follow me engage in conversation with one another. But if I didn’t know my audience and why they followed me, I wouldn’t have been able to create videos that focused on those needs.
- Refine Your Voice — When I was first starting out, with creating I played around with so many different methods of creating content. I tried dancing for TikToks (and failed) and even tried cracking jokes (they weren’t funny!). It wasn’t until I settled on just being myself that I started to see growth in my videos. By focusing on the issues and causes that I found interesting, I was able to authentically be myself. And people were able to see that authenticity shine through.
- Be Consistent — It’s hard to keep people’s attention. The best way to retain engagement is to consistently put out content. By regularly posting, you can create a relationship with your audience. As soon as I realized the importance of regularly pushing out content on a steady timeline, I was able to create anticipation before I published a series like my “Dermatology Conditions on Black vs. White Skin” series. I’ve even launched into hosting weekly Instagram and TikTok live sessions with individuals that inspire me across social media.
- Know the Trends — While it’s not easy, keeping up with social media trends is one of the most important ways to connect and comment on important cultural moments. Whether it’s a new research articles or a national movement, talking about an ongoing trend gives your audience the opportunity to join in on a conversation they’re probably already having. For example, with the Olympics just around the corner, I’m starting a new series on Race, Genetics, Ancestry and the Olympics. Already it’s been well received because many people are already thinking about these issues.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
I would tell them that young people are THE most influential group of people in the nation. We can connect with one another, inspire those arounds us, and create movements that have the ability to change the world for good. If you aren’t the one making a positive impact, who will be?
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
This might sound cliché, but I have always been in awe of Barack Obama. When I was in 8th grade, he was running for his first term for president. His image inspired me to join student government when I was younger (I ended up being voted student body president in 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, AND 12th grade). I’ve been to the White House once before, but would love to sit down and pick his brain on so many different issues.
How can our readers follow you online?
People can find me on TikTok (@joelbervell), Instagram (@joelbervell) or Twitter (@joelbervell).
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!