Zaiba Jetpuri, D.O., M.B.A., CPH

Contributions to STEMM

Dr. Jetpuri sees patients in the clinic and hospital as a primary care family doctor. In addition to her clinical practice, educating the next generation is one of the biggest components of her job. “I am one of the Associate Program Directors for our residency program, and I help coordinate different curricular aspects for our trainees. I train various levels of learners; primarily medical students and family medicine residents,” she said. “A lot of this teaching happens in small groups, in the clinic and hospital, but also in formal classroom settings.”

Her educational responsibilities include many roles as she “oversees anything student-related when it comes to family medicine.” This includes “helping with the Family Medicine Interest Group for students wanting to go into family medicine, helping set up shadowing/precepting opportunities, running a core clerkship in family medicine, overseeing a sub-internship course for post-clerkship students, and running the Family Medicine Residency Essentials Boot Camp course for students who are about to be residents in family medicine.”

Taking Risks

“I had two children during school and one after residency despite many nonmedical friends recommending that I quit or stay home,” Dr. Jetpuri said of the biggest risk she took in her career.

“I learned that life happens when it does, and you need to have a strong support network and resilience to get you through this path/career. I also learned that setbacks happen, but they do not have to define you – they are something you can use to grow from and enrich your learning with.”

Early Influences

“I participated in science fair in eighth grade and enjoyed it, which piqued my interest in STEMM early,” she said. This experience heavily impacted Dr. Jetpuri, encouraging her to continue seeking mentorship and STEMM-related opportunities. “This led me to volunteer to mentor students in elementary school and started my interest in teaching and academics. I also had early health-related experiences such as volunteering to help refugees in food banks, which eventually led to me helping in hospitals and health fairs.”

Advice to the Next Generation

“The path to medicine and STEMM is different for everyone, so it is important to find mentors to get advice and suggestions from. Know that the sky is the limit – don't let someone tell you that you can't do something just because you are a woman. Don't let yourself be defined by anyone's expectations; rather let yourself be defined by your choices and do what YOU enjoy.”