Lori Alvord facts for kids

Lori Arviso Alvord, born in 1958, is a special kind of doctor and writer. She is a Native American surgeon. She is famous for being the very first Diné woman to become a certified surgeon. This means she passed special tests to show she was an expert.

Her book, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, tells her story. It has helped many people learn about her work. In 2013, she was even suggested to become the top doctor for the whole United States, called the U.S. Surgeon General. Dr. Alvord uses new ideas in medicine. She combines traditional Navajo healing ways with modern Western medicine.

About Lori Alvord

Lori Alvord grew up in a small town called Crownpoint, New Mexico. This town is on a Navajo reservation. Her father was Diné (Navajo), and her mother was White. English was the main language spoken in her home. She is part of two important Navajo family groups, called clans. These are the Tsinnajinnie' (Black Streaked Wood) clan and the Ashihii' (Salt People) clan.

Her Journey to Becoming a Doctor

Lori Alvord finished high school in Crownpoint, New Mexico. She then went to Dartmouth College, a well-known university. At first, she studied science. Later, she changed her focus to social sciences, which is about how people and societies work. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 1979. She earned degrees in psychology and sociology. She also studied Native American cultures.

After college, Dr. Alvord worked as a research assistant. She helped with studies at a clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A doctor there suggested she should go to medical school. This idea made her blush! She then took more science classes at the University of New Mexico. After that, she applied to medical schools.

She was accepted into Stanford University Medical School. She earned her medical degree (M.D.) in 1985. She then spent six more years training at Stanford University Hospital. In 1994, she became a board-certified surgeon. This made her the first Diné woman to achieve this important goal.

Combining Old and New Medicine

After her training at Stanford University, Dr. Alvord went back to her Navajo reservation in New Mexico. She soon realized something important. Just "fixing" a physical problem was not always enough to make a patient truly well. She learned that a person's feelings and spirit are also important for healing.

This idea led her to a new way of practicing medicine. She started to think about the whole person. This included their surroundings and their relationships with others. She even thought about how hospitals could be designed better. She believed that beautiful art, gardens, and nice smells could help patients heal. She felt that hospitals should be calming places, not stressful ones.

Dr. Alvord wrote a book about her experiences and ideas. It is called The Scalpel and the Silver Bear.

From 1991 to 1997, Dr. Alvord worked as a surgeon for the Indian Health Service in Gallup. She also taught at Dartmouth Medical School from 1997 to 2009. She was an assistant professor of surgery and psychiatry there. She also helped students as an associate dean.

From 2003, she was part of the Center for American Indian Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She also served on a national council that advises on different types of medicine. From 2010 to 2012, she helped create a new medical school at Central Michigan University. Later, she worked at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Arizona.

Awards and Special Recognition

Dr. Alvord has received many awards for her work. In 2001, she received an honorary degree from Albany Medical College. She also received honorary degrees from Drexel University in 2006 and Pine Manor College in 2009.

In 1992, she received the Governor's Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women. This award was from the governor of New Mexico, Bruce King. In 1999, she won an award from the American Medical Writers Association for a part of her book. In 2000, her autobiography, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, won the Circles Book Award.

In 2013, her ideas about medicine were recognized by many groups. Both the National Indian Health Board and the National Congress of American Indians supported her to become the Surgeon General of the United States. In 2018, she received a very important award from the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association. It was called the J. E. Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine.

See also

In Spanish: Lori Arviso Alvord para niños