Teresa Schiff-Elfalan

Teresa Schiff-Elfalan, MD, is a Family Medicine physician and Assistant Professor in the Office of Medical Education at the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine. She serves as the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Social Justice, and Underserved Care and is the Medical Director of the Hawaiʻi HOME Project, a student-led outreach clinic for individuals experiencing houselessness. Her work focuses on teaching skills for patient empowerment and promotion of health equity, which includes anti-racism training, trauma-informed care, and cultural humility.

As a Macy Faculty Scholar, Dr. Schiff-Elfalan will coordinate and create assessments for an integrated place-based health equity curriculum that invites self-compassion, builds connection, and provides skills for transformative change in critically conscious medicine. In developing graduates equipped with skills to be advocates for their patients and ready to challenge the status quo, she hopes this will be one step toward redefining culturally-grounded healthcare delivery.

Richard T. Kasuya, MD, MSEd, FACP, Professor in the Office of Medical Education at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, will serve as Dr. Schiff-Elfalan’s mentor.