Who are your female role models?

My mom, Roshan Sachedina. My mom had a fourth-grade education. She grew up in the boondocks of Africa. She came to the United States as a refugee with my dad and four children, ages three to 15, from Uganda. I was nine when we came to the U.S.There was a church that sponsored us here and she became a cook there and later worked as a nurse’s aide. She learned to speak English by watching Sesame Street with my three-year-old brother. My mom – and my dad – did an amazing job raising us. My dad worked at the Caterpillar factory on the assembly line. 

My parents literally came to the U.S. with nothing. Yet, they instilled in us a love for this country and the importance of education. We all went to college and have successful careers.My parents also taught us the importance of gratitude. And that is something that has inspired my philanthropy work which includes promoting breast cancer awareness, providing medical equipment for breast cancer screens to mobile clinics in Africa, and supporting families dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

What advice do you have for women who want to go into healthcare careers?

Go into medicine with a very open and clear mind and know that you will get to do this extraordinary thing and help people and take care of them. But, you can still have a balanced life with a family and with other hobbies. And, I would highly encourage them to have hobbies because they enrich you as a person and are a great way to communicate with patients because you can meet them on a more human level. I am also blessed to be married to my husband, Aziz Jasani, who is a corporate executive who left his job to come and work side by side with me at my clinic. He handles all the financial side of things, so I can concentrate on caring for my patients.

Click here to learn more about Shenin Sachedina, D.O., FACOS