Largest per-capita Indigenous population in US; Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Osage Nations
IHS chronic underfunding, tribal self-determination in health, 638 contracts
"Oklahoma has the largest per-capita Native American population of any state. OU trains physicians who will serve these communities with cultural competence, not just clinical competence."
Western Oklahoma primary care desert; critical access hospitals
Oklahoma pharma settlement; opioids in rural and tribal communities
Moore tornado history; Oklahoma City is Tornado Alley epicenter; disaster preparedness
Five Civilized Tribes removal, Treaty rights, MMIWG, land-based healing
Oklahoma expanded Medicaid in 2021; SoonerCare; gaps in tribal communities
Cherokee herbal medicine, stomp dances, ceremonial healing alongside allopathic care
Oklahoma farm and oil field worker health; injury patterns, chemical exposure
Diabetes epidemic tied to food colonialism; tribal food sovereignty movements
Traditional medicine integration, historical trauma, IHS navigation, Cherokee or Choctaw patient.
Western Oklahoma primary care access, hospital closure, telemedicine.
Tornado mass casualty, crisis standards of care, community preparedness.
Rural/tribal opioid crisis, harm reduction, MAT in IHS settings.
Oklahoma ties, Native American community experience, rural medicine commitment, why OU.
"Expect scenarios rooted in Oklahoma's realities: Cherokee and Choctaw Nation health systems, rural Oklahoma primary care deserts, opioid crisis in tribal communities, and disaster medicine after tornadoes."
"A Cherokee Nation member presents to the Indian Health Service clinic with uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes. She uses traditional Cherokee medicines alongside metformin and is reluctant to use insulin because her grandmother died of a complication she attributes to it. How do you approach her care?"
Practice this scenario with AI →Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Comanche nations have distinct cultures, health systems, and needs.
this is a disqualifying cultural incompetence at OU.
Oklahoma was the first state to sue and win against opioid manufacturers.
"In 14 years of examining I have never failed a candidate for giving the 'wrong' answer. I have failed candidates for how they treated the person in the room with them."
Oklahoma has 39 federally recognized tribes. Know the major ones: Cherokee Nation (largest), Choctaw Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Osage Nation.
The Indian Health Service is the federal system providing care to eligible Indigenous people — know that it is chronically underfunded at about 60% of need.
638 contracts allow tribal nations to operate their own health programs with federal funding. The Cherokee Nation Health Services is a model of this.
The forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes (Trail of Tears), allotment era land theft, and boarding school trauma are not distant history — they shape healthcare relationships today.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an active public health and justice crisis in Oklahoma.
Land-based healing, ceremonial practices, and traditional medicine are not superstitions — they are part of a coherent wellness framework. Integrate, don't replace.
Oklahoma City is in the heart of Tornado Alley. The May 2013 Moore tornado (EF5, 24 deaths) and others are touchstone events in Oklahoma disaster medicine.
Know crisis standards of care and how triage ethics change in mass casualty scenarios.
Community preparedness — shelters, communication systems, first responders — is a public health topic OU faculty actively research and teach.
Station about a Cherokee patient using traditional plant medicines alongside prescription drugs. They wanted to know if I'd ask about it for drug interactions — yes — and whether I'd respect it — also yes.
IHS underfunding came up in my policy station. Know the number: IHS is funded at roughly 60% of what the VA receives per patient. That gap is the whole story.
Tornado disaster triage. They weren't testing medical knowledge — they were testing my ethical reasoning about who gets scarce resources in a mass casualty event.