Prasanna Vankina, a 2024 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4^th-year medical student at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Originally from rural South India, Prasanna moved numerous times throughout her childhood and is grateful for a far-reaching sense of “home” beyond her beloved Twin Cities roots. Coming from a large agricultural family, she grew up watching loved ones continuously show up for each other and their communities. This early change of place and face, and the strong belief that “people are worth knowing” naturally led to a deep interest in primary care – albeit through a winding path. Prasanna received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Middlebury College where she focused on environmental health and labor studies, while also spending time teaching ceramics and working on farms. Her varied background in the humanities and arts now colors her approach to individual and systemic approaches to health and wellness.

During her medical school training in Minnesota and through the longstanding RPAP/MetroPAP program, Prasanna continuously witnessed the magic of family medicine in bridging individual stories, clinical care, community health, and public policy. She quickly realized that the unique role of a primary care doctor would allow her to both have a close connection with patients and use this heightened responsibility to push for community and policy reform. She continued to develop skills for the latter by designing the South Asian-Centered Heart Health Education research study (a project dear to her heart!), participating in the Paul Ambrose Scholars Program, serving on the MAFP Board of Directors, and rotating through the Robert Graham Center as a Visiting Scholar. Prasanna also worked with various community members, educators, and artists to design a new MS1 orientation curriculum and created a Becoming a Doctor session on navigating personal and professional grief. Weaving these experiences in and finding joy within education, she continues to be strong proponent of learning beyond the walls of an academic institution.

Prasanna went on to pursue an extra year within her medical training to dedicate time to global health advocacy by working with SAATHII (Solidarity and Action Against the HIV/AIDS Infection in India) on public health initiatives in India’s state prison settings. During this year Prasanna also drew from her personal experience in the arts world and participated in a documentary production program.  She directed, filmed, and edited a short documentary with zAmya Theater Project examining how “theater of the oppressed” can serve as a tool for housing justice and reshape common narratives of homelessness within and beyond healthcare systems. These experiences only led to further appreciation of how primary care encompasses great possibilities and vibrant dances between the “global and local.”

Prasanna strongly believes in the power of full-spectrum family medicine and is thrilled about the honor of serving patients of all ages, health needs, and cultural backgrounds. In doing so, she hopes to ground her clinical outlook in interdisciplinary community-centered care – an outlook that has been shaped by the support and wisdom of her dear family, friends, and mentors. These are beloved people and communities who remind her to prioritize humility and joy in medicine, while also paying attention to ongoing inequities and hard realities. Prasanna continues to view the role of a family physician as an incredible privilege and sees medical education and healthcare as tools for liberation. She envisions the collective work of this profession as being guests in our patients’ lives and communities, honoring their trust, and developing long-lasting relationships that remind us that “people are worth knowing.”