WVU student makes efforts to close the healthcare accessibility gap
Through her professional career, personal experiences and community-based activities, Yvonne Shaw is working to make an impact in West Virginia by increasing residents’ access to healthcare.
Through living in five countries, the England native has made a home in the Mountain State while continuing her education at West Virginia University in the population health master’s program and working at the WVU Cancer Institute as a compliance manager in the Clinical Research Unit.
Shaw first became involved in the field of public health while she was living in Scotland. She began working as a project coordinator at IQIVA, a global organization providing clinical research services and health information technology.
Shaw later moved to Morgantown to pursue a master’s degree, and soon after she began working in the WVU Cancer Institute Clinical Research Unit.
Living in Morgantown and raising her family, Shaw learned about the need for more accessible care and access to clinical research for individuals in underserved populations. She also began working on projects with organizations including the National Organization of Women and NAACP.
Throughout her involvement with the organizations, her passions led her to taking on a leadership role in the local chapter of the NAACP as chair of the Health Committee. She organized COVID-19 vaccination events and Narcan training events in conjunction with the Monongalia County Health Department as well as American Red Cross blood drives. Although she no longer serves as chair of the committee, Shaw continues to be involved in the local chapter and make efforts to increase access to healthcare services in the community.
“Following my experiences of pregnancy and becoming a parent, I became acutely aware of the difference in experience of pre- and post-natal care, and childbirth for people across the country, based on varying social determinants of health. With these disparities in mind, I became involved with the NAACP with the goal of becoming engaged in grassroots civil rights and social justice organizing.
“I believe the knowledge and capabilities that I will learn through this [master’s] program will be of great advantage to me both professionally and in my community-based activities. My interest in and understanding of population health has developed over the last several years and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to further my knowledge within this interdisciplinary field.”
At the WVU Cancer Institute, Shaw oversees clinical research, trains new nurses and monitors trials performed on the WVU Health Sciences Campus in Morgantown and its affiliate locations. She is also a part of the data safety and toxicity committee, which oversees adverse events and ensures incidents are reported appropriately.
Through her position, she has seen the challenges faced by patients across the state who must travel to Morgantown for care. Her desire to help patients across the state led her to the School of Public Health to further her education. She was excited to discover the online degree as a mother of two working full-time at the Cancer Institute.
As Shaw nears completion of her master’s degree, she has been able to apply her course material to her position at the Cancer Institute. In particular, the cultural competency and cultural humility concepts she learned in a course taught by Darren Liu, DrPH, a professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership, have translated into her work.
“I've always recognized a need for cultural competency and humility to be taught and a need for it to be talked about with staff, but I’ve never been quite sure how to do it. So, I’ve definitely been able to apply some of the things I learned in his classes. In the sessions when I'm training new staff, we include some of those elements.”
Shaw has found that Liu and her other professors are helpful and create a positive learning environment. She has been able to grow and apply her course materials not only to her position at the Cancer Institute, but also to her personal goals and passion for helping her community.
“I'm in my third semester now and have really enjoyed what I've learned through the classes. I've definitely taken things away from every single class, and I maybe have not been able to apply everything immediately to my role, but I see a place for myself as a lifelong learner. I think it [the program] really is something that can help a person grow as an individual and see how they can help the community around them.”
-WVU-
po/12/18/24