Meet John Kaba, SUNY Downstate Medical Student and SHARE Learner
It’s summer at Silver Hill and we’re thrilled to welcome a new cohort of medical students each month. Gracing the campus this August were Chelsie Napier (CUNY), John Kaba (SUNY), and Eric Vilsmark (Quinnipiac).
Take a minute to meet John:
When/how did you decide that you wanted to be a psychiatrist?
I knew I wanted to pursue psychiatry early in my third year of medical school. During my rotation, I felt drawn to patient stories in a way I hadn’t experienced on any other service. I found deep fulfillment in helping people name what they were feeling and begin the work of healing. Growing up in a Jamaican household where mental health wasn’t openly discussed, I saw how silence and stigma shaped the way people suffered. Psychiatry felt like the space where I could merge my scientific curiosity with my desire to serve communities like my own…with empathy, cultural humility, and lasting impact. It didn’t feel like a decision so much as a return to something I’d always been drawn to.