During the 2026 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Inclusion and Belonging Summit, CHOP hosted a Fireside Chat with Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, an author and the first Navajo surgeon in the US. Chermiqua Tsosie, a CHOP Clinical Research Assistant with the CHOP Indigenous Health Unit (IHU), who is herself a member of the Navajo Nation, facilitated a thoughtful conversation with Dr. Arviso Alvord, highlighting the importance of meaningful and authentic engagement with others from different backgrounds, who have had different experiences, and who may hold different beliefs from us.
Dr. Arviso Alvord described her journey into medicine and the significance of mentors who believed in her, encouraged her, and helped open doors to opportunities that had previously seemed impossible. Dr. Arviso Alvord also reflected on her experience living “between two worlds,” as a practitioner of Western medicine while also understanding the concept of healing in Navajo culture. Dr. Arviso Alvord described her journey of weaving together these two worlds for the benefit of her patients. In weaving these worlds together, she also came to see how they could be complementary, leading to balance and connectedness, a key belief in Navajo culture known as hózhó.
Over the years, she has worked with the Indian Health Service and served as a faculty member of the Center for American Indian Health at Johns Hopkins and other institutions. Drawing on her experience leaving home to attend medical school and returning to practice, Dr. Alvord shared how embracing her cultural identity transformed her practice to be more culturally responsive for Native American communities and fostered a greater appreciation for personal narratives, intergenerational connections, and team belonging.
This Fireside Chat was followed by a book signing of Dr. Alvord’s memoir, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, providing a chance for staff and faculty to connect directly with her and share in the experience.
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During the 2026 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Inclusion and Belonging Summit, CHOP hosted a Fireside Chat with Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, an author and the first Navajo surgeon in the US. Chermiqua Tsosie, a CHOP Clinical Research Assistant with the CHOP Indigenous Health Unit (IHU), who is herself a member of the Navajo Nation, facilitated a thoughtful conversation with Dr. Arviso Alvord, highlighting the importance of meaningful and authentic engagement with others from different backgrounds, who have had different experiences, and who may hold different beliefs from us.
Dr. Arviso Alvord described her journey into medicine and the significance of mentors who believed in her, encouraged her, and helped open doors to opportunities that had previously seemed impossible. Dr. Arviso Alvord also reflected on her experience living “between two worlds,” as a practitioner of Western medicine while also understanding the concept of healing in Navajo culture. Dr. Arviso Alvord described her journey of weaving together these two worlds for the benefit of her patients. In weaving these worlds together, she also came to see how they could be complementary, leading to balance and connectedness, a key belief in Navajo culture known as hózhó.
Over the years, she has worked with the Indian Health Service and served as a faculty member of the Center for American Indian Health at Johns Hopkins and other institutions. Drawing on her experience leaving home to attend medical school and returning to practice, Dr. Alvord shared how embracing her cultural identity transformed her practice to be more culturally responsive for Native American communities and fostered a greater appreciation for personal narratives, intergenerational connections, and team belonging.
This Fireside Chat was followed by a book signing of Dr. Alvord’s memoir, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, providing a chance for staff and faculty to connect directly with her and share in the experience.
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