Kevo Rivera, MD (Pronouns: any, including he/she/they)

Psychiatry Resident

Filipino-American

I am currently a second year psychiatry resident. I completed medical school at the Carver College of Medicine.

Filipinos, if I’m allowed to generalize, know how to infuse joy and fun into any experience. There’s never enough time to take life too seriously, because we’d rather be eating, dancing, singing, laughing or some combination thereof. And somehow we still get things done! (But forgive us for showing up to your party, class, wedding, or meeting late; we’re all running on “Filipino Time.”)

I’m very proud to be the child of immigrant parents. I have a deep appreciation for both the struggles and joys that immigrant families face, which informs how I think about access to health care among our patients who are “New Iowans”: immigrants, asylees, refugees, or those who are undocumented. I can’t imagine not thinking about equity in healthcare, and I attribute that largely to my upbringing in a mixed-status household. I hope that, over the long arc of my life and career, this passion and drive will have made a real difference.

James Choi, MD - Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Curriculum and Associate Professor of Anesthesia

Click here to read more about "James Choi on straddling two cultures."