Pooja Kumar

Welcome.

You're listening to the McKinsey on Healthcare podcast.

If you're looking for insights into the issues that matter most in healthcare right now, you're in the right place.

Explore wide-ranging conversations with leaders, problem solvers, innovators, and professionals who are at the heart of healthcare today.

I'm Dr. Pooja Kumar.

Let's get started.

Today's guest is perhaps, on the surface, a less obvious one for a podcast about health.

Sekou Andrews is an actor, writer, producer, and someone often referred to as a changemaker thanks to his creation of poetic voice, a style of public speaking that infuses inspirational speaking with spoken word poetry to make moving and memorable messages.

Most of us are familiar with the rhythms of the medical space, the regular beeps of a heart monitor, the rise and fall of the chest, the circular wheel of life that ebbs and flows to constant beat.

Poetry similarly allows us to use cadence to create human connections.

My colleagues at McKinsey spoke with Sekou earlier this year, and I was delighted to be able to listen in on a recording of the conversation.

Sekou regularly speaks about this idea and the importance of putting human connection at the heart of all caregiving.

I'm delighted to share some of the highlights of Sekou's conversation with us.

First, I wanted you to hear about his work in healthcare before we move into his creation of the poetic voice.

Much of Sekou's work is focused on health.

Here, he outlines why he chose the industry as his focus, what he's seeing in the industry, and why it matters so much to him.

I completely understand what Sekou means about being driven by a sense of purpose.

For me, my interest in health stemmed originally from working in refugee issues and medical humanitarian relief.

This morphed into a love of medicine, a career as a physician, and a desire at a broader level to help address both global and domestic health needs.

I think many of my fellow doctors, nurses, and caregivers are also purpose-driven in this same way.